It is a happy anarchy, Mazzia's, governed by an instinct that is well controlled but not dominated by technique, that at the table looks totally different from what one would expect from the institutional formality of a three-star Michelin chef. From athlete in basketball to champion of the stove, history and menu of a great cook.
The Chef
Marseille, with its fascinating complexity, is a place that draws you in and projects you into itself. Founded by Greek sailors in 600 B.C., it is the capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, the second largest city in France and the first national port. It is dominated by the striking iconic basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde, at its highest point: from there, with a view of the Vieux Port and the Frioul archipelago, a protected area that is part of the Calanques National Park, the spectacle for the eyes is magnificent. Marseille absorbs and likewise gives back energy: here in 2009 Alexandre Mazzia stopped.
Born in 1976, a former professional basketball player from French parents but raised in Congo's Pointe-Noir (the African country's second-largest city), a great-grandfather from Turin, and an extremely curious spirit from an early age. Mazzia returned to his homeland at age 16 and attended the École Hoteliere Santos Dumont in St. Cloud, also inspired by a saying his grandmother used to repeat, “cooks never starve.” He began in his early twenties to combine competing and cooking, devoting himself to meaningful internships during seasonal breaks.
A great opportunity, the one that changes the course of events, happens to him during a trip to the States, when he receives a call from Fauchon in Paris, to work at the great pastry chef Pierré Hermé. If he is asked what comes first for him, between basketball (he will retire from competitive play in 2004 due to an injury) and cooking, Alexandre, with that smiling souplesse of his, replies that without a doubt in his heart it is the latter that prevails, even though his passion for the sport remains great. He then cut his teeth as an apprentice, working at Place de la Madeleine in Paris and in several major national kitchens, then went to Spain and cooked with the likes of Santi Santamaria and Martín Berasategui.
His first experience as head of a kitchen was as a private chef at Le Hom'Art in Avignon, where he spent a year and a half preparing dishes for high-ranking clients. In Marseille he stays five years at Le Corbusier, where his style begins to take shape. In June 2014 he opened AM, a clear pun on his initials and the word âme (soul, in French). The progression, in terms of accolades, is decidedly happy: Michelin in fact awards the first star only six months later, in 2019 comes the second, in 2021 the three macarons crown the highest achievable red star; a year later it is 50Best to name him one to watch.
Another mouth-watering idea of Alexandre's that you absolutely must know, matured in pandemic times, is his food truck Michel par AM, whose name is a tribute to his fisherman grandfather, partner of the Olympic Village for the Paris 2024 Games. Mazzia never abandons sports, so much so that in 2023 he gave birth to AM Académie, in collaboration with former professional athlete Diarra Lamine, the Marseille Tourist Board and the local community, bringing together his souls and making them accessible: a place dedicated to basketball and sports nutrition education, for those who do not have the opportunity to access the clubs, where it is possible to raise awareness about the benefits of healthy and environmentally friendly food.
The cuisine
Defining Alexandre Mazzia's cuisine is not an easy task: certainly, within it one finds Marseille and its cosmopolitan essence, borderless as a seaport with its constant coming and going. And again reminiscences, memories of childhood on the African continent with the enormous heritage of diverse beauty, of unusual standards. It is a happy anarchy, his, governed by an instinct that is well controlled but not dominated by technique, which at the table looks totally different from what one would expect from the institutional formality of a three-star Michelin.
Beginning with the ambiance, essential and collected, which transforms into a colorful container at the time of service, managed disciplinedly in minimal spaces by a team that only absolute fellowship can make so efficient. Mazzia's Voyages, or menus, range quite a bit depending on the services of lunches, from 175 to 395 euros, to dinners, from the premier voyage offered at 295, to allons plus loin (let's go farther), to the grand voyage, 435 euros of an unforgettable journey that starts from the bare table that fills and empties with dishes in four or five steps. There's no need to be afraid, in all you won't be seated for more than three hours; there's to let loose and have unrestrained fun, instead, because everything is pleasantly subverted and there are no rules, no obligations or tasting hierarchies: the elegant, wafer-thin ceramics of Martina Cristofani of Atelier Riou, a former Italian photographer converted to the art of porcelain, contain an incredible variety of taste stimuli that arise from Mazzia's unmistakable flair and from his encounters with his suppliers, who stimulate him daily with what the market offers.
A creativity built on improv schemes, recurrences such as the 'spices, smoke and chili' triangle (he has 45 different kinds), the use of his countless vinegars that are born with every possible ingredient. Yet no, there is nothing confusing about this sequence that transports one far away, that finally allows one to subvert the congealed patterns of fine dining, of a catering that often turns out to be boring, even if of the highest gastronomic quality. Here one tastes many things, one finds an expressive range of recognizable tastes, others less usual, but which ultimately find themselves coherent in a thought. The one that aims to make one indulge in a small universe populated with goodness.
The dishes
A few examples? Cabbage crystallized with saffron, roe, ginger and 'burnt' mackerel head dressing; sweet and sour parsnips again 'like a barigoule', potato 'leaves', cider vinegar; marinated langoustine, flowers, figs, roots and sumac consommé; galangal cookie, different cooking of Limousine beef, Campari jelly. A marvelous nasturtium sorbet, accompanied by seaweed popcorn; trout and wild salmon roe marinated in sake, smoked milk with toasted hazelnuts; his now famous chocolate smoked eel pie, a small masterpiece of technique and precision as the cassava-covered langoustine with confit egg yolk and mirin rice wine.
There would be so much more to tell, but the best thing is to sit at AM and be carried away in Alexandre Mazzia's gustatory stream of consciousness. It is worth mentioning the two Italian guys in the kitchen: Michele Donvito, from Campania, executive chef, and the chef pâtissier, Alessandro Moretto from Veneto, who is in charge of the sweet side, including an exquisite fermented banana panna cotta with mango sorbet, puffed rice, lemon and allspice with caramelized peanuts, from a childhood memory of Alexandre's.
The room is graciously ruled by the talented Jean Philippe Rock, while the wine cellar, with an excellent variety of Champagnes from niche producers and a selection of pairings that change from day to day, is overseen by Belgian Olivier Van Herck; there is no shortage of non-alcoholic alternatives with a fine assortment of teas from around the world. To step outside the box.
Contact
Address: 9 Rue François Rocca, 13008 Marseille, France
Phone: +33 4 91 24 83 63
