What were your favorite foods growing up?
My parents are Italian, so I was brought up with the concept that luxury is simplicity— a philosophy that is now reflected in my style of cuisine. My favorite food since childhood has been red prawns.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
It all started in 1998 when I was still in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the hospitality school.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
I have thought about this more than once. I think that I would like to be a painter— as a chef, I choose to use the plate as my canvas.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Bernard Loiseau opened the doors of haute cuisine for me. There, I understood for the first time how to make sauces and stock using only reductions and the concentration of flavours. It was Alain Passard, however, who really made the mark on my life because he used vegetables as if they were meat or fish.

How would you describe your cuisine?
This is quite a difficult one. People often struggle to assign my cuisine to a specific category because it is not French, nor Italian, nor Argentinean. It has been described as very flowery and earthy. In my opinion, it is about freshness, the product and simplicity. I have a huge passion for vegetables and they play a key role in my dishes.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
Definitely the situation of Mirazur: its south facing position allows me to grow an abundance of citrus fruit and harvest my own avocados from a two hundred year-old tree, and I have a repertoire of over 250 fresh local herbs and flowers. In addition, with the Italian border just 30 meters from my front door, I have the pick of the markets of the Ligurian coast on the Italian side as well as those of the Côte d'Azur on the French side.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Definitely the knife. I consider the knife to be an extension of my arm.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Any citrus fruit without a doubt. I often love to play with finger lime in my dishes.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Respect the produce and follow your instincts.

What qualities do you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
They have to translate what their passions are to me. Because this job requires long hours, they also have to be very hard workers.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
It was a meal I had to prepare in Australia. I was right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on a sand bank with a portable kitchen that had no refrigeration or running water. I had to deal with local produce that I had never seen in my life. I love to put myself in challenging situations and this was a great opportunity for me to push my own personal boundaries. I was extremely excited, but then I thought, "Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?" I was quite worried about creating the menu where I had to use local produce, especially since I had never been to Australia before. I was worried about the portable kitchen equipment, where to do the "mise en place," the kitchen organization, and the fact that there was no running water. In the end, I shouldn't have worried— it turned out to be an amazing experience and was very well organized!


What is your least favorite food?
I really love anything and I try everything. The only thing that I will probably have to think twice about eating is insects!

What is your beverage of choice?
Champagne for celebrations and wine with meals.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
Definitely at home. My wife Daniela is a fantastic cook.