KAFE KREOL TAKES OVER FROM KAZ KREOL
(Posted 14th July 2017)
The name ‘Kaz Kreol‘ brings back many memories of many visits to the Seychelles’ main island of Mahe, of the good meals enjoyed at the beach side location with friends, journalist colleagues and of course oftentimes my hosts from the Seychelles Tourism Board.
A few months ago I filed a short notice about the Kaz Kreol being closed and now, under new ownership and management, has the place re-opened as ‘Kafe Kreol‘.
Seychellois and Italian cuisine will be served and the new eatery will be open for the first day of business today, Friday 14th July. The newly refurbished beachfront restaurant replaces the former Kaz Kreol — the popular feet-in-the-sand eating place at Anse Royale.
The new owners — the Frichot family — bought the place after it was closed down for several months. It has taken Mahé Design & Build around six months to completely refurbish the restaurant giving it a modern feel.
A mixture of vibrant colours, décor, furniture and other accessories have been used to have it resemble a more traditional Creole architecture. This includes wooden and glass bottle decorations and the use of brown gunny materials to adorn the ceiling.
Prior to Friday’s opening to the public, Gilbert and Carola Frichot, their children and staff gave family members, close friends, neighbours, tourism industry representatives and press a taste of what the place has to offer when they opened their doors for a preview of what is to come.
The Managing Director of Kafe Kreol Carola Frichot said although they could not keep the former name of the restaurant, they would like for it to continue to be as popular among both the locals and visitors.
‘The restaurant seeks to offer tourists and Seychellois families alike a place to eat good food in a relaxed atmosphere only a few steps away from the sea‘ she said.
An inside lobby with a brightly coloured mural can be used by anyone wishing to stop by for a coffee, some ice cream, pastry, light meal or a slice of pizza. Outside is the more open air restaurant where guests will be able to sit with their feet in the sand while enjoying their meals. A Children’s corner has also been built in a secure area, featuring slides to keep the younger ones entertained while their parents get to eat and relax.
Kafe Kreol is not only about providing good food but is also keen on promoting arts and culture.
Paintings of local Seychellois artists will be exhibited and even on sale. The daughter of the Frichot’s, Andrée and her school friend from the United States, Nicole Briel are the brains behind the brightly coloured mural that sets out to become quite an interesting attraction.
Nicole who is on holiday in the Seychelles, has been collaborating with Andrée to fill up the mural with cut outs from newspapers found in the archives highlighting important political, cultural and other events that has happened in the Seychelles history.
‘We spent days at the library. The earliest official documents date from 1921 up to 1996, unfortunately we could not get earlier documents as the archives is under renovation. We do have stuff from the 1500s onwards but this is more information people have accumulated over the years but not official documents but this will be involved as well‘ said Andrée.
Definitions of some of the names of the Seychelles islands and their history, fun facts, as well as some interesting characters who have become known in the Anse Royale district will also feature on the mural.
Gilbert Frichot said that a chef from Italy is going to be in Seychelles for a month to train the local staff how to prepare the Italian dishes.
Both Gilbert and Carola have said that they would like to have a mostly young Seychellois workforce. In terms of their products they have noted that they will be sourcing fresh local fruits, vegetables and fish from the local farmers and fishermen.
Mr Frichot added: ‘We would also like to involve the community, as we would like to have students residing at the Youth Hostel as clients but also as trainees. We would like students to come and gain experience working at the restaurant and earn some money. As a student that’s what I did‘.
Kafe Kreol will be open daily from 10am to 10pm.
