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“Gato piment”: The national snack
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“Gato piment”: The national snack
Even on these cold winter evenings, Germaine is busy behind her portable stove (“réchaud”). At seventy, she is still going strong, selling her “gato piment” just next to Coin Idéal in Rose-Hill. “I have been selling “gato piment” for 35 years now. When I started, I was near the Plaza but then I moved here.”
Wearing her colourful winter cap, she sits in front of the fire making little balls with the paste, which she then throws into boiling oil. The fire and the boxes she has placed all around her must surely keep her warm.
Germaine arrives at 4.30 – “Sometimes 5 pm. But I often stay here until very late.” However, she explains, “My day starts very early. As soon as I wake up, I have to go to the shop to buy all the ingredients: oil, dholl, watercress, onions and… chilli of course!”
Then, as she comes back from the shop, she starts making the paste. All the ingredients have to be washed, crushed or cut and mixed together. “Fortunately, my children are there to help me. Some wash the vegetables, others crush the dholl. But I am the one who mixes them and come here to sell them.”
She admits that her six children do not always feel like helping her; they often grumble but always do it eventually. “Good children have to help.” The more so, as they all live together and depend more or less on their mother’s activity.
“Although I ask my children to help at home, I have never wanted them to come with me on the street to sell the gato. It could be dangerous for them.” Yet, Germaine has never experienced any kind of problem during these 35 long years. “Except that recently, a man came to buy my “gato piment” and went away before I could ask him to pay for them. But it is the first time such a problem has occurred.”
Thanks to the rupee that she earns with each of her “gato piment”, Germaine has brought up her six children. Her husband died 12 years ago and she had to face daily life with her children. “You know, I could make other stuff if I had the means. I know how to make halim, roti and other dishes but I only have the means to make «gato piment.»”
Although she does not make a fortune with her job, it allows her to earn a decent living. Above all, she seems to enjoy talking to her customers. Most people living in Rose-Hill know Germaine. If you do not know her yet, go and see her: she will give you the recipe of “gato piment” chutney… a real delicacy!
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