Mauro Colagreco at Maybourne Riviera

The Maybourne Riviera Hotel

Last month I was commissioned by the English magazine Telegraph to photograph famous chef Mauro Colagreco in the amazing Ceto restaurant at the newly opened luxury hotel in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, the Maybourne Riviera.

Upon arriving I instantly got the WOW effect! It took 6 years to open this spectacular hotel on the cliff of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Formerly called the Vista Palace, The Maybourne Riviera overlooks a grand panorama of Monaco, the Mediterranean Sea, Menton and the Italian caps. The colossal project kept getting set backs due to the extremely precarious, yet astonishing, location of the Hotel.

It was worth the wait. The amazing building was created by world renowned architects and designers. The building is all windows, filling it with the striking light of the infinite sky reflected on the Mediterranean. The inside is as beautiful as the outside and both become one in the two luxurious restaurants and their infinity terraces. 

I came early to the shoot to take some pictures of the hotel. It wasn’t part of the assignment but I knew the client would love to have them and might even use them in the article. After getting approval from the PR I took photographs around the hotel and caught the early morning light on the glass structure, the views, opened terraces and infinity pool.

Mauro Colagreco @ Ceto

Head Chef at the Mirazur since 2006, Mauro Colagreco is elected best chef of the world by his pairs in 2019. The two restaurants of the hotel are supervised by Colagreco, the Riviera which reinvents classical Provence dishes and Ceto, named after a marine monster in greek mythology, a fine dining restaurant focused on the sea and responsible fishing.

The photoshoot for the Telegraph was centered on the famous chef’s involvement in Ceto with its vibrant seasonal menu which pays homage to the Mediterranean with a plentiful supply of quality fish and sea vegetables (seaweed, samphire, sea fennel and sea cucumber are some of them), vegetarian dishes and pasture fed meat options. 

Despite how famous and amazing of a chef he has become, Mauro is a pleasure to work with and a very nice model!

The restaurant is beautiful, completely open on the sea with a minimalistic yet warm decoration and a fully opened kitchen. 

It was easy to find locations in the restaurant as back drops for the portraits. The room is drenched with light. I barely need my profoto B2 flashes.

The Kitchen

I meet the team and photograph them in between their busy tasks. The restaurant is due to open in a few days and I can feel the buzz and excitement. 

The Fish Aging Room

Off the kitchen there is a fish maturation chamber where the kitchen team researches new methods of preserving fish and prolonging maturation, to find new flavors and textures and to reduce waste and use the entire fish when it is possible.

The Grill

Some of the cooking will also be done on an amazing indoor grill and I had the pleasure to get a very photogenic demonstration by chef Andrea.

Menton Fish

The fish is supplied by local fishermen in the port of Menton. Unfortunately I could not take pictures of them as they were unavailable but I thought it was important to provide some pictures of the port of Menton for the article.

The Article