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Israel-Hamas War; Ground Operations in Gaza's North and South Intensified by Israel; Conversation with Netanyahu, Biden Did Not Request a Ceasefire; In Israel, Thousands Protest and Demand the Release of Captives; Trump Requests Election Subversion Lawsuit be Dismissed by Court; Paying Tribute to Those Lost in the Largest Shooting Massacre in Czech History; Palestinian Refugees Struggle While Battle Rages On; Interview with Norwegian Refugee Media Adviser for the Middle East Ahmed Bayram; Heated Contest for English Premier League Title; African Voices: Changemakers. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired December 24, 2023 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[04:00:00]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: Hello and a very warm welcome. If you're joining me in the United States or indeed wherever around the world, you may be watching. I'm Richard Quest. Together we're in the "CNN Newsroom."

President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu will discuss -- is -- I've been discussing Israel's war with Gaza. One key topic was not on the agenda, a ceasefire.

In Gaza, people say, there is nowhere safe left to go.

Fresh from Supreme Court, victory, Donald Trump's lawyers now unveil their strategy. It was a late-night court filing to the appeal court.

And the race for the English Premier League title heats up, Arsenal and Liverpool playing to a one all draw.

A very good day to you. It is Christmas Eve. And for much of the planet, we enter that season of peace, when the pace slows down and our focus changes to family and friends. The names of our different holidays are, of course, different, but in each case the world, our world, becomes a smaller, more intimate place. I wish it were all everywhere.

Because there is no looking away, and there is no respite today in Gaza. Neither for those who live there, nor for those trying to bring residence aid. A U.N. official says, there's no safe place left as Israel expands its ground operations against Hamas. And the Israeli forces say, its forces are ramping up their offensive in both the northern and southern part of Gaza, fighting fierce battles with militants as the civilian death number grows each day.

Israel's moves follow a day, it warned Palestinians to leave Central Gaza. This CNN video shows some of them heeding that warning. Now, if you've got fighting in the north, the south, and the middle, Palestinians say, they've simply nowhere else left to go.

Nada Bashir is with me in London. That is the nub of it. We -- I talked to you this time yesterday with Mark Regev, who said, well, yes, there are places people can go and you just have to make the best of it, basically. But if the north is verboten and the south is now under fire, and the middle bit is being hit, where is left?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, Richard, there simply isn't anywhere to go. That has been the message we've been hearing repeatedly now from the United Nations and from other aid organizations. And I think it was interesting, when you spoke to Regev yesterday, the senior advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He spoke of the logistical challenges that Palestinians are facing inside Gaza when it comes to having to move and move again, repeatedly, per the orders of the Israeli military to avoid that fierce fighting.

But it isn't just the logistical challenges. It is the intense security threat that these people are facing, that these civilians are facing when we are seeing aerial bombardment across the Gaza Strip from Northern Gaza to Southern Gaza. We've seen those evacuation orders now for Central Gaza. And of course, now we have heard from the Israeli Military Spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, who has said they have expanded their ground operations, both in central and Southern Gaza.

Now, the focus for the Israeli military, and we've heard this repeatedly is trying to tackle Hamas, to try and target those weapons stores, to try and target underground infrastructure, and crucially, of course, to bring back those hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

But the civilian casualties that we have seen are simply unavoidable. We've heard that warning repeatedly. This is a densely populated enclave. And of course, there is mounting concern about what this means when we do begin to see this intensification of that ground operation.

QUEST: Now, there are two sides in every war, and this is no different in a sense. The argument would be, Israel has now made it quite clear what it's going to do. And it's going to continue prosecuting this until it reaches its result. Therefore, it is Hamas who is now putting its own people under more threat of attack because they are continuing, if you will, in the assault back. I guess it's a posh way of saying at some point, Hamas has to realize that Israel is going to continue this and when are they going to adopt a different strategy.

[04:05:00]

BASHIR: Certainly, has been the message from the Israeli government, from the Israeli military leadership. They have called on Hamas to a release, of course, all the hostages held under Hamas captivity inside Gaza, but also, of course, to stop posing a military threat.

But the goal for the Israeli military is to completely eradicate Hamas's military capabilities, and Israel's military leadership has repeatedly said that the only way for them to do this is via that ground operation, via the aerial bombardment of targets they say are focused on Hamas's military capability.

Now, of course, when it comes to how that impacts civilians, it is simply unavoidable because the Israeli military says, Hamas has embedded itself within civilian infrastructure. But again, we are talking about a densely populated strip of land that has been under a blockade since 2007. It has been almost impossible for civilians to evacuate Gaza. Of course, although we have seen some foreign nationals being able to evacuate.

And the situation in terms of the humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly. Only a small portion of aid is really getting in now. A drop in the bucket in comparison to what is needed. And of course, as we mentioned, more than 1.9 million people displaced in Gaza. And the fear is that this ground operation, this expanded ground operation will put even more civilians at risk.

QUEST: Nada, I'm grateful. Thank you.

President Biden says, he held a long call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, but did not ask for Israel to implement a ceasefire. The U.S. President emphasized the critical need to protect the civilians in Gaza, including aid workers.

CNN's Kevin Liptak has the details from the White House.

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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden's phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Saturday was the 17th time the two men have spoken since the October 7th terror attacks. It is the first time they've spoken in a few weeks, and it is interesting to see what has happened in that span.

You've seen this string of American officials go to Israel, including the U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, to discuss with the Israelis this American expectation that Israel eventually shift to what they're calling a lower intensity phase of this war.

And when we saw president Biden on the South Lawn on Saturday, he declined to get into the specifics of his phone call. He said it was private, but he did say that it was a long phone call. And I think you can read into that, this continued discussion with the Israelis about their war plans and objectives.

And in fact, the White House said in a readout of the phone call that they discussed Israel's military campaign in Gaza to include its objectives and phasing. And certainly, that is something that American officials have been discussing sort of on a daily basis with their Israeli counterparts, this imperative to do more to protect civilians in Gaza. The White House said that President Biden did underscore the critical need to protect the civilian population, including those supporting the humanitarian aid operation. Now, President Biden is someone who does, you know, feel very strongly that his recommendations, his advice to the Israelis are best delivered in private, that he feels like that is the best way to influence the Israelis as they continue this operation to go after Hamas. And when we did see President Biden on the South Lawn, he declined to get into details of the call. He said that it was a private conversation, but he did emphasize that he did not ask Prime Minister Netanyahu for a ceasefire.

The White House said afterwards that President Biden discussed the importance of allowing civilians to move safely away from areas of ongoing fighting. And they also discussed securing the release of all remaining hostages. Of course, we have reported that those talks between Hamas, Qatar, the U.S., all trying to secure the release of those hostages that are remaining in Hamas custody. Those have intensified over the last several days, and certainly President Biden wants to see more hostages released as part of his conversations with regional partners.

Kevin Liptack, CNN, the White House.

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QUEST: Yes, Israelis are also keeping up the pressure on the government to secure the release of the hostages in captivity.

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CROWD: (Speaking in a foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in a foreign language).

CROWD: (Speaking in a foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in a foreign language).

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QUEST: Thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday. They urged the Prime Minister to immediately bring back their loved ones. The march and protest were organized by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families' Forum. According to President -- to Prime Minister Netanyahu's office, more than 100 hostages are still in Gaza.

The former U.S. President Donald Trump is now asking a federal appeals court to throw out the criminal election subversion case against him.

[04:10:00]

Now it's hard to believe the timing is a coincidence. You'll recall, on Friday, the Supreme Court refused the speedy request from Special Counsel Jack Smith to expedite the case to the Supreme Court. A decision seen by a victory on the Trump side.

Now, the appeal court has to hear the case, and so the filing late on Saturday follows the familiar refrain, Donald Trump is protected from prosecution under presidential immunity. He wants the court at the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington to overturn a lower court ruling that rejected that claim.

On Saturday night, President Biden was asked by reporters if any president should be immune from criminal prosecution. He said, I can't think of one. The comment follows the Michigan's "Detroit News", announcing it had reviewed an audio recording of a call Donald Trump made shortly after the 2020 election. Again, President Trump as he was, is pushing Michigan Republicans not to certify the vote as they were legally required to do.

A somber start to the Christmas weekend in the Czech Republic. Throngs of mourners came to pay respects to the 14 people killed and the dozens of people wounded in the worst mass shooting there.

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QUEST: Bells tolled in Prague and across the country on Saturday, people grieving in disbelief after a 24-year-old student went on a shooting rampage that took place at the Charles University. It happened on Thursday night.

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QUEST: A poignant minute of silence was observed with those stopping in the streets amid the rain and the snow. And mourners bringing hundreds of flowers and candles to the memorial service that took place inside Prague Cathedral. They paid tribute to the victims.

As we continue a struggle, a fact of life, a reality for the vast majority of people in Gaza. In a moment, we're going to talk about the humanitarian situation. It should be getting better as a result of the U.N. Security Council resolution. Is it? We'll find out.

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QUEST: Palestinians are now saying there is simply no safe place left in Gaza to go. Having moved multiple times, they're running out of places to go. And you're talking about 1.9 million people, 85 percent of Gaza's population that's been on the move. Feted (ph) with little more than the clothes on the back and whatever they could carry. Often in makeshift shelters, tents, and there's rarely enough food. The U.N. says many Palestinians have moved multiple times.

[04:15:00]

Now, in the words of one U.N. official, there are no safe places left in Gaza. I'm joined by Ahmed Bayram, a media advisor to the Norwegian Refugee Council. Thank you, sir, for joining me, and I wish you seasons, compliments, whatever you may be celebrating at this time of the year, if such there is. Now, the issue here is, following last week's U.N. Security Council resolution, calling for expanded and enhanced aid, more should be arriving, sooner rather than later. Do you see that?

AHMED BAYRAM, MEDIA ADVISER FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Good morning. Thanks for having me and happy Christmas to you, Richard.

QUEST: Thank you.

BAYRAM: Not yet. The answer is particularly not for us. We have had since the beginning of this crisis a couple of dozen aid of trucks coming in. Of course, there needs to be much more. The U.N. daily report refers to 200 almost to -- or actually less than 100. In the past 48 hours, we, of course, have now two crossings where aid should be coming thick and fast. It's not, as of yet. And even with the aid that comes in, to be honest at this point, it's barely scratching the surface.

QUEST: Right.

BAYRAM: The needs are so immense on the ground.

QUEST: OK. Let's just put, I tend to be a logistics person. I love logistics because, you know, strategy is fine but logistics gets the job done.

Now, yesterday Regev -- Mark Regev said to me that, no, there are plenty of trucks arriving. The problem is not on the Israeli side of the border. The problem does not lie with Israel. Once we've security checked them, they go on through and the problem is not there. So, logistically, where do you see the problem?

BAYRAM: The problem is multifold. First of all, the aid that comes in, there's not much space where this aid can move. So, imagine with me for a second, an aid truck crossing through the border, there's only a few kilometers that this truck can make inside Gaza. First of all, because people waiting at the Rafah Crossing, and you have seen images, they are so desperate for this aid. So, you have to distribute aid as soon as it comes in.

Second because you can't go much deeper into Gaza. Areas like Khan Younis which Israel has asked people to go to is now a hotspot and is now under the bombardment and on the clashes. At the same time, the volume of aid that is making it has to go to shelters where people in their thousands are waiting.

So, logistically, there's not much space you can move around. It's little pockets that we have to operate around. And of course, under the most impossible circumstances, even by the standards of the Gaza conflict, this has been unprecedented in the sense that --

QUEST: Right.

BAYRAM: -- aid workers now risk their lives on a daily basis. QUEST: Organizations like yours and others are absolute global experts in supply chain logistics of getting things from A to B. I mean, that's really what it's about. So, has the delivery process on the other side, once through, the ability to get to shelters, the ability to distribute the aid, would you say it is completely broken down?

BAYRAM: Largely, yes. Largely, yes. And that's because areas that are assigned and areas that are, you know, marked as safe zones, they're not safe in the sense that, you know, of course, there were airstrikes and there were attacks on Rafah. Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, which, you know, if you go to Rafah, there's nowhere else really to go besides the coast or besides Egypt. There's this -- that's it. You've reached a dead end.

At the same time, of course, we are in shelters, like you say, we are distributing aid, we are providing hot meals and drinking water in these assigned shelters where we now -- that we have, you know, taken over and now people expect aid to come there.

The problem is with this so shrinking space that we have to work around, and 50 of my colleagues themselves, Richard, have been displaced. Their families can't find enough to eat. One of my colleagues say, you know, says -- tells me your biggest achievement would be getting a hold of a can of food, and that's an aid worker. So, imagine what the rest of the population is going through at the moment.

QUEST: I'm grateful for your time, Ahmed Bayram. I'm -- thank you.

Now, if you want information on how you can help with the humanitarian aid reliefs in Gaza and Israel, it's cnn.com/impact where vetted organizations providing assistance, the details can be found just there.

Spectacular football on display in Liverpool, my hometown. Arsenal's manager calls their match against the Reds, one of the most intense hectic games he's ever seen. I'll show you in just a moment.

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[04:20:00]

And an old favorite, "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Turtle doves, pear trees, golden rings. Can you afford it? Well, PNC crunched the numbers and I have the partridge in a pear tree. I'll tell you how much it costs to rent that pear tree after the break.

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QUEST: Arsenal and Liverpool played to a one all draw in a Premier League clash at Anfield on Saturday. CNN's Don Riddell has more on the gripping battle between the two top English clubs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: We are almost halfway through the Premier League season now, and based on the evidence presented so far, we could be in for a breathless race to the finish line in May.

Five teams are within just six points of the lead, but it's Arsenal who can boast the seasonal bragging rights because the Gunners are top of the league on Christmas Day. That is after a compelling clash against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday night. First against third in the table. The game really did live up to the hype.

Arsenal got in front quickly with a header from Gabriel in the fourth minute, but the Reds were level just before the half hour mark, thanks to a brilliant ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold and a ferocious finish from Mohamed Salah.

The second half was tense and tight. Alexander-Arnold could have won it, but his shot clattered against the crossbar, meaning the game finished in a one all draw.

JURGEN KLOPP, LIVERPOOL MANAGER: Until the last second, it was nothing. With all the intensity, everybody felt it. It was super intense. Probably, the -- I don't know who they play, and if they play in three days, but it probably Burnley (ph), sitting in front of the television, that would be great, yes. So, it's just a tough game. Good game. A moment spectacular.

MIKEL ARTETA, ARSENAL MANAGER: I think the boys were incredible. It's one of the most intense hectic games that I have witnessed in 20 years in this league. And that tells you a lot. I think it was an unbelievable game of football with two teams that they really raised the bar today. It's on different level. One thing is to say it and I want to do it against the team that plays at that level in this atmosphere today. So, huge credit to the boys because they really -- I think they made another bigger step today to believe that we can go to any ground and deliver this kind of performance.

RIDDELL: So, despite not being able to get the win at Anfield, Arsenal are top, they are a point clear of both Liverpool and Aston Villa. But the top three teams all dropped points this weekend, meaning that Spurs, who beat Everton, and now just four points off the pace. West Ham are sixth after a two-nil win against Manchester United. It's United's fourth consecutive game, by the way, without scoring a goal. They're now eighth in the table.

Arguably the biggest winners this weekend, though, didn't even play in the Premier League. Manchester City were away in Saudi Arabia, lifting the Club World Cup on Friday. They will return to action just six points off the pace and with the game in hand.

Back to you.

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QUEST: Now, Christmas is upon us and around the world. Well, people are celebrating one festival or another, or just being with families. Unfortunately, inflation does not take a break. How much does the 12 days of Christmas cost this year? PNC Bank figured it all out, they've been doing it for 40 years.

Here are the 12 days and the three big ones before I get to sing five gold rings. Turtle doves are up 25 percent because of the rarity of the turtle doves.

[04:25:00]

You then have the partridge in a pear tree because of the rent on the pear tree. Rents are up, that's 14 percent. And those geese are laying, well, there's rare geese around the world. So, eight percent higher. You simply can't get your hands on geese at the moment.

If you buy the 12 days, it's $46,730, a gain of 2.7 percent. But of course, remember, as the song says, five gold rings, you've got to keep buying the stuff. So, the cumulative cost of Christmas is $201,972 and change. Start saving now.

And to Berlin for a Christmas tradition, if you will.

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FC Union Football Stadium was packed. Candles sing along on the night before Christmas Eve. The event started in 2003 when some fans illegally entered the stadium with wine and cookies and sang a few songs. Now, it has become an institution. Thank God for that. Look at it. Magnificent. 28,000 people showing up each year in their regalia, Santa hats, holiday songs and hymns. Like a silent night.

As the countdown continues, a special message from Santa Claus out the village in Northeast Finland. Now, Rovaniemi -- I mean, I've been up there, by the way, in Rovaniemi a couple of times. A big send off to Father Christmas as he sets out to deliver Christmas presents to children all over the world. He wished everyone a happy Christmas and he called on people to focus on the well-being of children and live together in peace. He then rode off with his reindeer to the North Pole to prepare for his big trip around the world.

But as I can show you now, it's not midnight anywhere in the world just yet. None of the major time zones. So, NORAD, which tracks -- remember, NORAD is the American-Canadian defense organization. The military. They will track Santa as Santa moves around the world. But since it is still only 9:00, 10:00 at night, even as far east as Fiji, New Zealand, Santa has not begun yet.

So, as soon as the North America Air Defense Command NORAD starts tracking Santa, which it will do in the next couple of hours, we will follow it as he goes up to the South Pacific and then across throughout the world. Australia, Asia, South -- you get the idea.

That's our report for this hour. I'm Richard Quest here in the "CNN Newsroom." This is one of the best bits of the year for me. Over the next few hours, we follow Santa around the world. We have a partridge in a pear tree. And somewhere in the midst of all this, there is a mince pie or two. I'll be back in a moment.

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[04:30:00]

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to "African Voices". I'm Larry Madowo.

In the past few years, African flavors have become popular elements in fusion dishes around the world. This week, we're focusing on chefs who are shaking things up in the culinary world. We visit Mauritius to meet the youngest executive chef in the country who is playing with taste and flavors to create unique cuisine.

But first, meet Michelin chef starred Chef Georgiana Viou, who is bringing the taste of Benin to Europe.

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GEORGIANA VIOU, CHEF: (Speaking in a foreign language).

VIOU (through translator): The kitchen has always had a very important place, and I've always attached great importance to it. The creative process isn't. It's not set in stone. There are no rules. The only rule is taste.

C'est le gout.

VIOU: I'm a chef from Benin and I promote African cuisine and ingredients in Europe. My name is Georgiana Viou and I'm a changemaker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Georgiana. (Speaking in a foreign language).

MADOWO (voice-over): To a rousing applause, a visibly choked up Georgiana Viou was awarded a coveted Michelin star, an honor known around the world as gastronomy's holy grail. Of the 44 new Michelin stars handed out this year, Viou's was the only one given to a woman working single-handedly for her cuisine at Rouge, a restaurant in Nimes, France.

Interestingly, cooking wasn't this self-taught chef's intended goal when she moved from Benin to France in 1999. She initially wanted to be an interpreter.

VIOU (through translator): I did everything with that in mind. And finally, when I arrived in France, the idea was to complete my master's degree at the Sorbonne Nouvelle and sit the entrance exams for the Geneva School of Translation and Interpreting. At a certain point, it became too complicated for me.

I didn't pass all the subjects in the first year, and then I got pregnant. Having a baby, that is no small thing. It was a lot of information to process, so I stopped everything. Once my son went to school, I thought, what do I do? So, I picked up my studies where I left off, and at the first midterm exams in January, I really cracked. I ended up in a hospital, had an operation and nearly died. I think it was a lot of stress that led to this sudden acute peritonitis.

MADOWO: After Viou recovered, she moved to Marseille for a fresh start in 2005.

VIOU (through translator): I said to myself, what fascinates me just as much if not more than languages? The answer that always comes back to my mind was cooking.

MADOWO (voice-over): The Beninese chef's love for cooking traces back to her childhood in Cotonou where her mother ran a small restaurant of her own.

VIOU (through translator): Cooking has always been a very important part of our family, I would say. I have this memory of my mother, who still to this day cooks dishes from the Beninese repertoire in a very traditional way. But she always added her own touch.

MADOWO (voice-over): Viou considered going to culinary school, but the mother of three young children felt it would be too complicated at the time. Instead, she made her kitchen a training ground.

VIOU (through translator): And I don't know why if it's the proximity of the sea or what. But in Marseille, I felt a bit like I was in Cotonou. So, I really felt at home. And I said to myself, well, anyway, maybe I'll connect a bit to the cooking of the place where I live. And I started buying books. I started making recipes.

MADOWO (voice-over): Without any academic culinary training, Viou has made a mark in her own way. First with cooking competitions. She placed third in the Cordon Bleu's Tattinger International Culinary Prize competition in 2009.

[04:35:00]

The next year, she was a finalist on the first season of MasterChef France. And by 2015, she'd opened a restaurant bearing her name, Chez Georgiana, but the eatery closed down after a year due to disagreements with a business partner. But Viou bounced back following a trip home to Benin.

VIOU (through translator): When I went back to Benin for a month at the end of 2018 to recharge my batteries and immense myself in all that again. So, I said to myself, this is my chance to go out into the world through festivals and events and cook for people from all over the world and showcase Beninese cuisine and see what the feedback is.

And all these people came for a week straight to eat Beninese food. And so, I said to myself, OK, so people actually like it. So, after this experience, when I got here, I decided that I would start distilling in Beninese influence, bit by bit, in my cooking.

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MADOWO: Next, we'll hear how Viou goes about bringing the taste of Benin to France.

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MADOWO (voice-over): In 2021, Chef Georgiana Viou opened a new restaurant in Nimes called Rouge, a nod to her home country of Benin.

VIOU (through translator): Red is the color of the soil in Benin before there was any tar. We see red soil. We see red oil for palm oil even if it has a slightly orange color. For me, it's my favorite color.

MADOWO (voice-over): This is where the chef's creativity flourishes.

VIOU (through translator): My cooking is very much like me. It has much from Marseille as it is from Benin. So, for Benin, I have identified a few products. Take pepper, for example. I don't have 150,000 peppers. I like to find one, two, or three, and stick to them.

MADOWO (voice-over): Although Viou has written two books about Benin's cooking specifically, it's her signature mix of French Mediterranean, peppered with notes of her home country, that has been a hit with restaurant goers.

VIOU (through translator): So, if I make dishes in the traditional way, as I did in the book, right away, I'm a Beninese restaurant, and that's not my DNA, at all, and I'm not a specialist in Beninese cuisine. So, they're not going to understand where the real recipe is, where I come in, where the chef's touch is. So, I said to myself, maybe in the end, we should concentrate on the memories of smells and taste.

MADOWO (voice-over): Viou lives just a short walk from Rouge. But when it comes to her cuisine's ingredients, Marseille is a place where Viou funds produce that inspires

[04:40:00]

VIOU (through translator): We are at the Prado Market, which is one of the main markets in Marseille. I think I'm going to make a little salad that we will add with monkfish tails. There is no precise recipe.

MADOWO (voice-over): At Rouge, the menu changes every two months, and it's the ingredients that bring Viou's magical cooking to life.

VIOU (through translator): There always have to be two or three products from Benin, and sometimes it's more focused on Provencia's (ph) cuisine, and sometimes more on Benin's cuisine. So, people like to know. They ask the question of my creative process, and I think that there is one, but then I'm unable to put into words.

I have phases when I use more ginger. I have periods when I use more olive oil. It all starts with the product. What do I have today? I've got shrimps. So, do I want to eat them raw? Do I want to eat them cooked? So, I want to eat them in broth. And for the products that come from Benin, I decided on palm oil. Because palm oil has long been criticized and it still is. Because when it's refined and used in the food industry, it's not interesting and can even be harmful. So, I wanted to restore some of the prestige of palm oil which is used a lot in sub-Saharan Africa.

So, palm oil, I also use okra, I use afiti (ph), which are fermented nere seeds. In Senegal and Mali, I think it's called netoto or soumbala, and gari, of course, and also lots of other things. Now, these are products that come up a lot in cooking. Then there are the preparation techniques, there are also dishes. I'm going to take inspiration from.

What is constant however, are the condiments. First of all, I hate waste, that comes from childhood, and yet I was born into a family, as they say, with a silver spoon in my mouth. You weren't in need as such, but it was just common sense. When you buy a product and you prepare it, you have to use everything. You don't throw anything away. So, I've always kept that in mind.

That's a banana you can eat fried, roasted, steamed, which can be eaten as fufu, that you can eat green. You can do a lot of things with it. And we prepare it like a vegetable. We season it before frying it. For example, we can do it like my mother over the barbecue, it's just a matter of giving a little bit of heat, like that. It softens it. We can manipulate it better.

This is meat that has been matured for three weeks. It's salt. And so, the idea of putting it in banana leaf, it allows to, by cooking it, to bring it a little moisture and the scent of banana leaf. With this matured side, it gives a flavor that I like. So, it's a cuisine with condiments, with lots of herbs, lots of plants, a little bit of flowers. The creative process starts with the product. Products that come from Benin.

MADOWO (voice-over): Viou's cooking style continues to evolve and rediscover the flavor of her home country. She hopes that the taste of Benin will become universally known.

VIOU (through translator): Someone told me that Beninese cuisine and the cuisine of certain African countries had no place on the world's great tables. Well, I hope that with the work we're doing at Woosh, we're contributing to changing that.

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[04:45:00]

MADOWO: Mauritius is known for its rich culinary heritage. Full of African, Indian, Chinese, and French influences. Next, we'll introduce you to a chef who's made it her mission to boost her country's gastronomic richness.

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AYUSHI "CHEF YU" GOOROOCHURN, CHEF: Rather than making money, I'm just here trying to leave my footprint on the planet. I think I'm succeeding. My name is Chef Yu, an executive chef from Mauritius, and I'm a changemaker.

MADOWO (voice-over): This is Seastar Hotel, Mauritius, and today is all about testing and tasting with the kitchen staff. Ayushi Gooroochurn, a.k.a. Chef Yu, is teaching them recipes from a menu she recently designed.

GOOROOCHURN: So, this is a tartar with red tuna from our lagoon, with some fresh local ingredients, some tapioca pearls, we work with herb oils, and some fresh herbs. So, it's very, very local, but very designed also. So, we want to bring that culinary experience to the guests coming to Seastar Hotel.

MADOWO (voice-over): In 2022, the award-winning chef launched her company, Chef Yu Culture Limited.

GOOROOCHURN: I want to elevate, I want to support, I want to uplift, and I do this to the best I can. Nowadays, I'm just looking after a few hotels and restaurants, setting up or just doing the menus, engineering, training,

MADOWO (voice-over): Beyond developing new recipes for restaurants and hotels like Seastar. She also helps them determine the right pricing for their meals.

GOOROOCHURN: Menu engineering is the very core of making a dish. You have to know the ingredients, the weight, the price, and the actual measurements. When you engineer, it's a balance of ingredients, of textures, and everything around you.

MADOWO (voice-over): The chef often combines her love for flavors and spices with yet another talent of hers, painting.

GOOROOCHURN: Creating a dish for me is part of my process. First, I draw on paper, and then I put it on canvas. So, I get an idea of the colors on my plate. And I like these colors, they give me already a taste of what is there and what elements to use. For example, here we have fish, we have greens, we have mussels, we have tomatoes. And all these colors here already gives me the taste and textures of the -- of my plate, of my signatures.

MADOWO (voice-over): She has designed multiple signature dishes inspired by the colors on her canvas. Like this one.

GOOROOCHURN: This is a gift, like I can paint, I can cook and I can plate. So, this is a quintessence for me. All my senses are engaged. And they're all bubbly and they're all happy all the time because of the colors. And the love and passion I convey on my canvas and on my plate.

MADOWO (voice-over): Chef Yu grew up surrounded by a variety of meals.

GOOROOCHURN: You have Chinese Mauritian, Indian Mauritian, Mauritian cuisine is influenced by so many countries in the Indian Ocean. So, we grew up eating all kind of foods here, and even European foods. It was always a variety of food, but mostly with local products.

MADOWO (voice-over): The chef studied Fine Arts at the University of Mauritius, but became inspired to take up Culinary Arts in 2011.

GOOROOCHURN: I did my Culinary Arts studies here in Mauritius at the Hotel School of Mauritius for three years. Fine Arts to Culinary Arts was like a smooth transition. Why? Because I was already inclined to do -- to cook. But cooking, not traditional way, but as a form of art also. So, I would just -- from swapping my paintbrush to the knives, it was like, OK, this was always something I wanted to do.

MADOWO (voice-over): After culinary school in 2014, Chef You moved to France to become a trainee chef at a Michelin star hotel in Southern France.

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GOOROOCHURN: After France, I came back to Mauritius. Went a few times on cruise ships, and that was the hardest experience in my career because it's so big, it's so huge, and everything is so bigger than me. All the pants, all the spatulas, everything, like, you have to cook for 3,000, 4,000 people. Work seven days on seven. You have to work for 14 hours, minimum a day. So, that was really, really hard. It was like the army.

MADOWO (voice-over): She says, all of her previous cooking experiences have given her a fresh perspective when it comes to creating menus and recipes.

GOOROOCHURN: I've been to 80 countries in my life. So, all these places, all these countries, they have a big impact on the way I cook. I bring all these flavors from around the world to my country and then I try to do -- I try to replicate those things. Like last time I went to Bali, I tried to bring the Balinese flavors to my country because we have the ingredients. We just need to have the techniques and the savoir faire which I acquired there. I brought to my country. I made my Mauritian people experience it.

MADOWO (voice-over): Her multicultural approach to food has earned her many accolades, including the 2021 2022 Best Chef of Mauritius Award.

GOOROOCHURN: Being the Best Chef of Mauritius, having so many awards, so many medals, it gives me pride.

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MADOWO: Next, Chef You takes us into the busy markets of Mauritius.

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MADOWO (voice-over): When Mauritian Chef Ayushi Gooroochurn, a.k.a., Chef Yu, is unsure of what to cook, she finds inspiration here. GOOROOCHURN: I'm in a local organic farm right now and I'm getting some fresh produce from the soil. I like farm to fork philosophy because it's like I'm one to one with my ingredients and they speak to me. I know what to do with it. And it's fresh. It's -- you get to choose what you want, and that's it. It's fun.

The farmer here is my younger brother-in-law, so I've been coming here all the time. Anytime I need some fresh produce to create something. And this place is really quiet. And I get space to write something, to create a dish on paper, and then get the ingredients and go in my kitchen and cook.

MADOWO (voice-over): Much like the farm, this local market also sparks ideas for the chefs.

GOOROOCHURN: We are at the Vacoas market right now, and I came here to get my local fresh produce to create my dishes later. So, I have green lime, I have ladyfingers, fresh mint leaves, and mangoes to go with my fish dish. And we have green fresh turmeric which is really -- it's really flavorful. It has a lot of flavors. And it will add this color and taste to my dishes later.

Being here in the market right now, it gives me inspiration, like, to see so many fresh produce. So, many people here. And it gives me pleasure. Like, everything's available. Every -- all the herbs, all the vegetables, all the fruits you need. So, I'm very happy to be here to get all my -- the stuff I needed.

MADOWO (voice-over): After the trip to the farm and market, the award-winning chef is ready to create magic in the kitchen.

GOOROOCHURN: I am with my baby sister today at her place in Vacoas, and we are going to prepare a nice, typical chicken curry. We'll use fresh chicken, tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger, some fresh herbs like coriander and curry leaves.

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These are a few vegetables we got from the local farm and at the local market in Vacoas today. I've got so many memories and it's so tasty, and she approved, so it's good. It's perfect.

NESSAN (PH): Hi, Chef You.

GOOROOCHURN: Hi, Nessan (ph). How are you?

NESSAN (PH): Good. And yourself?

GOOROOCHURN: Good, thank you.

NESSAN (PH): Nice to see you.

GOOROOCHURN: Nice to see you too.

NESSAN (PH): Back to diving?

GOOROOCHURN: Yes, back to diving.

MADOWO (voice-over): When Chef Yu is not cooking or designing a dish, she blows off steam by diving into the ocean, literally.

GOOROOCHURN: I'm at (INAUDIBLE) today with my friend Nessan Pili (ph) from Dive Dream Divers. I dive to resource myself and to, like, it inspires me what's in the water. It's so calm. It's so peaceful. And I find myself there.

MADOWO (voice-over): And as Chef Yu basks in the ocean, the peaceful surroundings serve as a reminder of how far she has come as a chef.

GOOROOCHURN: Like me, there are so many people around the world who want to succeed, but success has different meanings. For me, I never imagine about success. I just kept believing in myself and doing what I do best. And this is -- success was just a bonus. So, I would like to say, just believe in yourself. And whatever you do best, just do it with all your heart and you will be successful too.

MADOWO (voice-over): She says the goal is to find new ways to inspire the next generation of multicultural chefs.

GOOROOCHURN: So many people say, Chef Yu, we need your help. So many people call me. I don't know them, but they know me, and I just go and help them in the kitchen or in management or in pastry, in any department. I just want people to be happy and successful.

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MADOWO (on camera): And that's our tasty show. I'm really excited to see what these two chefs try next to spice up the world's kitchen. And thank you to the Crafty Chameleon kitchen here in Nairobi for having us. For more inspiring stories, head over to cnn.com/africanvoices. I'm Larry Madowo. I'll see you next time.

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