The third edition of the Praslin Culinary and Arts Festival will take place on the Seychelles' second largest island with the preliminary round starting on Saturday, April 6.

The announcement was made by the chief executive of the Creative Seychelles Agency, Emmanuel D'Offay, on Wednesday.

The preliminary round of the culinary competition will take place at the Lauriers Hotel sponsored entirely by the ISPC Seychelles company and will feature nine hotels competing for the prize.

Noting the importance of such activities especially how excellent food is integral to the development of the tourism industry, the chief executive of ISPC, Alfred Fourcroy, said. "We have to continue to raise the level here in Seychelles. We've gladly supported this competition during the last three years to allow talents/chefs in Seychelles to access good products with which they can cook and prepare very tasty things."

This year, the contestants will be given a mystery black box of ingredients only 15 minutes before the start of the competition. They will have two hours to do a starter and a main dish for five judges so all dishes will have to be made on the spot without prior preparations.

The finals will be held on April 23 at the Mabuya Beach Restaurant on Praslin and four finalists will compete for the prize which includes a set of chef knives and personalised chef jackets. The winner will also get an internship at the Cheval Blanc, five-star hotel soon to be opening a branch in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.

There will also be a bar competition on April 24 at Tapas Lounge Bar.

D'Offay said, "The annual Gala Dinner will be of a much higher standard this year. We've been able to collaborate with the Raffles Hotel, which as many of you know is a five-star hotel. This is a great achievement. We've also decided that the culinary and bar competition winners will receive prizes during the Gala Dinner."

The Gala Dinner is a paying activity in the festival that will continue the following weekend with a musical show dubbed 'Kouler Praslin' (the colours of Praslin) organised by the National Arts and Craft Council at the Grand Anse Praslin Field on Friday, April 26.

The celebrations including a fair, musical shows and sporting activities will continue on Saturday, April 27. 

The festival will end on Sunday, April 28 with a family fun day and sporting activities as well as a prize giving for the best stall manned by several hotels as well as licensed Praslin businesses. There will also be 12 Praslinois artists who have been chosen to display and sell their art throughout the event.

The telecommunication company, Airtel, will be present throughout the competition, and the brand and marketing communications manager, Jude Valmont, said: "We will bring services that so far are only offered on Mahe such as door-to-door delivery to Praslin. We will also have people there who will be able to answer questions. We may be unveiling a new product, but this will be a surprise that the Praslinois will experience first-hand."