A Seychelles delegation consisting of the Principal Secretary for Tourism, Anne Lafortune, and the renowned local Seychellois Chef, Ulric Denis, attended the Indian Ocean Food and Culture Festival, an event held from the August 26-28, 2016 in the Comoros Islands, an event that forms part of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Island Calendar of Events.
During the opening ceremony which was attended by the Vice President of Comoros, Mr. Djaffar Ahmed Said Hassani, Mrs. Lafortune was invited to make a speech where she delivered a message on behalf of the Seychelles Tourism Minister, Alain St.Ange, on the importance for the continuation and success of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands for the 6 island states namely, Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Mayotte. Mrs. Anne Lafortune also participated on a panel discussion and was interviewed by local press about the Vanilla Islands and its Member States during a press conference organized on the final day.
The festival was a 3-day event consisting of conferences, exhibitions, and cultural activities featuring the rich gastronomy and the thousand-year-old Comorian culture, and the culture of the Indian oceanique region. Included in this activity was the demonstration and tasting of Vanilla Islands cooking where the Seychelles famous, Chef Denis, prepared a number of the islands’ Seychellois Creole dishes which were appreciated by all present. Other activities included regional arts and crafts exhibitions, meetings, and workshops on the promotion of the Indian Ocean as a tourist destination.
This event is one of the successful initiatives of the Vanilla Islands which promotes the different products of the Indian Ocean islands in order to encourage more tourists to the region. Also present at the event was the President of the Regional Council of Reunion and French Senator, Didier Robert, and Pascal Viroleau, the Chief Executive Officer of the Vanilla Islands.
