Hangar-7

The native Argentinean was named Chef of the Year in France. His motto: the produce is the hero

The French know what they are doing. Their self-confidence is evident and rightly so where cooking is concerned. The Grande Nation continues to perceive cuisine as the measure of all things. When the French edition of Gault Millau named an Argentinean chef as Chef of the Year in 2009, I sat up and took notice. 

In fact, the food that the Argentinean chef Mauro Colagreco produces at his “Mirazur” restaurant in Menton in the south of France, just 30 metres from the Italian border, is increasingly capturing my enthusiasm: ultra-simple concentrated product cuisine where each of the few elements on the plate is a key component of the dish as a whole.

When Mauro sends tripe from Bacalao with “Lechuga del Mar” seaweed and a sweet & sour vinaigrette from his kitchen as a greeting, there is clearly a certain character behind it. The same goes for Mauro’s lobster dish: lobster stock mixed with pistachio paste, braised onions and lobster slices. Only someone of an ingenious disposition could devise and execute these masterpieces of simplicity.

The same sense of sophistication is evident when reading the à la carte menu. The meat selection is limited to a simple “La viande du moment”. It is down to Mauro and the latest offers on the market to decide what this is. And that is how it should be in a restaurant where the chef takes himself and the food very seriously.

Mauro also takes very seriously the latest discussions on the increasing trend towards vegetarianism. He has achieved a very successful compromise here: if he serves a mackerel filet on carrots and adds other vegetables, the vegetables are no longer just a side dish, they are on a level with the fish.

I saw just how seriously Mauro Colagreco takes this approach when I was given a tour of his large steep garden which includes many long-forgotten treasures – a real Noah’s ark of nature. Anyone who wishes to rely solely on such produce need not explain the reason for closing the restaurant in winter. And there is also no need to explain serving small slices of scallops with pieces of Granny Smith and sorrel leaves in a non-thickened juice of celery, apple and spinach. It is so completely un-French and unpretentious that you almost have the sneaking suspicion that the French-Italian border close to the “Mirazur” must have been placed 30 metres in the wrong direction!

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Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus

Preview
Guest chefs 2012 /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/preview-guest-chefs-2012/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: May 2012

Pino Lavarra /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/pino-lavarra/

Trettl meets Pino Lavarra

Pino Lavarra
Italy /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/roland-trettl-meets-pino-lavarra/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: April 2012

Tanja Grandits /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/tanja-grandits/

Trettl meets Tanja Grandits

Tanja Grandits
Switzerland /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/roland-trettl-meets-tanja-grandits/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: February 2012

Tim Raue /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/tim-raue/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: March 2012

Ryan Clift /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/ryan-clift/

Trettl meets Ryan Clift

Ryan Clift
Singapur /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/roland-trettl-meets-ryan-clift/

Trettl meets Tim Raue

Tim Raue
Berlin, Germany /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/trettl-meets-tim-raue/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: January 2012

Nuno Mendes /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/nuno-mendes/

Trettl meets Nuno Mendes

Nuno Mendes
Viajante, London /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/trettl-meets-nuno-mendes/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: December 2011

Daniel Redondo &
Helena Rizzo /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/daniel-redondo-helena-rizzo/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: November 2011

Björn Frantzén &
Daniel Lindeberg /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/bjoern-frantzen-daniel-lindeberg/

Roland Trettl on tour

Helena Rizzo & Daniel Redondo, São Paulo, Brazil /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-helena-rizzo-daniel-redondo/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: October 2011

Xavier Pellicer /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/xavier-pellicer/

Roland Trettl on tour

Xavier Pellicer,
Barcelona, Spain /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-xavier-pellicer/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: September 2011

Alvin Leung /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/alvin-leung/

Roland Trettl on tour

Alvin Leung,
Hong Kong, China /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-alvin-leung/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: August 2011

Ikarus Team /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/ikarus-team/

Roland Trettl on tour

Peter Goossens,
Kruishoutem, Belgium /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-and-the-ikarus-team/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: July 2011

Peter Goossens /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/peter-goossens/

Roland Trettl on tour

Peter Goossens,
Kruishoutem, Belgium /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-peter-goossens/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: June 2011

Emmanuel Renaut /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/emmanuel-renaut/

Roland Trettl on tour

Emmanuel Renaut,
Megève, France /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-emmanuel-renaut/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: May 2011

Anatoly Komm /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/anatoly-komm/

Roland Trettl on tour

Anatoly Komm,
Moscow, Russia /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-anatoly-komm/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: April 2011

Daniel Humm /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/daniel-humm/

Roland Trettl on tour

Daniel Humm,
New York, USA /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-daniel-humm/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: March 2011

Claus-Peter Lumpp /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/claus-peter-lumpp/

Roland Trettl on tour

Claus-Peter Lumpp,
Germany /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-claus-peter-lumpp/