Figure emblématique du monde de l’hôtellerie mauricienne, Claude Régis Narain se remémore son parcours remarquable dans un livre intitulé Croire en sa passion – Récit d’une vie, paru aux Éditions Pamplemousses. L’occasion pour nous de revenir sur le destin incroyable de ce Mahébourgeois au grand cœur.
“S’il ne faut pas oublier d’où l’on vient, il est aussi important de savoir où l’on va”.
C’est à travers ces mots qu’Amédée Dargah introduit Claude Narain dans sa préface du livre. Des paroles qui sonnent on ne peut plus justes lorsque l’on s’attarde sur la carrière de Claude.
Rien à l’origine ne prédestinait ce dernier à faire carrière dans l’hôtellerie. Issu d’une famille plus que modeste, le jeune garçon n’a que 8 ans lorsqu’il perd son papa. Il conclut alors un pacte avec lui-même, celui de veiller sur sa mère et son petit frère. Mais quelques années plus tard, un autre drame de sinistre mémoire survient, le cyclone Carol. Comme tant d’autres cases de l’époque, la fragile bâtisse de la famille Narain cède sous la violence des éléments.
La famille se voit alors contrainte d’aller s’installer dans l’école du village avant d’être relogés dans des longères aménagées sur le terrain de football de la localité. Conscient des sacrifices de sa mère pour subvenir aux besoins de la famille, l’adolescent travaille dur au collège et réussit à décrocher le sésame : le School Certificate.
Les débuts dans l’hôtellerie
Après s’être essayé à divers petits métiers, Claude fait son entrée dans l’hôtellerie en 1964 en rejoignant l’hôtel Le Chaland en tant que plongeur. Son dévouement et son application au travail sont vite remarqués et il est promu dans un premier temps serveur, puis sommelier et enfin réceptionniste.
À cette même époque, Claude Narain a la possibilité d’entrer dans la police. Une nouvelle aventure débute alors. Mais huit mois plus tard, le jeune Mahébourgeois se rend bien compte qu’il n’est pas fait pour ce métier. Il retourne alors à son poste de réceptionniste déterminé cette fois à faire carrière dans l’hôtellerie.
Grâce à son travail acharné, Claude obtient une bourse et part pour l’Allemagne en 1971. À son retour à Maurice, il intègre le groupe Mauritius Hotel (aujourd’hui Beachcomber) en tant que Directeur d’hébergement. Un poste qui aurait pu être le pic de l’ascension sociale de Claude, mais il caresse d’autres ambitions. En 1978, il est transféré au Morne Brabant. Il réalise des stages au Méridien Tours puis au Méridien Dakar. Ses efforts sont de nouveau récompensés puisqu’en 1982, le natif de Mahébourg est nommé Directeur adjoint à l’hôtel Trou aux Biches. De nouvelles opportunités s’offrent alors à lui. Il part pour l’Italie et suit des cours à l’École de management de Rome.
De retour au pays, Claude est posté au Head office de Beachcomber, au département Marketing à Curepipe. Il y fait la promotion de son île au niveau international notamment en Allemagne, en Italie et en Suisse en intervenant dans les médias pour parler de Maurice. En 1984, Claude Narain occupe deux postes, celui de Directeur d’hébergement au Paradis Hotel et Directeur de la restauration au Brabant.
L’heure de la transmission
Il aurait pu continuer son ascension chez Beachcomber mais après 27 ans de bons et loyaux services, Claude Narain décide de rejoindre la direction générale de Belle Mare Plage Hotel. Il justifie ce choix en ces termes : « J’ai pris beaucoup de risques au cours de mon existence mais j’ai toujours eu la chance de croiser sur ma route une âme bienveillante qui m’a tendu la main à chaque fois qu’un obstacle s’est présenté devant moi ».
Claude Narain fonde en 1998 Constance Academy, une école de formation dans l’hôtellerie où il sera Directeur Général jusqu’en 2020. Cette école propose plusieurs programmes consacrés aux différents corps de métier propres à l’hôtellerie. L’académie mise à la fois sur les stages, la formation continue et l’apprentissage des multiples techniques de management. Claude aura aussi, pendant cette période, travaillé étroitement avec l’École hôtelière des Seychelles dont il sera nommé parrain.
Au sujet de la transmission, Claude s’explique : « Je suis un autodidacte, à l’époque où j’ai commencé, je n’ai pas eu de mentor mais j’ai beaucoup appris et aujourd’hui je souhaite partager tout cela avec les jeunes ». Plus récemment le vétéran s’est associé à l’Église du St Rosaire de Quatre Bornes pour former les jeunes défavorisés en cuisine.
Alors qu’il se met en retrait en 2020, Claude Narain décide de raconter son histoire. Il approche ainsi Alain Gordon-Gentil et travaille étroitement avec Géraldine Hennequin pour la transcription. L’ouvrage qui résulte de cette collaboration comprend également des photos d’archive et des coupures de journaux relatant la carrière hors-norme de ce gosse de Mahébourg. Croire en sa passion – Récit d’une vie est déjà disponible dans les librairies locales (Petrusmok, Bookcourt, Le Trèfle). Les intéressés pourront s’appuyer sur la “success story” de leur aîné. Celui-ci aura su garder le sourire aux lèvres en toute épreuve, tout en continuant à faire ce qu’il aime le plus : servir.
Claude Narain or the passion to serve
A leading figure in the Mauritian hotel industry, Claude Régis Narain recalls his remarkable career in a book entitled Croire en sa passion – Récit d’une vie, published by Éditions Pamplemousses. We seize this opportunity to look back at the incredible destiny of this big-hearted man from Mahébourg.
‘You must not forget where you come from, but it’s just as important to know where you’re heading to.’
These are the words with which Amédée Dargah introduces Claude Narain in his preface to the book. His words ring perfectly true when one considers the career of Claude.
Nothing at first predestined the latter for a career in the hotel business. Born into a very modest family, the young boy was only 8 when he lost his father. He made a pact with himself: look after his mother and younger brother. But a few years later, Cyclone Carol, another tragedy of sinister memory hit the island. Like so many other huts at the time, the Narain family’s fragile house was destroyed by the elements.
The family was forced to move into the village school before being rehomed in farmhouses built on the local football pitch. Aware of his mother’s sacrifices to provide for the family, the teenager worked hard at college and managed to secure his door opener: the School Certificate.
His beginnings in the hotel business
After trying his hand at various odd jobs, Claude entered the hotel business in 1964, joining Le Chaland hotel as a dishwasher. His dedication and hard work were quickly noticed and he was promoted first to waiter, then sommelier and finally receptionist.
At the same period, Claude Narain had the opportunity to join the police force. A new adventure then began for him. But eight months later, the young man realised that he was not cut out for the job. He returned to his post as a receptionist, this time determined to make a career in the hotel business.
Thanks to his hard work, Claude obtained a scholarship and left for Germany in 1971. On his return to Mauritius, he joined the Mauritius Hotel Group (now Beachcomber) as Rooms division Manager. A position that could have been the pinnacle of his upward social mobility, but he had other ambitions. In 1978, he was transferred to Morne Brabant. He did internships at Le Méridien Tours and then at Le Méridien Dakar. His efforts were rewarded once again when, in 1982, he was appointed Assistant Manager at the Trou aux Biches hotel. New opportunities then opened up for him. He left for Italy and took courses at the Rome School of Management.
On his return home, Claude was posted to Beachcomber’s Head Office, in the Marketing Department in Curepipe. There he promoted his island internationally, particularly in Germany, Italy and Switzerland, by appearing in the media to talk about Mauritius. In 1984, Claude Narain took up two positions, as Rooms Division Manager at the Paradis Hotel and Restaurant Manager at the Brabant.
Time to pass on the baton
He could have continued his rise at Beachcomber, but after 27 years of good and loyal service, Claude decided to join the general management of Belle Mare Plage Hotel. He justifies his choice in these terms: ‘I’ve taken a lot of risks in my life, but I’ve always been lucky enough to come across a kind soul who has reached out to me every time I’ve come up against an obstacle’.
In 1998, Claude Narain founded Constance Academy, a hotel training school where he worked as Managing Director until 2020. The school offered several programmes devoted to the various hotel trades. The academy focused on internships, in-house training and learning a wide range of management techniques. During this period, Claude also worked closely with the Seychelles hotel school, of which he was appointed patron.
On the subject of passing on his knowledge, Claude explains: ‘I’m a self-taught man. When I started, I didn’t have a mentor, but I learnt a lot, and today I want to share all that with young people.’ More recently, the veteran joined forces with the Church of the Holy Rosary in Quatre Bornes to train disadvantaged young people in cooking.
On withdrawing in 2020, Claude Narain decided to tell his story. He approached Alain Gordon-Gentil and worked closely with Géraldine Hennequin on the transcription. The book that resulted from this collaboration also includes archive photos and newspaper cuttings recounting the extraordinary career of this kid from Mahébourg. Croire en sa passion – Récit d’une vie is already available at local bookshops (Petrusmok, Bookcourt, Le Trèfle). Those interested will be able to rely on the success story of their elder. He has kept a smile on his face through thick and thin, while continuing to do what he loves most: serving.
When he welcomed us into the kitchens of the Hotel Ambre in October 2021, the country had just opened its borders after the pandemic. Chef Kallooa had made the most of this period, even though the hotel was welcoming people under quarantine, to fulfil a wish that had been three years in the making. The Master Chef is the validation of his achievements as a chef, from his participation and awards in local and international culinary competitions to his performances as a judge and, above all, his ability to manage a kitchen and his brigade.
Yet no one would have bet on young Vijranand, the son of a ploughman from Caroline Bel Air Rivière Sèche, who entered the world of work with only a primary school certificate in his pocket. As a child, he accompanied his father, Sahadeo, a bhandari (Indian chief who officiates at ceremonies and weddings). After school, he did a succession of odd jobs in the fields.
Saint Géran
When his father joined the newly opened Saint Géran hotel as a cleaner, he was hired as a kitchen boy. Very quickly, while his father became a cook for the staff, young Vijranand did all the kitchen jobs until, in 1979, he was sent by Paul Jones to the hotel school at Les Casernes in Curepipe, where he obtained his CAP. He then began a rapid rise through the ranks from commis to chef de partie before becoming sous-chef in 1982.
That same year, Paul Jones, who was to become his mentor and who, incidentally, was also involved in the Mauritian hotel industry, sent him to Italy for his first work placement abroad. He then went on to France, Singapore, Kenya, South Africa, Australia and Greece – a real-world tour of the culinary arts. In the meantime, he got to know the great chefs of the St Géran, including John Zimmerman, Philippe Pickering and above all Barry Andrews, for whom he would become second-in-command before leaving the St Géran to open, again at the request of Paul Jones, the Coco Beach, where he became executive chef after six months. When Coco Beach closed, Chef Kallooa was posted to another Sun Group hotel, Sugar Beach, for two years.
Maldives
He made a foray into the Maldives for the opening of the Kanuhura before returning to Belle Mare for the inauguration of the Long Beach before being transferred to the Ambre hotel for the reopening of this establishment, which was bought by the Sun group.
A man of hotel openings, he has remained steadfastly loyal to the Sun Resorts group (now Sunlife). Passionate about his job, Chef Kallooa puts his heart and soul into making customers happy. One of his greatest satisfactions was preparing a banquet for former South African President Nelson Mandela during his official visit to Mauritius. Small in stature but big on talent, he has led his brigade of 92 people and the stewarding team of 33 with an iron fist and declares that he is not put off by anything.
A keen sportsman (he does yoga every day and runs), the chef and father of two will now be devoting a little more of his time to his family and to the Mauritian Chefs Association, of which he is a founding member. Godspeed, Chef!
