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A Mauritian Cooking Class, Then Dinner Together
This one is not a walk-in
The cooking class is not a drop-in activity: we shop for it, grind for it and cook for it, and there is one table. So it runs only on agreed evenings, for small groups, and only when the date is confirmed in advance with a deposit.
If you would like to see the house during the day instead, book the Heritage Visit, with visits at 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00.
Four and a half hours, unhurried
Walk the garden, pick the herbs
We start outside, picking curry leaf, thyme, chilli and combava for the evening’s cooking.
Roast and grind your masala
Whole spices go on the pan, then on the ross cari stone. The blend you make is the blend that goes in your curry — and you take the rest home.
Cook, with a rum in hand
We cook the full meal together, with unlimited homemade rum punch and a plate of crispy fried fish with piment cari, gajak-style, to keep you going.
Sit down and eat it
Everything comes to the family table and we eat together, family style, until the conversation runs out. Around 22:00, usually later.
What you will cook
A full three-course Mauritian meal, the kind cooked at home on a Sunday rather than the kind served in a hotel.
Starter: crispy fried fish, served gajak-style with piment cari on the side.
Main course: our recommended authentic Mauritian fish curry, made with the masala you ground, served with rice, chouchou and a seasonal vegetable, a fresh tomato salsa and a local cucumber salad.
Dessert: homemade.
The fish curry is our recommendation, but we are happy to adjust the menu to your preferences: chicken, vegetarian, vegan, halal and no-chilli versions are all possible — tell us when you book. Children cook too; the knife work simply moves to us.
You leave with the recipes written out, and the masala you ground.
Eating halal? A fully halal menu is available on request. See our guide to halal food in Mauritius.
What makes it different
- Cooked in a family heritage home, not a hotel kitchen or a classroom, in Riambel on the quiet south coast of Mauritius.
- You grind the masala yourself on the volcanic ross cari stone, the way Mauritian grandmothers did, and take the rest home.
- Herbs from our own garden: curry leaf, thyme, chilli and combava, picked at the start of the evening.
- A real Mauritian family meal of three courses, and then we all sit down and eat it together.
- Small and private: 2 to 10 guests, one table, on agreed evenings only.
- Halal on request, with alcohol-free drinks for anyone who prefers them.
What an evening costs
MUR 6,000
Per person, everything included.
MUR 3,000
Same evening, softer spice, juice instead of rum.
MUR 5,000
Deposit per booking, deducted from the total on the night.
Included
Garden walk, spice roasting and grinding, all ingredients, a three-course dinner, unlimited rum punch, water and soft drinks, printed recipes and a packet of the masala you ground.
Good to know
Two to ten guests. Held on agreed evenings only. Deposit refundable up to 72 hours before; inside 72 hours we will move your date once, weather or illness included. Free parking, and taxis back to Bel Ombre or Souillac are easy to arrange.
Ask us for an evening
Send the date you have in mind and we will reply within a day, usually within a few hours, with a yes or the nearest evening we can do. Nothing is charged until you have the date and have said yes.
In a hurry? WhatsApp is fastest: +230 5750 2929.
About the cooking class
About four and a half hours, from 17:30 until around 22:00. That includes the garden walk, grinding your masala, cooking together and dinner at the family table.
A full three-course Mauritian meal: crispy fried fish served gajak-style with piment cari, then an authentic fish curry made with the masala you ground yourself, with rice, chouchou, a seasonal vegetable, fresh tomato salsa and a local cucumber salad, and finally a homemade dessert.
Yes. The fish curry is our recommendation, but chicken, vegetarian, vegan, halal and no-chilli versions are all possible. Just tell us when you book.
Yes. Children cook too, and we handle the knife work. Children under 12 pay MUR 3,000 and get a milder spice level, with juice instead of rum punch.
The class runs on agreed evenings for 2 to 10 guests. Send us the date you have in mind and we will confirm it with a MUR 5,000 deposit, which is deducted from the total on the night.
At Heritage Spice House on Teeluck Lane, Riambel, on the south coast of Mauritius. There is free parking at the gate, and we can help you arrange a taxi back to Bel Ombre or Souillac.
Also worth knowing
Come and see it today
MUR 200
Museum, grinding demonstration, herbal tea and the boutique.
MUR 375
Museum, ancestral kitchen, spice garden, hand-grinding and tastings. Children MUR 200.
Thu – Tue
Last entry 17:00. Free onsite parking at the gate.
Visits begin at 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, every day except Wednesday. Book ahead to hold your place; if there is space on the day, we will gladly fit you in. Full detail on the visit page.