Mauro Colagreco on his biggest project to date

He's the chef who needs no introduction, but Argentinian legend Mauro Colagreco is embarking on what is by far his largest and most ambitious project to date with the imminent opening of no less than three new restaurants at Raffles London at The OWO in late September/beginning of October.

The stunning Grade II* listed, Old War Office building on Whitehall, in the beating heart of the capital, will be home to a signature restaurant Mauro Colagreco, Mediterranean cuisine in a high-ceilinged former library at Saison, and finally a home for creative menus, Mauro’s Table.

Here, the Menton-based maestro gives us an exclusive sneak peek into his sustainability-driven new openings.

_{Mauro Colagreco at Raffles. Photo by Matteo Carassale}

How do you feel taking on your biggest project to date?

Very excited! It is becoming more and more concrete every day. We have worked a lot on the concept to propose something aligned with my vision so I am excited to share this experience with our first clients. London is a very dynamic city and there are so many connections between England and the French Riviera. This opening is like a concretisation of a long relationship.

How did this relationship with Raffles come about?

It’s always a question of humans having a common vision. We’ve met many times in the past and we've shared the same vision to open this iconic place.

How was your recent trip to see the restaurants?

I came several times this summer and the excitement has been more and more present with every trip. We've been testing and tasting the final details for the menus and reviewing the guest experience. We also continue to create strong relations with our team there, organising training and discussions to share our common vision. I am very proud of what my team and I have achieved for the opening.

What's the concept for Mauro Colagreco at Raffles?

It's a culinary approach that combines nature, local biodiversity and British culture in favour of sustainable gastronomy. We have worked a lot on the history of vegetables in the region and how their stories were linked to British history. When you experience the restaurant, the client will taste a lot of products, along with explanations and stories about the produce to go deeper into nature and into this local ecosystem that the United Kingdom represents.

Most human food comes from a relatively small number of plants and animals. Of the 400,000 or so plant species on the planet, two-thirds of which are believed to be edible, only around 200 are consumed by humans worldwide, and just four crops (wheat, rice, corn and potatoes) account for more than 60% of the world's energy intake from food. I really want to rehabilitate plant species that are forgotten or not well-known.

What excites you about British terroir and produce?

Discovering! For many months now I've been discovering the British territory, its products and its farmers; it brings me back to the time I opened Mirazur in Menton when I had to discover all the little treasures from the land and the specialities we have there. I've met new farmers here in England, they have exceptional produce. What England has to offer is very interesting to a chef, but also because it represents a new challenge for me.

The Knotted Garden menu will launch at Mauro Colagreco at Raffles, celebrating 70 British varieties of fruits and vegetables – any insights?

We are still finalising the last details of the menu for the opening. However, we’ll start the Knotted Garden menu with tapas and finish with mignardises that will represent the four garden types of the Knotted Garden. The aim is to walk our customers through these gardens, to be able to express nature through all the senses.

Many people see London as the world's most exciting restaurant city, what does it mean to open your first restaurants there?

When the opportunity came, my first idea was "How will we bring nature into such a city?". So, it was the challenge that first motivated me, then the second one was "How will we integrate local culture into the menu and the concept?". England is a very historical country, with a lot of traditions and cultural richness: especially in this place that is the Old War Office. As nature is the essence of my kitchen, I think I have found my way to open a restaurant in this city, while paying tribute to the place.

Do you have any favourite places to eat in London or chefs you especially admire?

London is so dynamic and the culinary scene changes so fast. I love London because you can find traditional restaurants as well as very innovative and even avant-garde restaurants but also all types of world cuisine. Silo is very avant-garde in terms of sustainability, I really look to Douglas McMaster's work as it’s so important to be able to re-think our way to produce and consume.

I’m really proud of young chefs who are working in this way. Clare Smyth and Claude Bosi are doing great work as well.

Obviously, at Mirazur, your garden and produce are everything; how is this going to work at OWO?

We worked a lot to find farmers and local producers in the London area. So we will have daily deliveries of quality and local products. We work, for example, with Crate to Plate, a micro-farming initiative in London that provides us [with] salads, along with Stoddard's in Scotland for meat or Aweside Farm in West Sussex for nettles.

You have always been one of the most truly sustainable chefs working, how is this in place at OWO?

Within the kitchen we will work on sustainable products, seasonally but also produced while respecting nature. We will also work for plastic-free certification in the restaurant: so, the gloves, the chefs’ hats will be compostable, the hygiene products in the hotel will also be sustainable. We are working a lot to reduce our carbon footprint and will do our best to still improve our commitments in the future.