French restaurant is now serving food according to the phases of the moon.
Argentinian Mauro Colagreco uses principles following the natural cycles -- in the kitchen garden of his Mirazur restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean on the French Riviera.
From now on, he said, he would follow the same principles on the plate too.
Colagreco, the first foreign chef ever to get the maximum three Michelin stars in France, Regarded as a magician because the Mirazur topped the 50 Best Restaurants in the World ranking for his "exquisite seasonal food", often drawn from his own "cascading vegetable gardens".
But Colagreco said that he wanted to go further, "not in changing the style of my cooking but in the soul of the restaurant".
The Mirazur at Menton is serving menus based on flowers, fruit, leaves and roots, all intricately linked to the lunar cycle.
- Leaves best with rising moon -
And the chef said some of his classic dishes, such as salt-crusted beetroot with caviar cream, might have to wait their turn.
On "leaf days", for example, when the moon is rising, the leaves that go with the alpine lamb and algae strudel would be at their best.
Farmers traditionally planted and harvested according the moon, said Colagreco and "the lunar calendar is one of our guides in the garden.
"A lot of what we do is biodynamic. For example, when we sow spinach we do it on a leaf day (when the moon is rising) because there will be a bigger concentration of energy on that part of the plant."
- Shrimps with rose petals -
Colagreco is convinced his customers will be able to taste the difference.
And on a flower day, when the moon is in any of the air signs, shrimps with rose petals, rhubarb and almond milk is likely to tickle the tastebuds that bit more.
"We are trying to get a message across about seeing nature in another way and having a more direct contact with it," the chef said.
