Mauro Colagreco's Homage To The Moon

At Mirazur’s first Singapore pop-up, produce harvested according to the lunar calendar is served up alongside fresh market and farm finds.

- Shamilee Vellu

Zoom cooking demos, cloud kitchens, takeout bentos and cuisine that’s more homestyle than haute — for many fine-dining chefs, pivots have been a well-documented feature of the global pandemic.

But so too is introspection. Faced with lockdown closures, disrupted supply chains and a precipitous decline in international patrons, many of the world’s top chefs took the rare opportunity of time to deep-dive into R&D, re-evaluating their entire approach to cooking and even food itself.

When three-Michelin-starred Mirazur — number one on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list — temporarily closed last year, its chef-patron Mauro Colagreco retreated to his gardens for solace but found inspiration.

It’s little wonder he did. Mirazur’s gardens in Menton, France, are located on sweeping terraces adjoining the restaurant, with panoramic views of the glittering Mediterranean. Here, the French Riviera’s perennially sunny climate induces the explosive growth of over 150 plant species, from thimble-sized wild strawberries and over 35 tomato varieties to Menton’s famously tasty, IGP-certified lemons and the oldest avocado tree in France. The whole operation is watered from mountain springs and managed according to biodynamic principles, which advocate the use of natural fertilizers and sowing and harvesting crops following the natural rhythms of the moon.

“Produce served at its peak according to the lunar calendar tastes infinitely better,” says Colagreco, who reopened Mirazur last June with an all-new outlook.