Mauritian food as we know it today is a melting pot of different cuisines, culture and influence - from Dutch, Chinese and Indian, to French and African - which has created combinations only really found in that part of the world. Chef Selina Periampillai is on a mission to spread the message about the food of Mauritius and its surrounding islands, like the Seychelles, Comoros and Reunion. Born and raised in London, the 37-year-old spent childhood summers with her grandmother in Mauritius, cooking up local delicacies, and still visits regularly now. Her debut cookbook, The Island Kitchen, shares traditional and experimental dishes from the region.

Here, she recommends some experiences for foodies heading to her second home.

1. Flacq Market

"My family's from the east coast and there's a nice market called Flacq Market, which has market days on Wednesdays and Sundays. They sell fresh coconut - just literally scalped. Stick a straw in and you can have fresh coconut water, and the flesh inside after.

"At the back they do all sorts of street food; biryani, dalpuri - if you're in Mauritius, you have to eat Dalpuri. It's a flabread filled with crushed split peas. I did a recipe in the book - I had to - I couldn't not do it. It's rolled up with a butter bean curry and a chutney, and that is a must-try - you find people selling it on the streets and in the restaurants too - it's everywhere on the island."

2. My Moris food tours

"Recently, there are a few more places doing food tours, which they didn't do before. Personally, when I go somewhere new, I always look for a local person - or someone that knows - where to eat. My Moris (mymoris.mu) do cultural and food experiences around the island, and every time I'm there I do a different one with them. It's so nice to get to know other people, cook with people, or see what they know that I might not."

3. Chez Tino

"If you're driving around the island, you'll find some local guesthouses or family-run ones that do the closest version to home-cooked food. You have places like Chez Tino, which is on the east coast [in Flacq], they always do really good seafood dishes. It's a local, family-run restaurant."

4. Central Market, Port Louis

Port Louis, the capital, has a massive bazaar. That's a fish market, veg market, and if you walk through, you might find someone selling roti or making it fresh there, or selling little gateaux piments - little chilli lentil balls.

5. Takamaka Boutique Winery

"Last year, I discovered someone who produces artisan lychee wine. Lychee is one of my favourite things in the whole world and when I found out, I was ecstatic and went to go and see him.

"Takamaka Boutique Winery is based in the midlands; Alexander and his wife run the winery in the middle of sugarcane fields. It's the best wine I've ever had - and he makes it from lychees! It has a slight, light background of lychee, rose almost, flavour. I tried to bring so many bottles home and then I didn't want to part with it by giving it to anyone! I'd entirely recommend it. They're not too well known at the moment, so it's not too busy."

And one in the nearby Seychelles...

6. La Grande Maison, Au Cape

"There is a restaurant called Le Grande Maison in Au Cape on the east coast of the [Mahe] Island. The restaurant is based in an old rum distillery and an old colonial house, and they've transformed it into a restaurant. [Christelle Verheyden] is a chef from Belgium who decided to go and live in the Seychelles and set up this restaurant.

"It's so nice and really experimental with the flavours of the island. She inspired me; one of my recipes is a curry leaf bread roll. When I had that at her restaurant I was like, 'Oh my God, this is amazing', and told her how good it was. Those flavours - when you open that warm bread roll, it's got this one curry leaf in the middle - it's amazing."

The Island Kitchen: Recipes From Mauritius And The Indian Ocean by Selina Periampillai is published by Bloomsbury, priced £26. Available now.