Maxim Behar in the Hristo Botev program for the Bulgarian National Radio with Mira Bajeva, presented the first in Bulgaria cookbook "Seychelles recipes and more about the "Paradise on Earth" from the exotic islands.

Host: Maxim Behar, who is Honorary Consul General of Seychelles, presented the first book with recipes from the exotic islands. And not only. The recipes are combined with curious stories. I talked to Maxim about “Seychelles Recipes and more about “Paradise on Earth”. I asked him what new stories and unknown facts he surprises us with.

Maxim: There are very few unknown things in the book, and they are related to personal stories, to the Bulgarians who are there. However, they are not the focus and the center of the book, because nowadays in 2023 there can be nothing unknown to anyone. There are dozens, hundreds of publications about Seychelles, including yours, mine, and our friends'. I decided to collect the three main things that characterize each country in one not so pretentious book of  about 150-160 pages. And those three things are the people, nature, and the cuisine. I decided to focus on the cuisine first, because my experience is that no matter where you go in the world, the cuisine, the food, and the drinks make the strongest impression. We come back from Italy, and we say, "Oh what a nice pasta, what good dishes", we come back from Spain, and we say, "Oh that cheese, that jamon, and  the wine is great", we come back from Greece, and we say, "Oh the Greek salad, the octopus, the fish", things we can do here too, of course. So, I thought I'd pick 25 recipes for which maybe 90 out of 100 of the ingredients can be bought from Bulgaria. To be able to make them more accessible to everyone who is interested in Seychelles. Those who have been will of course buy the book because for them these are fond memories. I have put about 100 wonderful photos that I have taken over the years so that I can bring readers closer to the scenery, which however you describe it in words, of course the photo applies the most. I have told some stories of people I have met in Seychelles and this paints a small picture of this wonderful place. Or as I say put the book in your pocket and take home all 115 Seychelles and enjoy them. I don't believe anyone could read this book and not want to go to Seychelles immediately.

Host: You said you had interesting meetings. Have you met the Seychellois Robinson Crusoe? That Englishman who bought an island.

Maxim: Yes. We're talking about Moyenne Island, but he's no longer among the living. I met him 15 years ago when I had a consular appointment on that island. There's a single house there and that's his hotel. It was also the headquarters of the Rotary Club of Seychelles. And then he hosted us. That was in March 2005. A very interesting man, I think if I'm not mistaken, the country bought back or gave back the island. And now there are plans for it to be populated, to have hotels. You know very well that the hotels there are Creole style and they're not more than two stories high and that's forbidden to be violated. There is a law specifically written for that. This makes Seychelles a unique destination worldwide. I've traveled all over and so have you. We've seen all sorts of things, but the people, the most important thing in any country, are smiling, friendly, ever so slightly phlegmatic, yet with a European mentality. You see they are obviously islanders, a century and a half of British laws or British attitude. Before that, the French have left a very strong European imprint, and people are the most important thing in any country. And I am sure that every Bulgarian can go to Seychelles, which is not so impossible now.

Host: Yes, usually Seychelles sounds luxurious and expensive, but one can go there and not be very expensive and luxurious. I am a living example.

Maxim: I certainly bet that with good planning a week in Seychelles could rival a week in Greece in terms of financial parameters. If you buy your ticket 6-7-8 months in advance it will have a very low price and be quite a bargain. If you go live in a nice, normal Seychellois beach house like we do when my wife and I go. We have been to all the 5-star hotels in Seychelles when we need to be there. But we can't wait to get back to our house which is cheap, the people are smiling, they cook for us in the morning, they make us rich breakfasts. And how they make those breakfasts, they go to the beach, or they take freshly picked fruit, they buy freshly picked fruit that is unique and some of it is unique or only unique to Seychelles. On a good budget Seychelles is really an extremely affordable destination at the same time unique. I have been traveling there for 20 years. Victoria is the smallest capital city in the world with 8,000 people. You can guess that I know those 8,000 people and they know me. And when I walk out on the streets of Victoria it's like I have 8,000 friends greeting me, hugging me, getting me coffees. We talk about what's happening in Seychelles, a unique experience. I hope I have managed to recreate it in this book precisely, through Seychellois cuisine, which on the one hand has a lot of Asian spices, mainly Indian, Chinese. Here their Nepalese cuisine is a little bit mixed between Pakistan, Sri Lanka. On the other hand, there is quite a European flavor because the French, the English have left a strong mark in Seychelles. This has made their cuisine uniquely delicious, enjoyable. Neither is it very spicy, tasteless, raw nor very well cooked just as in any country's traditional recognizable dishes. Some of them I've presented for example the book starts with the "Millionaire's" salad which in the famous show "Cherry on the cake" which is the genesis of this book and where the interest started. This salad is super simple to make, but it should have hearts of palm and the other condiments are easier to find. But the hearts of palm I found in Sofia I'm sure if someone searched the internet, they would find them too. It is very tasty, nice, fresh and the most interesting thing there was in it.

Host: And what can you tell us about "Octopus Chutney"?

Maxim: I have cooked "Octopus chutney" several times at home with great passion. All the spices to one are found in Bulgaria, of course octopus from the Indian Ocean and from the Aegean Sea are not so different. There are interesting things, but the most interesting and unique thing is trying them in Seychelles.

Host: What impressed me about Seychelles is that they were on the brink of an eco-catastrophe in the 1970s, but they have come to their senses. And now more than half the territory is a national park.

Maxim: The history of the Republic of Seychelles I would say is very controversial and quite interesting. Because when in 1977 President Albert René overthrew the then founding president Sir James Mancham in a coup, they imposed a bit of a Soviet model of government because they banned political parties. They banned parliament for a while and then with all the negatives that that type of government can bring to a country, the government decided that Seychelles would have one of the best eco dispositions in the world. That the nature there will be clean, the water will be crystal clear, nobody will build, nobody will drive a nail if they are not allowed. And to this day 60% of Seychelles is preserved. Apart from the fact that UNESCO has many of its own sites there, you are not allowed to put a board or a tack in that 60%. And then all the political parties, despite their disagreements, are united around the fact that if Seychelles is to be unique or these 115 islands, they can only be so because of their nature. They have a "bird Island" which has 600 species of birds, most of which are found nowhere else in the world but on this island. In which there is no internet, they say there is a power regime so as not to disturb the birds and disturb their lives and the ecological balance. But there are 10 islands in Seychelles that are unique. The main islands of Prale, Mahe, La Digue all of them are unique and that's why Seychelles is an interesting destination. Because we can go to the Caribbean or other islands that have discos to have great cocktails, pools, and everything. But what you can see in Seychelles you can't see anywhere else. Here is a completely different type of holiday. But 99% of the people I've met have said, "We'll be back again".

Host: Another thing that impressed me in Seychelles is the racial, religious, not tolerance, but a Nirvana, because for example in a park one sees a monument to Nelson Mandela. Next to it is Sir James Mancham and next to it is one of Mahatma Gandhi. And they all stand two meters apart and live in complete harmony, just like people do.

Maxim: But it's a reflection of the whole society, it's not just the monuments. Sir Mancham's monument was built by South African architects and their request was to have a monument to Nelson Mandela. Of course, the then President Danny Faure accepted that idea, and then the Mahatma Gandhi memorial. The point is that people in between are like that. The Seychelles were desert islands, there were no indigenous people. In the middle of the 17th century when they were discovered by French explorers, they liked them terribly and decided to name them after the French Minister of Finance, the Marquis de Seychelles, who had given the money to finance this expedition. Leaving them deserted they continued to Madagascar, discovering it to be a much larger island with an indigenous population and everything. Years later when slavery fell in Africa, especially in the French colonies, they remembered that there were some deserted islands that were very beautiful, and they could settle there with their slaves. Thus, the first French settlers arrived with African slaves, who then had their shackles fall off and became free citizens. Missionaries came and settled and began to educate these people. That is, there is no indigenous population and in a sense everyone is foreign. And for that there is, I wouldn't even say tolerance or understanding. Nobody cares who has what background, what color their skin is, who has what hobbies. The important thing is to be a good person, and the majority there are good people, the important thing is to work honestly and with integrity. That is how this small society of less than 100,000 people spread over 115 islands is built.

Host: Was there any truth to the legend associated with the King's Garden that a French king died there, or was it just a beautiful "legend"?

Maxim: I've heard these legends; someone had even tried to write a book. I don't know if they are true, if this king existed, he made a beautiful garden. But what I also wrote in the subtitle of the book, it's really stories from " Paradise on Earth". I think it's Paradise on Earth not only because of the beauty, the cuisine, the fruits, the nature that they have there. But also because of the people and the way they live there. Someone may be dissatisfied with something, but in Bulgaria we are also dissatisfied with our country. In Seychelles somehow it seems that people are more tolerant, and they want to progress, they are very communicative. Seychelles is first in Africa in Facebook usage per capita of course because it is an island country and people are much more ambitious, motivated and want to communicate with the rest of the world. But despite everything that may not be wonderful about the people there, the whole atmosphere in society is that there should be understanding in society and all people are the same, it's nice to think about how to live better and not "I should be good and Vute should be bad". Not to make our lives more nervous, on the contrary there is a way, and I am sure that one day this will happen in Bulgaria. There is a way to get along, there is a way to evaluate people according to their qualities, according to what they say and do. And not according to - their past, their background, etc.

Host: My last question is, if you ever "standstill" would you want it to be in Seychelles?

Maxim: First, I don't plan to "standstill". Secondly, I go to Seychelles very often, I love my country, I love Bulgaria very much and I see my future as a person who stays in Bulgaria doing useful things for Seychelles, for the world, for my colleagues. I would love to go, and I would love to come back to Bulgaria even more. I like Seychelles, I love it, I love the people on the islands, but I am Bulgarian. I love my country a lot more and I think that nowadays wherever a person is doesn't matter, whether it's in Seychelles, the USA, New Zealand, Australia or wherever it is they must do good things. To be good with people and at the same time be innovative. That is the only way the world will go forward.