The soon-to-be-launched Maybourne Riviera hotel is built on a rocky peninsula high above the picturesque French town of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, with views of Italy to the east and Monte Carlo to the west. The highly anticipated hotel joins London’s iconic Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley as part of the Maybourne Hotel Group. Set to become the new hospitality jewel of the Riviera, with ancient gardens, state of the art swimming pools and a sublime spa, the hotel will feature sixty-nine rooms and suites, all with unrivalled sea views from their private terraces.
The Maybourne Riviera will be an outstanding gastronomic destination with a host of restaurants under globally renowned chefs Mauro Colagreco and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Bringing the legendary service and spirit of hospitality that have made Maybourne’s London hotels so successful and much loved, The Maybourne Riviera is destined to become one of the great hotels of the world.
Chef Mauro Colagreco will take the helm of two dedicated restaurants within The Maybourne Riviera. The restaurants will hold pole positions within the strikingly modernist hotel, showcasing best-in-class cuisine paired with breathtaking sea views. His flagship will be Ceto which will focus on celebrating the sea. Set to open on Saturday 9th October, the restaurant is located on the hotel’s top floor with dramatic panoramic views out over the Mediterranean. The décor of Ceto restaurant has been created by architect-designer Marcelo Joulia, with tableware specially sourced and pieces created exclusively by local artists and artisan producers.
A true parallel between the sky and sea, Ceto will reflect Mauro’s ambition and passion. However, Ceto will be more than just a restaurant, it will double up as a ‘marine culinary workshop’ aiming to deepen the knowledge of the region’s aquatic species and research sustainable ecological solutions.
Dishes will play with texture, flavour and cooking processes, with the as grill the centrepiece of the restaurant’s open kitchen. The menu will represent the whole of the Mediterranean according to the seasons, using not only fish and shellfish but will include ingredients such as seaweed, sea herbs, samphire, sea fennel, sea cucumber and snails. Sample dishes include Red Tuna – matured belly with Kombu seaweed, XO sauce; Red Scorpionfish – grilled cèpes, roasted Cévennes onion sauce and Monkfish – kale on the embers, bread crust sauce. A selection of vegetarian and pasture-fed meat dishes will also be offered, such as tiger veal reared by the sea in Corsica.
The restaurant will also house a maturation chamber for research and development. This will allow the team to deepen its methods of preserving fish and prolong its maturation by allowing all the flavour and texture to develop in the meat. Each species will be studied individually, and the entire fish used whenever possible (skin, fins, bones and eyes). Mauro aims to bring this approach and his expertise to help change perspectives on fishing. He desires to shake up traditional codes: the distance and depth of fishing, seasonality, the use of the maturation chamber, anti-waste and the collaboration with renowned scientists.
In addition, Mauro will also oversee the venue on the ground floor of the hotel. The Riviera Restaurant, already open as of the 22nd of September, offers regional gastronomy in its simplest form. Available for lunch, dinner, snacks or coffees and teas throughout the day, menus naturally retrace the region’s local gastronomic history: from Genoa to Saint-Tropez, between mountain and sea. His creations will highlight regional specialities with the greatest respect for the product, season and producer. From Niçoise salad, Spaghetti alla Genovese, grilled fish, sun-soaked vegetables in olive oil, and the famous sweet-tart, Tropézienne, dishes are colourful and cooked simply to reflect the area’s rich variety.
Mauro Colagreco will also be in charge of what will undoubtedly come to be known as the most stunning event space in the region, with the utmost breathtaking views. Tailor-made and with each request taken to its ultimate conclusion, events at the Maybourne Riviera will equal destination in excellence. Each gastronomic request will be meticulously fulfilled by Mauro, from Mediterranean cuisine to the great French classics; Argentinian Asado, vegetarian and vegan; through to kosher and halal. Mauro will orchestrate each culinary event with his creative precision and technical mastery.
Already established on the Cote D’Azur at his three-Michelin-starred Mirazur in Menton, Mauro is a cook unrestrained by borders and one who sets his own culinary rules. His ambitious projects at The Maybourne Riviera are a further opportunity for the globally acclaimed chef to showcase his culinary vision and continue to place the region at the forefront of the international gastronomic scene. At the luxe new Roquebrune-Cap-Martin hotel, he will mix this with one of his favourite playgrounds, the sea and hopefully, through careful participation, will help safeguard the diversity of its marine heritage.
“I am extremely proud to be a player in this unique project in The Maybourne Riviera and with a hotel group recognised around the world for its quality and excellence. It is a wonderful setting for guests to enjoy all that is so exceptional about this area of the Mediterranean,” says Mauro.
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To find out more, visit the Maybourne Riviera’s website and Instagram page.
Images © Matteo Carassale