Chef Michel Mustiere of Resort’s Piaf Restaurant Named Master Chef of France
Grand Velas Riviera Maya Chef Michel Mustiere has been named a Maître Cuisinier de France. He is one of only seven chefs in Mexico, 300 in the world, to attain the prestigious Master Chef of France title. For more than 60 years, the Maîtres Cuisiniers de France have “preserved and spread the French culinary art, encourage training in cuisine, and assist professional development.” Mustiere is the chef of the award-winning Piaf restaurant at Grand Velas Riviera Maya.
With more than 25 years of culinary experience in various countries and different prestigious restaurants and hotels worldwide, Chef Michel Mustiere´s cuisine is based on classic French dishes with a contemporary style and a delicate presentation. His formal training and years of leading the culinary teams demands an extreme attention to the details of each dish. He refuses to use thickening agents in the majority of his sauces and instead allows them to reduce for upwards of 12 hours if needed. No shortcuts are taken in Mustiere’s kitchen as he makes ample use of hot sous vide and dehydration techniques that insure the food’s essential flavors come forth.
And at Piaf, native Frenchman Michel Mustiere serves traditional French cusine in a cabaret-inspired dining room awash with Swarovski crystals and red velvet—a lavish ode to the great, late singer/actress from whom the restaurant borrows its name. Some dishes include: Oysters on the half shell with shallot vinaigrette and carrots julienne glazed in a Champagne Sabayon; Escargots and mushrooms “casserole” Bourguignonne style with grilled herb bread; Classic Onion Soup with gruyere cheese au gratin; Chilean Sea bass sautéed with butter and sea urchin royal sauce; Grilled Blue Shrimp with Mushroom risotto and veal with a cognac reduction; Duck confit with a thyme reduction and “Salardaise” potatoes; Veal Shank Osso bucco “Bourgoise” style cooked at low temperature, in its own juice reduction; and Apple Tart, a secret recipe passed down from the Chef’s grandmother.
For more information, visit rivieramaya.grandvelas.com.
About Grand Velas Riviera Maya:
The AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Maya, an all-suites and spa resort located five minutes from Playa del Carmen, is the latest and most sophisticated iteration of the ultra-luxury, all-inclusive resort experience. This Leading Hotels of the World designated resort is the preeminent one of its class boasting 491 suites, each more than 1,000 square–feet, in three separate ambiances– premium ocean-front Grand Class Suites with terrace plunge pools for families with children 12 and up, family-friendly ocean-view Ambassador Suites and Zen Garden Suites embraced by the flora and fauna of the Yucatan Peninsula’s jungle. The resort presents a gastronomic tour of the Yucatan, Europe and Asia offering seven restaurants with world-class chefs from France, Spain and Mexico; dedicated butler service for each guest, and the region’s largest spa sanctuary at over 89,000 square-feet specializing in signature treatments inspired by ancient cultures from around the world. The spa was named “Best Spa” in the world by Virtuoso and also earned a SpaFinder Readers’ Choice Award. The resort was designed by lauded Mexican architecture firm Elias and Elias and features the sleek and modish interiors that fuse the serenity of the Caribbean with the vibrancy of Yucatan cultures.