Marseille is where Provence collides with the Mediterranean Sea, a briny, boisterous port of striking contrasts. The urban swagger of France’s second-largest city is tempered by the small-town vibe of its 111 villages. Rich Provençal traditions intertwine with the countless cultures that France’s oldest city has welcomed for over 2,600 years. Like no other city in the country – or the world, for that matter – Marseille marches to the beat of its own drum, making it the ideal setting for the singular style and cuisine of Alexandre Mazzia.

Colourful dishes at AM par Alexandre Mazzia / Image: ©David Girard

“I feel at home here,” smiles the three-Michelin-starred chef. As a cultural crossroads, the Mediterranean port suits Mazzia’s diverse backstory, which weaves between Africa and Europe and basketball and cooking. Marseille’s farmed and fished bounty feeds the chef’s terroir-driven cuisine, and its free-spirited nature nourishes his unbridled creativity. “I adore the cosmopolitan flavours, the generous people, the dazzling light that echoes my childhood… and especially the sea.”

The sea is rooted in Mazzia’s DNA. Born and raised in the port city of Pointe-Noire in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spending summers at his grandparents on Île de Ré off France’s Atlantic coast, the chef has fond memories of watching fishermen return with their catch and grilling fresh fish on the sea. Though meals were an important part of his childhood, Mazzia never dreamed of being a chef. After his grandmother gave him the practical advice that “cooks never starve”, he chose cookery school to avoid the military school his dad had in mind.

The interior of Alexandre’s AM restaurant / Image: ©Matthieu Cellard

Meanwhile, the 1.92-metre-tall Mazzia played basketball, impressively balancing a semi-pro career with his culinary training. When he hung up his basketball jersey for a chef’s coat, Mazzia integrated the values of the sport – teamwork, empathy, goodwill and a strong work ethic – into the kitchen. After internships in Spain, Japan and France, Mazzia became a billionaire’s private chef, cooking for high-profile VIPs in every corner of the world. “Travel opened my mind,” explains the globe-trotting chef. Seeing different dishes and cultures, his individualised cooking style began to take shape.

In 2009, he honed his approach while head chef at Le Ventre de l’Architecte, the gastronomic table housed in Marseille’s Unité d’Habitation, Le Corbusier’s brutalist masterpiece of mixed-use housing (a must-visit for design buffs.) Marseille quickly adopted Mazzia, who flourished in the multicultural metropolis surrounded by the sea. It was the perfect backdrop for his own place, particularly when he met his wife there.