Flower power: Mauro Colagreco’s surprising new menu at Mirazur (a photo gallery in 20 dishes)

Which was the most ambitious menu, the most important of all four? He thinks about it a little, then he says: «Well, the easiest was for sure the one with roots… And the hardest one the one with flowers! Very complex. But we’ve made it, eh». Luca Tegon smiles at the end of a nice dinner at La Stüa de Michil in Corvara, Bolzano. He’s the sous chef of Simone Cantafio, and we’ll talk about them soon. But the chat leads us for a moment far away from the Dolomites and right to the middle of the Ligurian Sea facing Menton: Tegon knows those places well. He’s also been the sous of Mauro Colagreco, before starting this new venture in the mountains a few months ago…

So: the best is "flowers", in his opinion. And we agree on the absolute quality of the offer, because on the eve of our trip to South Tyrol we were dining at Mirazur. And we had exactly that menu, which Colagreco dedicates to flowers. As Giovanna Abrami explained us (see Colagreco’s revolution is a journey inspired by the relationship between earth and sky, following the biodynamic calendar, and we’re not going to repeat that as we couldn’t find a better way to describe this), for some time the Italian-Argentinian chef has been changing the menu based on the passage of the moon in the different constellations, which influences plants, so that every day the offer is based on the four elements of the vegetal world, fruits, leaves and roots and flowers. (By the way, what a lot of work! Four menus in turn, 60 guests for lunch and 60 for dinner. Tegon makes us understand that the brigade didn’t have to go superfast… but super superfast!).

The July calendar at Mirazur. Every day they state the type of menu that will be offered, alternated base on the moon, and dedicated to roots, fruits, flowers or leaves

And in any case: we had a strong desire – after publishing the concepts behind it – to try ourselves this kaleidoscope of green stimuli called “Univers Mirazur”. And in particular the journey dedicated to flowers which, as Tegon confirmed, seemed to be the riskier because when handing these ingredients there’s also the risk of offering something that tastes like soap, and reminds one unpleasantly of detergents. We wanted to verify if the unquestionable charm of the storytelling (“The observation of nature and the study on the influence of the Moon and the planets on the plants in our garden inspired us to offer you this unique sensorial experience”) would be matched by equal gastronomic quality. It’s good to be ambitious, but let’s be clear, there was a doubt: has Colagreco gone too far this time?

Let’s start then by saying that Colagreco has very good sight. The tasting of Univers Mirazur Fleurs offers us not only the excellence of a tasting menu of the finest quality; but also the brave mastery of a very-famous chef and yet one that has the desire and the strength to take on a very complicated, expensive, hard project. A journey that will see him a winner, at least with regards to what he tasted.

Flowers of nasturtium, seafood ragout. Photo Tanio Liotta

We enjoyed “Colagreco’s flowers” very much. We were charmed by the entire offer, which keeps its promises. The level of quality is not constant: in the sense that it’s always effective but with peaks of the finest quality that are worth highlighting. For instance, with the appetizers: Head of veal with capers, a melty bite, voluptuous; Tartlet of rose with chantilly of smoked eel, a surprise, masterful harmony. And then the real dishes, among which we were perfectly struck by Flowers of nasturtium, seafood ragout, an emulsion of petals of nasturtium with mangetout and "Mediterranean" ragout (king prawns from Sanremo, baby calamari from Villefranche-sur-Mer, shellfish), a new classic. Vanilla and lobster which was pure opulence instead, a pot of aromatic herbs in which they leave to rest for a few minutes the grilled kebabs of lobster and celeriac aromatised with the same herbs (sage, rosemary...), and then served with a sauce of Mexican vanilla. A sinful dish, sensual, an ode to the palate, almost to lust.

There’s a long tradition of Italian sous chefs at Mirazur. Now Donato Russo (here in the photo with Robert De Niro when he dined in Menton) shines now: born in 1992 in Solofra, in Irpinia, he attended catering school in Avellino and then worked for many years in France. He’s with Colagreco since 2017, now as his right arm

Speaking of flowers, the sweet part is easier. Or is it? Who knows. What we know is that Elderberry, cherries (cherry jam, fresh cherries, granita of elderberry flowers) is a magnificent interpretation of desserts.

So that yes, we can say that “Colagreco’s flowers” are blooming. Here are the steps in our tasting menu, one by one, with photos from Tanio Liotta.

Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso

Head of veal with capers

Shaved green apple and camomile

Tartlet with flowers of meadowsweet and mushroom carpaccio (Calocybe gambosa). Meadowsweet is a herbaceous plant of the Rosaceae family

Crackers of Parmigiano Reggiano with cream and garlic flowers

Tartlet of rose with chantilly of smoked eel

Bread, in the shape of a flower

Fiori of borage, sea flan, razor clams

Hibiscus and beetroot: powdered hibiscus, petals of beetroot, vinaigrette of beetroot and hibiscus, cooked wrapped in salt, beef carpaccio

Flowers of osmanthus and scampi. Osmanthus  belong to the Oleaceae family, originally from Asia. The flowers recall the scent of white peaches, apricot, and in this case are used to aromatise a Bearnaise sauce

Flowers of osmanthus and scampi, second service: cold sauce of flowers of osmanthus, gel of green apple

Flowers of osmanthus and scampi, third service: head of scampi with emulsion of osmanthus

Flowers of nasturtium, seafood ragout. Emulsion of petals of nasturtium, mangetout, "Mediterranean" seafood ragout (king prawns from Sanremo, baby calamari from Villefranche-sur-Mer, shellfish)

Courgette flower, Provencal sauce. Courgette flower stuffed with veal, the "Provencal sauce" is made with capers, olives and tomato

Vanilla, lobster. The sauce is made with Mexican vanilla (which is an orchid) to season these grilled kebabs of lobster and celeriac aromatised with Mediterranean herbs (sage, rosemary...). See also the photo below

Vanilla, lobster, second service. Cube of celeriac with mousse of lobster and trout roe

Saffron, guinea fowl. The guinea fowl is seasoned with a sauce of saffron from Sospel (a village in the Maritime Alps), mussels, gel of lemon and chopped mussels and dried tomatoes

Saffron, guinea fowl, second service. Consommé with a raviolo stuffed with guinea fowl

Elderberry, cherries: cherry jam, fresh cherries, granita of elderberry flowers

Pollen, acacia. Mousse of pollen, sorbet of acacia honey, hazelnut brittle, gel of beer

Petit fours: from the top, clockwise, biscuit with pistachios and orange flowers, praline of white chocolate and marigolds and rose, gelée of hibiscus and strawberries, gelato of meadowsweet with sesame wafer, tartlet with camomile and peanuts