The three-star chef Alexandre Mazzia in his restaurant AM.

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Alain ROBERT / SIPA

  • The Michelin Guide has just awarded the only new 3rd star to Alexandre Mazzia, and awarded the special prize for young chef of the year to Coline Faulquier.

  • The city of Marseille and its region offer a rich terroir as well as creative freedom for a whole new generation of chefs.

The sun, the sea, and the gastronomy.

Long pointed out, the city of Marseille has been making a name for itself in the sun in recent months, particularly through gastronomy.

The latest

Michelin Guide

awards

attest to this, with a 3rd star for AM, Alexandre Mazzia's restaurant, the only new 3rd star for this 2021 vintage, or the title of young chef of the year for Coline Faulquier, and a first star for its Signature restaurant.

Not to mention a whole bunch of other hyper-creative and inexpensive restaurants, such as l'Orphéon, awarded the Bib Gourmand from

the Michelin Guide

.

But like in many other areas, Marseille has to be earned.

After a complicated experience in a Marseille restaurant, Alexandre Mazzia even wanted to leave the city.

Before finally opening

AM

.

“We went through complicated stages, I didn't have any money so I borrowed from shareholders.

I had to reimburse twice the price of the restaurant to regain my freedom.

I was so enraged that I even bought back the walls, so I'm at home, ”says the 3-star chef.

"The first wealth is the products"

Coline Faulquier has also been able to bounce back.

After a first experience that was quickly aborted for personal reasons, she immediately embarked on the Signature adventure.

“I am originally from Burgundy but I grew up in Vaison-la-Romaine (Vaucluse) and I always knew that I would come back to the south after my cooking studies.

I fell in love with this city, I need to be close to the sea to be well, ”she explains.

Coline Faulquier, a first star for her Signature restaurant, and the title of young chef of the year awarded by the Michelin Guide.

- Laura Wetsch

And this environment knows how to give it back to the chefs.

“The terroir is extraordinary, the main wealth are the products.

There is nothing better than going for a Sunday morning walk in Les Goudes for the creative spirit.

This land is rich, it is cradled in the sun, there are great market gardeners to work with vegetables and seafood. It corresponds to what I like, ”continues Coline Faulquier.

"The sea, the light, an incredible energy"

“Marseille is important in my work.

There is the sea, the light, an incredible energy.

We often walk with my wife by the sea, it gives you the freedom to create.

There are great market gardeners, producers, who become friends and after that happens, ”says Alexandre Mazzia, who, almost every morning, comes to recharge his batteries by the sea.

Hugues Mbenda found himself a little by chance in Marseille after having worked in many starred restaurants in Paris, mainly.

It was his brother Eric who found him a small room for his restaurant l'Orphéon, nestled between La Canebière and the popular district of Noailles.

It has been open since 2019. “I had no plans at all to settle in Marseille, rather in Paris.

The idea of ​​my brother came and the city of Marseille corresponded with my project, to bring bistronomy in this popular district of Noailles which looks a little like those where I grew up in the Parisian suburbs ”, underlines Hugues Mbenda.

Freedom

And the creative energy of the city and this neighborhood, coupled with his talent, gave him a whole lot of perspective.

“I start from my base, French cuisine, and I bring African and Asian touches to it, just like the neighborhood.

Marseille gives me this freedom to do, to create what I want.

The lunchtime formula changes all the time, I have no limit, I create all the time.

And you can allow yourself a certain freshness, so as not to do what already exists.

I have clients from the 8th or 9th arrondissement, sometimes from the northern districts, and everyone meets at the Orphéon feeling at ease.

It's in our image, ”he says.

The Orphéon restaurant team.

- Orphéon Restaurant

This is what makes the difference according to Alexandre Mazzia, being able to be yourself and do what you love.

“There are a lot of young people who settle down and change the landscape, passionate people who do what they are.

You don't have to be like anyone, you have to do what you like, no matter the level, as long as it is out of passion, this inescapable engine, ”notes the chef.

This is what characterizes Marseille best: its passion.

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