Mauro Colagreco who’s been awarded the “Ghimbaru d’oro” prize from the Town Hall of Ventimiglia (an Italian Ligurian town next to the French border) is a world-class chef with a brilliant career which led him in few years to pull off two Michelin stars and a fourth place in the ranking “World’s 50 Best Restaurants”.
His surname yields up his Italian descent although he is Argentinian-born and a French citizen. His cuisine is “elegance in plates but without compromises” as writes Eleonora Cozzella, a journalist and gastronomic critic so much endeared to the chef’s style that she visits him every time she is around.
Situated in the French town of Menton, his local, the Mirazur, is a few feet away from the Italian border with a wonderful view with whichever light intensity, both during the day and at night.
In spite of the typical Argentinian chef’s status quo of placing meat a notch above any other ingredient in all of their dishes, his cuisine has a predilection for vegetables grown by himself in his orchard near the restaurant or directly purchased from local farmers in Ventimiglia’s market. However he also avails himself of wild herbs and many flowers as actual ingredients and not a decoration.
The chef never got to personally know Libereso - Calvino’s gardener -, but his teachings, particularly on the use of flowers in cooking, are in a perfect symbiosis with the élite cuisine. The Mediterranean scrubland, assaulted by the concreting of the Ligurian and Provençal riviera, can find a safe refuge in his restaurant allowing people to rediscover and recherish its intense scents and nuances.
The local is modern, quiet and entertained by an agreeable music in the background, with windows facing a charming view on the French Mediterranean, and tables without tablecloths - which extols the beauty of the wood on which oriental cutlery and plates, designed by the chef, are placed -, served by very kind staff.
There are four “degustation trails”. For lunch the restaurant will offer the menu Découverte at €65 for unique and unforgettable culinary emotions. For dinner, instead, there are three choices: Inspiration at €110, Carte Blanche at €160 and Signature at €210. The content of each course will be a surprise each time, provided that you indicate any allergies, intolerances and cooking preferences.
The service is quick and starting from the entrées it will make you discover the cuisine of a chef with a great technique and originality explaining every course with care and precision. Don’t worry about the language, the staff will be able to satisfy any of your linguistic demands.
Colagreco’s rule is simple: dishes without many ingredients and clear-cut tastes which are balanced in every preparation. Nonetheless, the harmony cannot be found in a single dish, but in the whole menu.
Nicola Gambaro
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