Alexandre Mazzia is used to high performance. So when in the middle of the pandemic he clinched a third Michelin star for the restaurant AM par Alexandre Mazzia it was not necessarily a surprise for him despite the fact that it came in a record six years. He has always set the bar high for himself. As a former professional basketball player he knew that he could count on a number of skills he learnt in sport that applied not only in life but also in his career as a restauranteur and chef. Focus was one such lesson. But another was the realisation that in sport, like in life, you need to fight first and foremost with yourself to be able to improve. “When you are in a high performance environment you need to improve your performance first and foremost for yourself. The team benefits from the individual’s performance,” he tells Food and Wine Gazette in a long conversation. “I’ve always been into collective sport. The idea that a group can be stronger than the sum of its individuals, … [Read more...]
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AM by Alexandre Mazzia is World’s 50 Best Restaurants one to watch for 2022
AM by Alexandre Mazzia, the restaurant by former basketball player turned chef has been named as the American Express One to Watch by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. While the restaurant is well-known in France and has won many national accolades, this is the first time that the restaurant and its team are recognised on the World’s stage. In a dining space that echoes the creativity of Marseille, AMhas become the emblem of the revival of the city’s culinary scene. Chef Mazzia was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he lived until the age of 14. The scents of burnt woodsmoke, African spices and shellfish from the port near his home had a profound and long-standing effect on the chef. Upon moving to France as a teenager and experiencing something of a culture shock, he sought refuge in basketball, playing for the France U15 team, before ultimately gravitating towards cooking. He then trained and worked alongside some of Europe’s most renowned chefs, … [Read more...]
A six-star food truck as Mauro Colagreco visits Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille
On Sunday 9 May, in Marseille, Alexandre Mazzia, chef of restaurant AM in Marseille, the latest three Michelin star restaurant in France welcomes Mauro Colagreco for a one-off four hands dinner on the food-truck he has created during the pandemic to sell his ‘jewels’ at lunch. It is a special brunch that will start at the food truck with a glass of champagne and a few finger foods prepared by the two chefs before guests will be able to ‘take away’ their food and eat elsewhere. “This will be a special four hands where you will be able to eat all the food with your fingers,” Alexandre Mazzia said. Alexandre Mazzia set up his food truck as a way to keep his team busy throughout the pandemic but is a project he would like to keep even when the pandemic is over. For this event, he is welcoming Mauro Colagreco of restaurant Mirazur, currently the number 1 restaurant in the world according to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Mirazur is set to launch an exclusive … [Read more...]
“Whatever the destination, the most important for me is the journey” – Alexandre Mazzia
MARSEILLE: Alexandre Mazzia, chef of Restaurant AM, the new three Michelin star restaurant in Marseille, France has the feeling that he has finally become a ‘cook’. “I can hardly believe this. It is unthinkable, unimaginable and yet its true,” the French chef who has been breaking boundaries with his unique perspective on food. A former basketball player, he opened restaurant AM in Marseille in 2014. Now, during the closure of his restaurant, he has been one of the most active and creative chefs during the pandemic opening a food truck selling his ‘jewels’ in a 24 euro lunch box. It is a project he wants to keep even when the pandemic is over. “As a child, my school report used to read ‘a dreamy pupil’ or ‘can do better’. But this never weakened my quest to create an identity for myself. I tried not to please everyone and instead focused on a more personal approach, focusing on learning about my territory, to understand the raw material and also to learn to appreciate myself” … [Read more...]
Geranium is top restaurant in World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022 list
LONDON: Restaurant Geranium in Copenhagen was crowned the World’s 50 Best Restaurant no 1 for 2022. at the award ceremony in London on July 18. Led by chef Rasmus Kofoed, the top award was somewhat expected after the restaurant placed second to Noma in the list in October of last year. Speaking on the award, Rasmus said he had prepared a few words in case magic happened and said that magic had indeed happened. The Danish chef of restaurant Geranium thanked his team and his wife for their constant support saying that when the restaurant changed location in the middle of the financial crisis in 2010 it was a restaurant in a dark and soulless room in a stadium. “We survived against all odds thanks to big dreams, strong friendships, burning passion and dedicated team members. Geranium became our vision of embracing the circle of life,” Rasmus said food was a connected that enabled people to share tradition culture and creativity and he felt grateful to be part of this. Just … [Read more...]
20 new restaurants in 51-100 list of World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022
There are 20 new restaurants from 15 different cities in the list of restaurants ranked from 51st to 100th ahead of the annual awards ceremony that takes place on Monday 18 July in London. The highest new entry on the list is Trèsind Studio, Dubai, UAE at No.57 Asia has 14 entries in the ranking this year spread across seven cities including: Mingles, Seoul (No.71), Fu He Hui, Shanghai (No.64), Neighborhood, Hong Kong (No.76) and Wing, Hong Kong (No.100), and two restaurants from Japan – Sazenka (No.59) and new entry Sézanne (No.82). India makes an appearance as well with Indian Accent in New Delhi snagging a spot at No.92. Of the three restaurants from Singapore, Zén (No.70) and Meta (No.95) are new entries and join established favourite Burnt Ends (No.94). The four restaurants from Thailand include Le Du (No.65) and Sühring (No.66) as well as new entries Samrub Samrub Thai (No.75) and Raan Jay Fai (No.85). Several new territories boast establishments featured on … [Read more...]
Two new three Michelin star restaurants in France
COGNAC: The number of three Michelin star restaurants have risen to 31 after two new restaurants received their coveted three stars at the award ceremony in Cognac on Tuesday 22 March. Arnaud Donckele, already chef of the three Michelin star restaurant La Vague d’Or in St Tropez also clinched three stars for his restaurant Plenitude - Cheval Blanc in Paris. On the other hand, Dimitri and Marielle Droisneau also joined France’s culinary elite for their restaurant La Villa Madie in Cassis. There were six new two Michelin star restaurants and 41 one Michelin star restaurants in the new guide which today has 627 Michelin star restaurants in total, the large majority of them in the Paris region. Jerome Schilling was the first to be called on stage to receive the second star for restaurant Lalique. Duende received its first star in 2021 and a year later the team of Pierre Gagnaire has clinched a second star for their restaurant in the hotel Emperator. Greek chef Philip … [Read more...]
Arnaud Donckele from Le Vague d’Or places top in Le Chef’s 100 best chefs 2019 compilation
The awards season keeps on giving. Arnaud Donckele from the La Vague d'Or restaurant in Saint Tropez has been named the best chef in the world according to the Le Chef compilation of the 100 best chefs in the world for 2019. The second on the list Michel Troisgros also came from France while Jonnie Boer from the Netherlands placed third. The Le Chef list is compiled by asking two and three-starred chefs of Michelin restaurants to provide a list of five names they think best represent the cooking profession and the one name they would like to see at the top of the list. Five of the top 10 on the worlds best chefs list were from France with Yannick Alleno, Alexandre Couillon and Emmanuel Renaut all placing in the first 10 positions. The other chefs in the top 10 as can be seen from the list below are Seiji Yamamoto from Japan who has always been in the top 10 since the first edition of the list. The others are Paul Pairet, David Kinch and René Redzepi. The list was … [Read more...]