By Richard Bell
Henry and Marie Loo, the new owners of the Jeddore Lodge, have come a very long way to Head of Jeddore, more than 14,000 kilometers from where they were born and grew up, the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. In a recent interview, they talked with the Cooperator about the island’s intensely multi-cultural cooking, and how they wended their way to the Eastern Shore.
The Loos officially opened on June 1, after refurbishing the Lodge’s cottages and some roof repairs and building a new children’s playground on the waterfront. But the biggest change is in the kitchen, where they are offering breakfast from 8 to 10am, Wednesday through Sunday, and a special brunch every Sunday from 10am to 2pm.
Henry Loo is an architect who studied in France and specialized in development, buying land, and building condominiums and large office buildings. Marie had come to Canada in the early 1990s and worked in banking. She became a permanent resident but ended up going back to Mauritius where she married Henry.
But she never forgot Canada, and when their two daughters were approaching university-age, they decided to apply to Canadian universities. “The kids were growing, and we were prospering,” Henry said. “Initially we were going to send our two daughters to study in Canada on their own,” Henry said. “But then we said, ‘Why not go too? Let’s just try.’ They accepted us as a family.” They sold some properties on the island and arrived in Ontario in August 2018. After several years in Ontario, they decided to head to Nova Scotia, and picked the Head of Jeddore property because of its proximity to Halifax and the airport, and the water views from almost every room.
Marie is doing the cooking while they search for a permanent chef.
Henry and Marie Loo
Although she had not worked in a restaurant kitchen before, she had been cooking for large family gatherings in Mauritius. “We did a lot of cooking for the family,” Marie said. “And we had a big family, sometimes 45 people.”
Mauritius has been a cultural mixing bowl since the Arabs first arrived on the uninhabited island around 975 AD. Then came the Portuguese in 1507, followed by 120 years of Dutch rule, who introduced sugar cane and brought in Africans as slaves. France took over in 1715, followed by the British in 1810.
The island became independent in 1968 but remains a member of the British Commonwealth. The British brought in hundreds of thousands of indentured Indians to work the cane fields after the abolition of slavery, and people of Indian descent dominate the government. There are also substantial Chinese and African populations. English and French are the official languages, but the Loos also speak the island’s creole, plus some Hindi and some Chinese.
Of these culinary sources, Marie said that the French have had the longest-lasting impact. A recent brunch menu reflects the French influence on Mauritian cuisine: to start, shrimp fritters, followed by a “Magic Bowl” of rice with chicken and vegetables and toast with a sunny-side egg, and ending with crème brûlée or tiramisu. The breakfast menu leans more Eastern Shore, with eggs, meats, and toast. But you can also get a scallion pancake with a small omelet.
