For over 65 years, the “Les Grandes Tables du Monde” Association has brought together the best restaurants in the world: those that guarantee the best welcome, those that delight their guests and provide unforgettable experiences.
The Association was founded in 1954 and today has 181 restaurants in 25 countries, united by the sharing of the same values, and selected through a strict admission criteria that reflect the exclusivity of the project.
“Les Grandes Tables du Monde” only accepts Restaurants that:
• offer an excellent cuisine without compromise
• guarantee unparalleled hospitality
• welcome guests in a unique atmosphere and environment
Last 14th October the “Dîner de gala” took place in the splendid setting of Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a sumptuous palace with dream gardens, located in the upper part of Cap Ferrat. The most important chefs from all over the world and the professionals of haute cuisine, as well as journalists and show business personalities, were delighted by the first chef in the world, the Italian-Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco, who celebrated the recent incredible achievements : best chef in France (he got the “third Michelin star“) and his restaurant Mirazur in Mentone was elected the best in the world, ranking first in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019.
Andrea Rossano was also present at the event: owner of Tartufingros and a great truffle breeder from the Roero, Langhe, Monferrato areas, who brought his precious hypogeal mushrooms in France.
Tell us something about the evening
“Professionally it was the most important event of my career, considering the context and the importance, in fact 300 Michelin stars participated in: the entire restaurant firmament, including Gwendal Poullennec, the global manager of the Michelin guide. The evening was extraordinary, there are no words to describe the place. A villa on the top, 7 gardens, the fountain jets that changed colour according to the music… Everything was perfect, without any smudging, as the French can do. “
“There was caviar, champagne and … truffles of course! And they were all there, watching the truffles. An event of this kind done in France, where this product is not easy to find, was an incredible promotion for the city of Alba ”.
“Les Grande Tables du Monde is the most prestigious association (together with Relais & Chateaux) which brings together members from all over the world and which includes two-starred restaurants. He cooked the world number one today: Mauro Colagreco. Colagreco is an Italian-Argentine chef and his restaurant, the Mirazur, is located at 100 meters from the border with Italy. His gesture of using truffles in one of his dishes was an absolute act of love and a huge gift for our nation. Otherwise it would have been unthinkable. This is the extraordinary nature of the event “.
How did you come into contact with Mauro Colagreco?
“I already knew Colagreco, but he always consumed few white truffles before. One day, on September 21st, I was at Crippa’s to pay him the first truffle of the season when the phone rang. He answered and said: “I have it here before my eyes”. It was Antonio Buono, sous chef of Mirazur who has been working with Mauro Colagreco for 7 years. After half an hour he calls me saying that they wanted to make a secret dish to amaze as much as possible, but to do so they would need 5 kg of truffles each of 300 grams. It was hot and I sweated cold. For that date, all that merchandise of that size! A month later it would have been difficult, but not so. I took 48 hours of leave. Then I thought and said yes. At the risk of throwing the heart beyond the obstacle, not sleeping, I have to do it. I called him back and told him: “If there are no truffles I cannot do miracles, but if there are, you will have them”. And I did it. The truffles were perfect, delicate, ochre-coloured, without scratches. Such products are really rare. I put it all together in two days, Saturday and Sunday, but in the previous days I didn’t sleep from stress.
After the evening, Santini, the delegate of Les Grand Table du Monde for Italy, phoned me and said: “We have shown that Italy knows how to give so much”.
What was and how was the mysterious dish?
“The dish consisted of a hot tartelletta stuffed with porcini mushrooms, covered with a truffle disk of 15 grams with a diameter of 10 cm. Each truffle was rolled with the slicer, the disc taken with pliers and then placed on the tart. The chef studied this dish so that the interior could not be seen, to arouse the maximum curiosity and amazement and covered it not with the classic lamellas, but with a truffle disk. The dish was a marriage of flavour. These truffles had a honey aftertaste that gave the dish an elegance, an almost dreamlike, paradisiacal structure”.
But it doesn’t end here …
“In that context the first white truffle cru in Italy made its debut in society: the “White Truffle of Alba Rocche del Roero“, which is now patented.”
