Updated on June 23, 2025
Marcel Ravin is on a roll. Having won a Michelin star for Elsa, the gastronomic restaurant at Monte-Carlo Beach that he took over a little more than a year ago, followed by First Prize in the “Chef” category at the prestigious Hotel & Lodge Awards 2025, Ravin is now reaping the rewards of his “marine garden”, a theme that occurred naturally to him in 2024. He uses treasures gleaned from the sea to implement this idea, putting aside the exotic flavours of his native Martinique, which he still cultivates just a few hundred metres away at Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort’s Blue Bay** restaurant. Here, we sit down for a chat with this multi-Michelin-star chef.
Obtaining a Michelin star in just one year is quite the achievement!
Marcel Ravin: Deep down, I knew it was possible. We achieved it because everyone trusted me. The Chairman and CEO Stéphane Valeri and the Managing Director Albert Manzone gave me two years to retrieve the star we lost in 2022; we did it in six months!
Was achieving this objective important to you?
Marcel Ravin: Yes! I wanted to be recognised in a different register to the one I’m usually associated with.
This achievement is also down to the work of an entire team.
Marcel Ravin: This achievement is definitely a collective win! It was made possible by everyone sharing the same positive energy. The team at Monte-Carlo Beach gave me a warm welcome as soon as I arrived. Everyone, including the Executive Chef Domenico d’Antonio, supported the project.
What defines Elsa’s identity?
Marcel Ravin: It’s a restaurant that’s right on the edge of the Mediterranean. It’s like being on the bow of a boat. I’ve often sat on this terrace to observe and listen to the natural world in which Elsa is nestled: the lapping of the waves, the sea breeze, and so on. Dedicating this restaurant to the sea was an obvious choice.
Just as the local terroir provides an “earthly garden”, here, Monte-Carlo Beach has its own “marine garden”. My cuisine is an ode to seafood. Elsa’s identity is this “marine garden”, its very essence is the sea. Customers instantly loved it and the feedback was excellent. That’s how we managed to give Elsa its strong, unique identity.
An identity that reflects your sources of inspiration from Martinique?
Marcel Ravin: It’s true that Martinique is an island, so the sea has always been an essential resource. For me, it’s natural, almost self-evident. But that’s where the likeness ends, because exotic flavours have no place at Elsa.
Is it difficult to break with your usual register?
Marcel Ravin: I’m driven by passion. I don’t cook to satisfy my personal tastes. I cook because I have a deep respect for customers and their expectations, which have to be understood and measured. Sometimes they are barely perceptible. I want to listen to what others want, rather than flatter my own ego.
Do customers get a “taste of Marcel Ravin” on their plates?
Marcel Ravin: Being a chef means sharing what we’ve learnt and passing on a part of our own experience and history. Blue Bay has its own identity and culture, and the same is true of Elsa. That’s why I use fewer spices and explore new pairings at Monte-Carlo Beach, incorporating the marine world into desserts, for example. It’s not fusion cuisine, but thoughtful cuisine.
Can you provide an example of a dessert that’s imbued with a marine feel?
Marcel Ravin: Le bois flotté, or driftwood, for example. For this dessert, I was inspired by the pieces of wood that are washed up on the shores of Monaco. It’s also something I was used to seeing at home in Martinique. Today it’s the name of a dessert. We haven’t invented anything new. We just wanted to create the visual impression of driftwood, while incorporating marine flavours, a bit like adding salt to caramel or chocolate. So I came up with the idea of a Piedmont hazelnut praline, seasoned with “fleur de sel” salt and served with miso ice cream.
Another dessert combines spirulina and tapioca, decorated with edible flowers.
Desserts mustn’t depart from the rest of the meal: I want there to be a real link with the savoury courses. We can’t tell a story in the kitchen then switch to a brand new theme when it’s time for dessert. The common thread must remain intact from start to finish.
So the sea is present from the starter all the way to dessert?
Marcel Ravin: Of course! Elsa offers a “marine garden” from the starter all the way through to dessert. We came up with a fun dish involving red mullet cooked on rocks. The fish is prepared on pebbles found on the beach. When the dish arrives in front of the customer, the crackling sound of the cooking can still be heard. A whole ecosystem has been created. You have to create emotion and memories, and that’s what’s so fascinating.
Do you plan to continue working at Elsa to try to obtain a second Michelin star?
Marcel Ravin: I’ll give you an honest answer: yes! My dream would be to have a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Monaco. Today, I have one star at Elsa and two at Blue Bay. But I want to go even further. We have the establishments and the teams we need. So we have to work towards achieving that goal. But I reject the idea of costly restaurants. When you hear “Michelin stars are expensive”, that’s not necessarily true. It used to be true a few years back, because the high standards imposed on restaurants meant that tables had to have silverware, crystal, fine porcelain, and rare and expensive items on the menu. Today, the paradigm has shifted. You can present a dish on a simple piece of wood and still spark emotion. What you need is imagination and creativity, as well as good management skills.
You’ll soon be celebrating your 20th anniversary here in Monaco. How does that make you feel?
It’ll be 20 years in October... Working in the Principality was a dream of mine. And today, I’m here! I’m happy to contribute, in my own way, to the country’s reputation and appeal. That’s why I always give it my all. It’s not exactly a chore: I love what I do and respect this country that welcomed me with open arms and gave me a chance. I was offered a chef’s position at Monte-Carlo Bay even when I didn’t have much to show for myself. I promised one thing to all those who brought me here and trusted me: that I wouldn’t let them down. That’s what I told Prince Albert II and the Chairman and CEO Stéphane Valeri. That they could count on me. I come from a place where values, such as transmission and respecting others, are essential for my own inner peace. That’s truly essential for me.
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