La casa de Carmen, an invitation to discover Cuban cuisine

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Odalys Acosta est issue d’une longue lignée de cuisinières.

A young chef, originally from the island, opened this unique restaurant on the avenue.

The new restaurant at 36 avenue Jean-Jaurès, La Casa de Carmen, is quite a story, and a very unusual one. Odalys Acosta, the current owner, says: "I gave the name Carmen to my restaurant in memory of my great-great grandmother. She was a slave in a large house in Cuba, where she was a cook. The master of the house fell in love with her and ended up marrying her. From then on, the former slave led a good life that could be envied."

Cooking is in Odalys’s genes: "My great-grandmother, my grandmother and my mother were cooks themselves, and from the age of ten I shared their passion, she explains , and thus became a chef in Cuba." As soon as she arrived in Nîmes, she had in mind to make Cuban cuisine known: " It's a cuisine that has potential: we can serve a meal, but also have a pleasant time. And I also want to let people know that Cuba is something other than rum, cigars and lobsters!"

At Casa de Carmen, you can taste meat, fish and seafood, most of which come from here, but not all of it, because if you want lobsters, "you have to look for them elsewhere.".The same goes for the spices, essential to the Odalys kitchen: "We don'te not all find them on site, but we can get some."

The hostess also prepares arranged rums, as well as ice creams which are his pure creation. Odalys Acosta loves to create. Many cocktails are offered to her clientele "and each of them has its own story, she indicates. For example, a special mojito was created especially for Ernest Hemingway. A common thread, the chef "wants to give femininity to the dishes served".

At Casa de Carmen, the only Cuban restaurant in Nîmes, there is not only catering, there are also lively evenings, and themed days, such as the Fête des mothers or fathers. There is no shortage of projects of all kinds: salsa, musical evenings…

Information and reservations on 06 99 16 60 48, or email: casadecarmen30@gmail.com

Free Midi Correspondent: 06 64 75 53 90

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