This week, the attention of the Glo-sponsored CNN International’s African Voices Playmakers, turns to the culinary prowess of two foremost chefs from Republic of Benin and Mauritius.
The two innovative chefs are Georgiana Viou and Ayushi “Chef Yu” Gooroochurn. Viou is noted for fusing the taste of his Beninese roots to make exquisite cuisines in France where she is domiciled. She had left her native Republic of Benin for Paris, France, where she had hoped to become, at best, an interpreter. However, fate had a different future for her as she found herself working in the culinary arena.
By March this year, her skills had attracted so much attention that Michelin Guide, the reference of gastronomy, honoured her with a star for her cuisine at “Rouge,” a restaurant in the southwestern French city of Nimes. The Michelin star was a spectacular award in recognition of her “singular cuisine … celebrating her Mediterranean environment and Benin roots.”
Viou, a 46-year-old mother of three, had witnessed a self-transformation that is bewildering, having moved from being a candidate on the popular TV show, Master Chef, to becoming a member of the jury on the same programme within five years.
On his part, 34-year-old Ayushi “Chef Yu” Gooroochurn, is the youngest executive chef in Mauritius. He has carved for himself a unique culinary identity using an inventive palette of tastes and flavours.
Cooking comes naturally to Ayushi Gooroochurn, popularly called Chef Yu in Mauritius. He is the Executive Chef at the Constance Belle Mare Plage Hotel in Mauritius where she and her team have received several plaudits and certificates of appreciation for their masterpiece culinary presentations.
Both chefs will regale viewers with their tales of success on African Voices Playmakers on Saturday at 8.30 a.m. Repeats will air the same day at 2.00 p.m. and on Sunday at 4.30 a.m., 7.00 p.m. and Monday at 4.00 a.m. The same edition will be repeated on Saturday, next week at 8.30 a.m., 12 noon, on Sunday at 4.30 a.m., 7.00 p.m. and on Monday at 4.00 a.m.