- The 2 Michelin star chef, number 3 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for his Mirazur restaurant on the French Riviera, presents his first book, Mirazur.
- In the book, he reveals his approach to gastronomy, the story behind the artisans and producers with whom he works every day and all the details from the Mirazur world. The book also includes 65 of his most remarkable recipes.
- Massimo Bottura, a great friend of the chef, has written the book’s preface.
- Published by Catapulta editores, Mirazur goes on sale at the end of June.
Bilbao. June 20th, 2018. A day after being ranked as the new number 3 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, chef Mauro Colagreco, with 2 stars in the Michelin guide for his Mirazur restaurant on the French Riviera, just between France and Italy, presents his first book: Mirazur. A book in which the Argentinian chef shares his approach to gastronomy and the culinary philosophy he follows 365 days a year, and which includes 65 of his most significant recipes.
Published by Catapulta Editores in 3 languages (Spanish, English and French) for worldwide distribution, and distributed in Spain by UDL Libros, Mirazur goes on sale at the end of June, at a price of 65 euros.
The chef presented Mirazur today at the Guggenheim Museum Library, against the backdrop of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Gala Dinner that took place yesterday in Bilbao, along with Cristina Jolonch, 50 Best Academy Chair for the region of Spain and Portugal, and Raquel Rosemberg, 50 Best Academy Chair for the southern region of South America. Also present were Javier Polak, associate at Catapulta Editores and Eduardo Torres, culinary photographer and artist behind the book’s images, on behalf of the publishing house.
Mirazur, border cuisine without borders
Throughout the 372 pages of Mirazur, chef Mauro Colagreco describes the essence of his restaurant in Menton, a prime location on the French Riviera at the foot of the Alpes-Maritimes – an area he defines as “mobile, with overlapping maps and blurred boundaries, a mixture of languages, identities, knowledge and flavours”.
Mirazur’s cuisine is defined by its landscape and the interaction between the sea, the mountains, the colours and aromas of the gardens and the stillness of the horizon. It is the result of the blurring of historical and cultural geographical lines and the intermingling of different culinary traditions.
As the chef says, it is a magical union between the French savoir vivre and the Italian bella vita, turning each dish into a unique creation where divisions disappear and everything is balanced.
With this “border cuisine”, Colagreco has become a great advocate for the location, keeping his attention firmly focused on his ingredients from their very origins, as described by Massimo Bottura, author of the book’s preface.
Sea, mountains and gardens, all are key players
Throughout the four chapters of the book (Mediterranean Sea, Gardens, Mountains and Recipes), illustrated with photographs of the dishes, the restaurant and its unparalleled setting, Colagreco invites the reader to travel and welcomes them into the Mirazur universe.
Manuela and Lionel, artisans of the sea; Giuseppe and his boat in San Remo; Laure and her work in the garden; or Ane Marie and her family of shepherds … all are key players at Mirazur. Colagreco doesn’t speak in the first person of his cuisine, but rather tells the story and describes the tradition behind the artisans and producers with whom he works and who are part of his day to day. In addition, the book provides details of how the restaurant team works, where the chef finds his inspiration, the ingredients he uses and the markets where he buys them.
“A blank menu changes every day with the landscape. Sea, garden and mountain in 365 seasons”
Mauro Colagreco
About Mauro Colagreco
Mauro Colagreco is among the most well-known chefs worldwide. His market-based seasonal cuisine at Mirazur, on the French Riviera, has earned him 2 stars in the Michelin guide and the new number 3 spot in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants announced at the Gala Dinner that took place yesterday in Bilbao, being the French restaurant with the highest ranking on the renowned list.
After completing his training at Buenos Aires’ Gato Dumas School, the most prestigious culinary school in Latin America, and having worked in the best restaurants in the city, Mauro Colagreco moved to France in 2001, where he worked until 2005 with such great French chefs as Bernard Loiseau, Alain Passard, Alain Ducasse and Guy Martin in Paris.
In 2006, he decided to open his own restaurant. Attracted particularly by Spain, because of the language, and by Italy, thanks to his roots, he would ultimately settle in Menton on the French-Italian Border.
Living up to its name, Mirazur offers unrivalled views of the Mediterranean Sea in a unique location between the ocean and the mountains. Only a few meters from the Italian border, the restaurant offers a perfect fusion of its own garden products and those from the nearby markets on the Ligurian Coast (Italy) and the Côte d’Azur.
Just six months after opening, Mauro was named “Discovery of the Year” by the Gault & Millau and Omnivore guides, and in less than a year, in 2007 the Mirazur was awarded its first star in the Michelin guide.
In 2009 Mauro Colagreco was named “Chef of the Year” by the Gault & Millau guide, the first non-French chef to receive such title, and Mirazur officially entered The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. A year later, Mirazur was given four toques in the Gault & Millau guide, and in 2011, the New York Times called Mirazur “one of the world’s 10 restaurants to watch”.
In 2012, Mirazur was awarded 2 stars in the Michelin guide and Mauro Colagreco was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, being named “Grand Chef” by the Relais & Châteaux global fellowship in 2013.
In 2017, Mirazur became a member of the Great Tables of the World (Les Grandes Tables du Monde) and Mauro Colagreco was received into the French National Order of Merit as a Knight.
About Catapulta editores
With 17 years of experience publishing books renowned for their quality, innovation and creativity, the Argentinian publishing house has become a reference point in Latin America and Spain.