Blue Bay

Chef Marcel Ravin has travelled from one ‘rock’ to another, leaving his native Martinique as a teenager in 2005 for Monaco, now his home port.

Marcel Ravin‘s career has been on an upward trajectory since he left his native island for continental France at 17 with his CFA apprenticeship diploma in hand from Rivière-Salée. He began his career in Alsace in a Michelin-starred Relais & Châteaux hotel, and continued to gain experience in various establishments in Eastern France. When he was 25, he returned to his native French West Indies and became chef at a 4-star, 40-room hotel, where he was awarded the Gault-Millau Golden Key for the island’s best gourmet restaurant.

 
He returned to France when he was 30 and became sous-chef at the Bistroquet (1 Michelin star) in Nancy. These experiences led him to Lyon, where he revived a gourmet restaurant, L’Arc en Ciel, at the Méridien Part-Dieu as executive sous-chef. Finally, having acquired experience in both high-end restaurants and hotel banquet management, Marcel Ravin became Executive Chef at the Méridien Brussels and particularly the restaurant L’Epicerie, where his talent has been recognised time and again.

In 2005, Marcel Ravin accepted the challenge and position of Executive Chef at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. Creating a culinary universe with depth, energy and universal appeal - like the chef - required much dedication and creativity. These efforts were rewarded in 2015 with a Michelin star in 2015. 

 
A Monegasque by choice, just like Alain Ducasse, trained at Alain Chapel in Mionnay (Ain) and having lived in Landes, Marcel Ravin brought with him cuisine, spices, products and original recipes from his native Caribbean home. The chef of the Monte-Carlo Bay calls this his ‘mental palate’ in his wonderful and moving autobiography, D’un Rocher à l’autre : itinéraire d’un chef (Éditions La Martinière).

 
In seven years, the humanistic Ravin has created a new composite identity for himself that blends his past – his very own madeleines à la Proust – with the countless resources of the French Riviera. This is how he built his culinary repertoire at the Blue Bay, rich with his signature dishes. 
He was awarded his first Michelin star in 2015. Marcel Ravin has reinterpreted his native French West Indian cuisine in his own way, creating a skilful blend of diverse influences that give his cuisine deep soul and rich flavour. The roasted pike perch with periwinkle and lime vinaigrette; sea bream paupiette with vegetables and Nantua bacon sauce; roasted turbot with artichokes and almond, fig and hibiscus condiment; organic egg, truffle, cassava and maracudja (a variety of passion fruit) juice, his star dish at the moment; roasted free-range pigeon with spicy cocoa, risotto-style bulgur and boletus mushrooms: all these dishes have transformed the culinary repertoire of the finest Mediterranean hotels and propelled the Monte-Carlo Bay to the top of the best gourmet restaurants in Monaco.

From farm to table...

Cooking with freshly and locally harvested seasonal fruits and vegetables is a top priority for Marcel Ravin.

At the Blue Bay, the dishes feature vegetables picked a stone’s throw away as the star ingredient and meat and fish as sides.

The restaurant set up Mr. Goodfish guidelines to respect marine resources by using a list that indicates recommended species for each season.

Another example of this commitment is not using bluefin tuna, a protected species.

The Chef works with the start-up Terre de Monaco, founded by Jessica Sbaraglia, who creates urban organic gardens such as the one at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort.