My curiosity led me to the quiet neighbourhood of Quatres Bornes, Takamaka during the weekend to visit Iréné Zélime, a well-known person in his district and in the Bazar Victoria.

He is among the few people who are still making the gato moutay. He said he learned the art from his father years ago when he was still young.

The 65-year-old man has spent all his life in Takamaka -- he was born, raised, had his Holy Communion and even married in that district in the south of Mahé.

“There were no means of transport long ago to go to the hospital, so a midwife had to come to the district to deliver the babies,” he says.

“I have always enjoyed life in this district because of its peaceful environment and the harmony that exists here.”

Fifth of nine children, Mr Zélime was born on June 19, 1945 under the zodiac sign Gemini and is the husband to Edwina Zélime. The couple married 36 years ago and has two daughters and two sons.

Compared to the time he was growing up, Mr Zélime says young people of today have more opportunities to learn.
“I started working during the early 1960s when I was only a teenager and it was not easy to leave your family at such an early age,” he says.

He left the tranquil south Mahé district, travelled all the way down to town and crossed the sea to start his new job on Silhouette.

On the island, he had to learn to settle and adapt to his new life away from the family, while having his first work experience in the real world.

There he worked hard with several other colleagues to eradicate Melitoma, a disease which affected the palm trees in the country.

Though he missed his family and friends back on Mahé, Mr Zélime soon adapted well on Silhouette, adding that he did not pay much attention to the creepy stories about ghosts on the island.

Leaving Silhouette, he moved back to Mahé when he was in his early 20s and decided to take driving lessons that would herald the start of his career as a driver.

“When I received my licence, I starting working for a company called Costain until 1978 when I became a bus driver,” he says.

With Costain, he worked on and witnessed the construction of the Seychelles International Airport and the La Gogue dam.

As a bus driver, he had to wake up early and worked until around 7pm. Proudly, Mr Zélime said he now knows all the routes on Mahé.

Driving in those days was not an easy job as it required lots of patience, devotion and making sacrifices.

He added that though it was exhausting at times, he enjoyed working as a bus driver for 16 years.

Driving was his passion from the early 1970s to 1994 when he retired. This has now been replaced by the making of his famous and succulent gato moutay.

Moutay is a fried sweet brownish-coloured cake made of sugar, rice, flour, yeast and water. It is made into a paste and then for its unique shape Mr Zélime uses a coconut shell. He pours the paste into the shell and as it flows down the little hole at the pointed end of the shell, the moutay gets its shape.

He says the recipe is no secret and would now like young people to come forward and learn because it is an important part of our heritage.
“I would love it if young people would be more interested to learn and keep alive our tradition instead of turning to bad influences,” he says.

Apart from making moutay, his passion for driving and fishing, Mr Zélime also excels at crafting garden ornaments.
He knows the taste of hard work and now as he relaxes and enjoys his retirement at home, Mr Zélime says he is proud of his contribution to society and what he has achieved.

“I have worked hard, so now I prefer spending time with my family especially with two of my grandchildren -- Emma and Matthew -- as the other two live abroad,” he says.