Q1: We’ve read that before AM par Alexandre Mazzia, basketball was your passion. How did you end up as a Chef, was food always a passion?

My passion for cooking was not immediate. I was first attracted by the solidarity present in the kitchens, which I could relate to as it is very common in sport. It echoed with me straight away since I played basketball (professionally) in parallel. It allowed lifting some weight off my shoulders at times as I pursued both passions simultaneously. Juggling both allowed me to give the best of myself in both disciplines. Although they require a very different set of skills, they allowed me to grow in versatile ways building up knowledge while having fun.

Q2: Do you think you learnt any transferable skills from sport to gastronomy? Or ways sport has influenced your cooking style?

I think sport teaches you a lot of transferable skills, which are often necessary when you work in the kitchen. For me teamwork and discipline were the most important skills, they are necessary to be successful in the kitchen. You cannot do everything by yourself and it is important that you can work with others well. 

Q3: You’ve travelled around the world a lot, what made you want to settle in Marseille, and open a restaurant there?

Since I came from abroad and only arrived in France at the age of 15, in the beginning, I used to be very independent. Cooking allowed me to travel a lot and open up. And then my passion became more than a passion. It became the source of my inspiration and motivation from which I learnt all my knowledge - practical and theoretical. It helped me learn about general culture, people, and Chefs and understand better the different cultures present around the world. 

Not just on a country level but regionally too. I also got to understand a great deal about “savoir-faire” (know-how) varieties making the base of French cuisine. It allowed me to have a strong knowledge foundation on the matter. As I travelled, I got to discover new flavours and become more aware of the importance of textures in cooking.

Q4: What was the influence or inspiration behind AM par Alexandre Mazzia? 

AM par Alexandre Mazzia is a glimpse of my soul. It is about discovering myself through my cuisine. There is a wordplay in the name of my restaurant, in all subtlety, is a display of transparency and authenticity. It is a place where I give the best of myself, as I am devoted to its guests. 

Q5: And how would you now describe the experience guests have at AM par Alexandre Mazzia? 

My cuisine is ‘transversal’ which makes the experience we offer at the restaurant quite a unique one. There are 8 tables for 22 seats. We have 26 people working at the restaurant. Obviously we are very precise and very committed to the work we do. When entering the restaurant, you can feel a tangible energy - very strong but also enjoyable. In Marseille, we are surrounded by true ‘artisan talent’ displaying unique ‘know-how’ techniques (savoir-faire). 

We try to gather it all at the heart of the restaurant, bringing the best of local produce from fishermen, local farmers, tableware designers, etc. Some guests give us really positive feedback as they come to the restaurant and feel they have travelled. 99% of the people that leave the restaurant say they’ve never experienced this kind of sensation before. That is what is our strength I think. Our own ‘culinary writing’ - as I like to call it, it is what I call my cuisine’s expression. 

I managed to create an alphabet of taste thanks to my different stories, captions of moments, which I use to transfer information into my dishes. It's an experience that is also a sentimental one, filled with emotion. The emotion of a past moment, which is now a memory, transferred into a dish in the present. It is just extraordinary.

Q6: Congratulations on being announced as one of the Chefs working at The Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Is there anything more you can tell us about this collaboration next year?

For me, it is an honour to have been chosen to be a part of the International Olympic Games Committee to develop a good nutritive alternative for the athletes within the Olympic village. As I used to be a professional sportsperson myself, I am proud to participate, in an indirect way, in one of the most important sports events in the world.

It's also about making a difference and supporting the initiative - The Games are in Paris in 2024 following a government initiative to organise it there, bringing forward the French ‘savoir-faire’ (know-how).

For me, the two important points to note here are the following. 

1. Neuro-nutrition - linked to the sport performance and recovery of athletes before and after a performance. 

2. The second is also to give families of athletes an enjoyable place to go and eat - similar to a street food concept, fun, light and full of surprises. 

The neuro-nutrition impact of the food we eat and the ingredients we use, can impact sport performance and post-workout recovery, which are both linked. We need to give back to athletes in a culinary way, a sensation, an emotion, the same way they give it to us during their athletic performance.

www.alexandre-mazzia.com