Mougins, capital of gastronomy
The art of haute cuisine
A little history
It all began in the 1950s, when Célestin Véran, a cook in the French navy and then a fisherman in Cannes, quickly realized that tourism was going to grow. He transformed his boat into a “cab de la mer”, and while fishing, he took rich and idle Englishmen out to spend the winter in the warm Côte d’Azur sun. Little by little, his customers got into the habit of “coming up” to Mougins to taste his famous bouillabaisse prepared with freshly caught fish, and they discovered the village’s gentle way of life, the coolness of its shady little squares.
Mougins in star country
In 1969, Allier-born chef Roger Vergé settled in Mougins. With his wife, Denise, he opened the restaurant Le Moulin de Mougins, on the site of the village’s old oil mill, where Célestin Véran, the fisherman-cook, used to improvise tasty dishes for whoever was around.
Roger Vergé’s debut at the Moulin de Mougins took place on a Whitsun Sunday. The menu was delicious and priced at 28 francs (just over €4), but no one had any idea that this new address would propel Mougins into the land of haute gastronomy. Success came quickly, however, and the first star in the Michelin Guide was awarded in 1970, just one year after opening – a record!
A true trailblazer, Roger Vergé dusted off and lightened French cuisine. In Mougins, he invented “La Cuisine du Soleil”, taught it in his L’Amandier cooking school, and made it known the world over, contributing to the development of French gastronomy.
A little later in the 1970s, André Surmain, charismatic ex-chef of the Lutèce in New York, then considered one of the most famous restaurants in the United States, fell under the spell of Mougins. Together with his wife, he opened Le Relais and Le Feu Follet and trained a number of future top chefs in his kitchens, weaving the village’s international gastronomic reputation with Roger Verger.
In 1992, Mougins was awarded 7 Michelin stars, making it the most star-studded village in France!
In 1994, during the Cannes Film Festival, the amFAR chose the Moulin de Mougins to host its prestigious charity gala. The world’s biggest stars gathered at Denise and Roger Vergé’s Mougins table. Many became regulars, seduced by the Vergé couple’s blend of talent, high standards, elegance and conviviality.
Today, some 50 restaurants serving local, bistronomic and gourmet cuisine contribute to Mougins’ gastronomic reputation, both in France and abroad.
“Les Étoiles de Mougins”, the International Gastronomy Festival
The first edition, featuring gastronomic monsters Paul Bocuse, Pierre Troisgros, Michel Guérard, Gaston Lenôtre, Roger Vergé and Alain Ducasse, was a resounding success. Over the course of a weekend, the old village of Mougins was transformed into a veritable open-air theater of taste.
On the program:
Demonstrations, cookery workshops, interactive lectures, a chefs’ rally, culinary happenings and a gastronomic bookshop all enliven the village. And let’s not forget the now-famous “Concours du Jeune Chef Roger Vergé” and the Pâtisserie Competition.
The event is acclaimed. Year after year, “Les Etoiles de Mougins” has become an unmissable meeting place for chefs from France and around the world. They come here to share their recipes and secrets with a passionate public, who can rub shoulders with them in an atmosphere that’s both chic and convivial.
Numerous prestigious guests of honor have followed in succession, giving the festival its letters of nobility: Christian Willer, Marc Veyrat, Éric Fréchon, Anne-Sophie Pic, Gérard Passédat, Daniel Boulud, Frédéric Anton, Thierry Marx, Philippe Etchebest…
THE NEXT EDITION WILL TAKE PLACE ON SEPTEMBER 14 & 2024 with Guillaume Gomez as guest of honor.
