Maxim Behar presents his latest book “Seychelles Recipes and More About " Paradise on Earth" to the TV show Gala "Over Coffee"

Maxim Behar presents the unique taste of Seychelles, personal stories and experiences

Host: In my hand I am holding the book “Seychelles Recipes and More About " Paradise on Earth". Are there a lot of attractive things we don't know yet?

Maxim: There are many things I don't know yet. In the process of writing, I also discovered a lot of things I didn't know, even though I've been working for this wonderful country, the Republic of Seychelles, or Seychelles as it's known, for twenty years. It seems to me that there are three factors by which we evaluate a country. That is the nature, the people, and the food. I would put the food first, and that is why I started writing the book. Because we come back from Italy and we remember the pasta, the Prosciutto, otherwise we've seen a lot, taken many pictures, however the food we have somewhere coded in us. The same happens when we come back from countries like Spain, Greece, etc. Usually, food is prepared with the heart, it is taken in through the mouth. And so, I thought that would be the magnet that would attract a lot of people and they reactions would be, "Let's see what they cook in Seychelles". To these 25 recipes that I have selected, almost all, if not all, are ones that have the spices, the products easily found in Bulgaria or bought online. I have described many stories. I have talked about the people of Seychelles. I have 100 photos that I have taken personally. Otherwise, I have about 20,000 for all these years.

Host: Why do people prefer exotic holidays?

Maxim: It's a bit boring there as they say. I meet Bulgarian women who tell me, "I brought my evening dress, bare-back dress, jewelry, watches, but I have nowhere to show them". There is nowhere on the beach or in the evening in one of the Creole restaurants. The exoticism of Seychelles is in the purity of nature, nearly 60 % of the territory of all 115 islands is protected area. No one is allowed to drive a single nail. Not to mention construction, hotels. These 60 % are preserved as nature created them. The beaches are fantastic. Three of the 5 best beaches in the world are in the Seychelles. When you combine that with the cuisine you go on a very wonderful holiday which is not that expensive.

Host: It's there an exotic fruit, different coconuts in Seychelles?

Maxim: There are different coconuts, the most famous one is the "Coco de Mer" or coconut from the sea, here to show you. You see how it looks and so it's made by nature. It grows in only one place in the world and that's the island of Praslin, which is the second largest island. This one is the female 'Coco de Mer' there is also a male 'Coco de Mer' that has the proper shape. Just as it should look, but I'm not going to show it, it has the shape of a large cucumber. When you enter Seychelles through the border, they stamp you with this exact shape of the "Coco de Mer". And two or three times it's happened to me when I come into the USA and I have this stamp in my passport, the border police look very carefully and I ask them, "Have you had a problem" and they say, "No there's no problem, what's that here, why did you draw on your passport?". There is of course "passion fruit" which you can buy from the shops in Bulgaria. There is “breadfruit”, the tea is wonderful. There is a tea called “citronella” and every Seychellois has a “citronella” in their garden. In the morning they get up a knife and cut some "citronella" and make tea with it. And when I ask them, "Why?" and they look at me and say, "Aphrodisiac.", I say, " Oh super.". And then I ask, "And this fruit?" and they say, "And this one is an aphrodisiac.". And generally, this mantra that everything is an aphrodisiac works very well.

You can watch the whole interview here.