Mauro Colagreco

Origins. Mauro Colagreco was born in La Plata, a university city near Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied economics for four years at university in Buenos Aires before turning to gastronomy, enrolling in a culinary school and taking his first kitchen shift in a friend's restaurant. He studied cooking in Buenos Aires before moving to France.^[1],[2]

Move to France. Colagreco arrived in France in 2001, working in the kitchens of Bernard Loiseau, Alain Passard at L'Arpège, Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, and Guy Martin at Le Grand Véfour. He has lived in Menton, on the French Riviera near the Italian border, since 2006, and is originally from Argentina.^[1],[2]

Mirazur. In 2006, at age thirty-one, Colagreco opened Mirazur in Menton, in a 1930s villa above the Mediterranean, in the town next to La Pausa. Mirazur received its first Michelin star within a year of opening, its second in 2012, and its third in January 2019. Six months after receiving its third star, Mirazur was named the best restaurant in the world by The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Colagreco became the first chef not born in France to receive three Michelin stars in the French Guide and the first Latin American chef to receive them.^[2]

The garden. Colagreco oversees a five-hectare garden near Menton, close to the Italian border, containing about 150 plant species and dozens of tomato varieties. It is irrigated with mountain spring water and managed biodynamically, and directly supplies fruits, vegetables, aromatic herbs, and edible flowers to the Mirazur kitchens. He has directed his own biodynamic garden for years. He credits reading Masanobu Fukuoka's book "The One-Straw Revolution" with leading him to develop permaculture and biodynamic gardens.^[1],[3]

Recognition and scale. Colagreco holds three Michelin stars. His culinary philosophy is described as rooted in his Argentine heritage and the local French countryside. He also operates a Parisian bistro called Grand Cœur. Tempera's website states that he now runs thirty restaurants across twenty destinations. In 2022 he was recognized as the first UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity from the culinary world; he was named to the role in November to promote actions in favor of biodiversity, described as the first time the honor was given to a chef.^[2],[4]

Founder of Tempera. Colagreco is a co-founder of Tempera, a brand of natural no & low ABV beverages. Its recipes were created by him, drawing inspiration from the gardens surrounding Mirazur, with each blend developed in the restaurant's kitchens. The concept originated at Mirazur, where guests who did not want wine or alcohol were only offered sparkling or still water. The recipes began as beverages Colagreco already produced on an artisanal scale at the restaurant, later adapted for larger-scale production over nearly a year of testing and tested by the sommelier teams of Mirazur. The Tempera lineup includes ARIA II, CALDA, RIVA, TIERRA, PYRA, ETERNA I, ETERNA II, and OLYRA.

Pairing recipes. Colagreco has created pairing recipes for TIERRA, including beef empanadas, braised pork, and chocolate biscuits. He is credited on Tempera's website with suggesting RIVA alongside squid fritters for a Mediterranean-inspired aperitif.^[5]

Colagreco co-founded Tempera with Arielle Bove, who serves as CEO and co-founder. Bove partnered with Colagreco to bring his alcohol-free drink recipes to market.