Chef profile: Mauro Colagreco

Portrait of Italian-Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco, head chef at Mirazur in Menton, voted best restaurant in the world in 2019.

Mauro Colagreco, born in 1976 in La Plata, Argentina, is an Italian-Argentinian chef based in France. He is the founder and chef of the Mirazur restaurant in Menton, which opened in 2006. Mirazur was awarded three Michelin stars in 2019 and was ranked best restaurant in the world that same year by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Colagreco is known for his cuisine focused on biodiversity, using local and seasonal products, often from his own garden. He was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity in 2022. In addition to Mirazur, he runs several establishments around the world, including Côte in Bangkok and Carne in Argentina.

Mauro Colagreco’s career

Mauro Colagreco was born in 1976 in La Plata, Argentina. He began his career in the restaurant industry by attending the Gato Dumas culinary school in Buenos Aires between 1998 and 2000. This initial training, focused on classic techniques, gave him a solid foundation in professional cooking. At the same time, he completed internships and worked in several renowned establishments in the Argentine capital, familiarizing himself with the operational constraints of gourmet dining.

In 2001, driven by a desire to improve his skills, he left for France. He then took a refresher course at the La Rochelle hotel school to master the technical and linguistic codes of French cuisine. He quickly gained access to kitchens of excellence. He was first welcomed by Bernard Loiseau in Saulieu, where he worked until 2003, a formative experience marked by rigor and tradition. He then joined the team at L’Arpège with Alain Passard, where he discovered a vegetable-focused cuisine. He continued his career with Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, before joining Guy Martin at Le Grand Véfour, a more academic kitchen in the heart of Paris.

In 2006, Mauro Colagreco moved to Menton, in the Alpes-Maritimes region, where he opened Mirazur, a stone’s throw from the Italian border. The restaurant stood out from the very beginning: six months after opening, it was praised by Gault & Millau, which named it “Revelation of the Year.” In 2007, he was awarded his first Michelin star. The second followed in 2012, then the third in 2019, making him the first non-French chef to obtain three Michelin stars in France. In the same year, Mirazur was named best restaurant in the world by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, confirming the importance of his career, forged through rigor, curiosity, and precision.

Mauro Colagreco’s influences

Mauro Colagreco’s cuisine is deeply rooted in respect for life and natural cycles. His approach is based on a naturalistic vision, where each ingredient is chosen for its origin, seasonality, and connection to the land. The garden at Mirazur, located below the restaurant in Menton, plays a central role in this philosophy: it provides a significant portion of the vegetables, flowers, and herbs that make up his dishes. This direct link between the land and the kitchen is a fundamental part of his culinary identity.

One of the striking features of Mauro Colagreco’s cuisine is his adoption of biodynamic principles. Since 2018, Mirazur’s menus have been based on lunar cycles, divided into four categories: roots, leaves, flowers and fruits. These elements determine the nature of the products cooked each day, with the aim of bringing out their nutritional and flavor qualities to the fullest. This method, inspired by biodynamic agriculture, is rare in gastronomy at this level of excellence.

His Italian-Argentinian origins also enrich his cuisine. Born in Argentina to Italian parents, Colagreco retains strong ties to Mediterranean traditions, particularly those of Liguria. These influences can be seen in his use of ingredients such as olive oil, citrus fruits, Mediterranean fish, aromatic herbs, and ancient grains. They are expressed through a cuisine that seeks a balance between freshness, lightness, and authenticity.

Finally, his personal commitment to the environment also influences his culinary choices. He favors sustainable supply chains, limits processed products, and avoids ingredients with a high carbon footprint. This overall approach is part of a desire for consistency between the product, the chef’s technique, and environmental responsibility, which guides all of Mauro Colagreco’s cuisine.

Mauro Colagreco’s signature dishes

Mauro Colagreco’s cuisine is distinguished by compositions that highlight raw ingredients and their seasonality, and a sensory approach based on balance and simplicity. Among the most recognizable dishes in his repertoire is beetroot in a salt crust with caviar. This dish is based on a simple principle: slow cooking of the beetroot in a salt crust, which concentrates its flavors and texture. Served warm, it is accompanied by a spoonful of caviar and a light horseradish cream, creating a contrast between land and sea, vegetable sweetness and saltiness.

Another example is the dish of San Remo gamberoni, raspberries, and tender almonds, which illustrates the chef’s ability to combine products from very different worlds. Shrimp from the Riviera are paired with fresh raspberries, whose acidity brings tension to the palate, and barely ripe almonds with a milky taste. This dish, served as a starter, is based on a precise construction of flavors, without excess, with a refined presentation that allows the ingredients to shine.

Beyond the recipes, Mauro Colagreco has introduced a system of four themed menus at Mirazur, based on the lunar cycles: roots, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Each menu offers a coherent selection of dishes based on these elements, depending on the day of the month. For example, a “roots” day will feature a menu structured around root vegetables such as parsnips, beetroot, and celeriac. These menus change regularly and are not announced in advance, in order to maintain an element of surprise and adapt to natural cycles.

These creations are mainly served at Mirazur, but some of the inspiration can also be found in his other restaurants, notably Côte in Bangkok, where Mediterranean flavors are adapted to local produce. This diversity allows Mauro Colagreco to adapt his signature style to different contexts while maintaining consistency in his culinary approach.

Mauro Colagreco’s achievements

Mauro Colagreco has built a solid presence on the international gastronomic scene through a series of establishments that all bear the mark of his culinary approach. His main restaurant, Mirazur, opened in 2006 in Menton, has become one of the most renowned establishments in the world of gastronomy. It received its first Michelin star in 2007, its second in 2012, and its third in 2019. That same year, it achieved worldwide recognition when it was ranked best restaurant in the world by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, a first for a French establishment run by a foreign chef.

Alongside Mirazur, Mauro Colagreco is developing several international projects. He opened Côte in Bangkok, a restaurant located in the Capella hotel, where he offers contemporary Mediterranean cuisine adapted to local ingredients. In Argentina, he founded Carne, a fast food chain based on local, sustainable, and accessible products, with an emphasis on ingredient traceability and limiting the environmental footprint.

In France, he launched BFire in Courchevel and Cannes, restaurants focused on wood-fired cooking, with a menu inspired by Argentinean and Italian cuisine. He also runs Pecora Negra, a chain of pizzerias in Lyon, Strasbourg, and Menton, which focus on seasonal products and artisanal flours.

Mauro Colagreco is also recognized by his peers. In 2009, he was named Chef of the Year by the Gault & Millau guide. In 2017, he was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite. In 2022, UNESCO named him Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, highlighting his commitment to the environment. Since 2023, he has also been Vice President of Chefs at the Relais & Châteaux association, where he promotes a responsible and humanistic vision of cuisine on a global scale.

Colagreco regularly participates in food festivals, conferences on sustainable food, and international collaborations, further enhancing his visibility and influence in the sector.

Mauro Colagreco’s legacy

Mauro Colagreco’s commitment extends far beyond the restaurant industry. For several years, he has been actively involved in initiatives promoting biodiversity and sustainability in the gastronomy sector. In 2020, his restaurant Mirazur became one of the first gastronomic establishments in the world to obtain “Plastic Free” certification, marking his commitment to drastically reducing the use of single-use plastic in his daily operations.

This environmental commitment is part of a broader approach. In 2022, UNESCO named him Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, recognizing his work to preserve ecosystems and promote local products. Colagreco uses this position to defend a responsible vision of food, based on the transmission of artisanal and agricultural know-how, the promotion of local terroirs, and respect for the seasons. He also supports educational projects for young people to raise awareness of the ecological issues related to food production.

Mauro Colagreco also appears in the media to spread these messages to a wider audience. Since 2016, he has been a regular guest on the TV show Top Chef Italia, where he appears as a guest judge or culinary advisor. He has also participated in several editions of Top Chef France, in 2019, 2020, and 2022, where he presents challenges highlighting plant-based cuisine, the origin of products, and waste reduction. These appearances allow him to pass on his approach to a new generation of chefs.

Through these commitments, Mauro Colagreco is helping to change professional practices and perceptions of the chef’s profession. His legacy rests as much on his culinary creations as on his efforts to promote a more conscious cuisine that is rooted in life and focused on the future.

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