Our trip to Mauritius was filled with exciting excursions and yummy foods. At home, a great weakness of ours is eating biscuits. Naturally, when we were offered the chance of visiting Biscuiterie Rault, a traditional biscuit factory, it was too good to miss.
Here is my review of our experience and some top tips to get the most out of your experience.
Visiting Biscuiterie Rault
Getting There
Our trip was part of the Mauritian Wildlife Experience from Kuoni. We firstly went to Ile aux Aigrettes (see my blog post here) and then headed up north to the factory. It was hidden up a bit of a track and I was very happy that our guide drove a 4×4. There were a few moments where I thought I would get stuck. But, seeing as though it was part of the tour, I didn’t really do much planning.
Biscuiterie Rault is just a stone-throw away from the Blue Bay, where a lot of the luxury hotels are. From what I can find, the visits to the factory are via a larger tour (like what we did) only or through a hotel. You cannot book individual tours to the factory online. Here is the link to the Mautourco tour that we went on (a company who work through Kuoni) and I would happily recommend them.
Our Tour around Biscuiterie Rault
The Biscuiterie Rault is the producer of some of Mauritius’ most popular biscuits. They are made in the traditional fashion through cassava flour and follow a recipe that stems back to the late 1800s.
When we arrived at the factory, the first thing we realised was how remote we were. It really felt like we were in the middle of nowhere and that we were surrounded by lush jungle. We waited for the rest of the group to assemble, before a friendly lady came out of the factory to meet us. She began by showing us the original well that was used to collect water from the area, before ushering us into the factory..
The building was really hot. The ovens were traditional; they ran on burning vegetation to release heat. As well as that, it was high into the thirties outside and even the army of electrical fans weren’t doing much. All of the workers were women, who were busy doing their own particular job. They were ruthlessly efficient and made the process look almost robotic.
I enjoy baking at home and this process was something entirely different. For starters, there was very little moisture in the dough. When I say dough, it actually was compressed cassava flour with flavourings added. These were cut into squares and then placed immediately onto the oven.
The tour guide told us about every step and also spoke of the history. I did learn a bit, but the tour seemed quite quick and, like the women working, highly efficient. After about 20 minutes or so, we were asked whether we would like to do a tasting. Naturally, we said yes.
Biscuit Tasting
Visiting Biscuiterie Rault is not complete without their tasting session. With this, I must say how impressed I am with the effort that they put into it. On each table is a selection of all of the flavours they do, alongside a teapot of local tea.
We tucked in and tried the chocolate flavour. This was quite sweet, though it was unlike biscuits we were used to. It almost tasted a bit like a ryvita. Dunking it into the tea did help make it more moist and I could see why it came with it. The other flavours were also nice. The butter flavour was a bit of a dark horse, as was the milk. They had a bit more of a doughy consistency, which more than likely was favoured by our English palette.
I must say that the tasting was a terrific experience. Being surrounded by lush vegetation, having tea and biscuits with genuinely interested hosts was really good. We also got a chance to speak to other people on the tour to share ideas and experiences.
Final Thoughts
Biscuiterie Rault was a great experience. It was just something entirely different and gave me more of an authentic feel for how most people in the country live their lives. The biscuits, whilst not what I am used to, were nice and there was a gift shop on site where you could buy some more.
On our tour, we had our tasting just before a visit to Karay Mario, an authentic restaurant. This meant that we couldn’t gorge ourselves on biscuits and made sure we saved room. If I had my time again, I would probably ask to swap them around as the biscuits would have made a lovely dessert following the meal. If you are on a similar tour to us, see whether you can do that too.
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Other posts that may help you:
- 40 Photos to Inspire your next trip to Mauritius
- The Lagoon Attitude Mauritius
- 10 Reasons to visit Mauritius
Thank you for reading and I hope I have inspired you with a few ideas and gave you a few reasons to visit Mauritius! If you have any questions about the items on my list or the island in general, please do get in touch in the comments below.
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Happy exploring,
Love Victoria X
