Michelin-starred chef Alexandre Mazzia will be a torchbearer when the Paris 2024 Olympics kick off in his hometown of Marseille. Here is his guide to the city, from sunsets to seafood.
A sultry city and the gateway to the South of France, Marseille thrives on fusion – of cultures, flavours and colliding landscapes. The city’s seafaring traditions date back to the Ancient Greeks, and life still concentrates around the old port, on tight cobbled streets.
While the post-industrial docklands unfold to the north, many Marseillaise have settled in the hillside communities rippling southward, facing the seaside roadway called the corniche. This coastal road is a source of natural beauty and unexpected social connection, “where people stop on their scooters to greet you, or honk their horns or sing aloud,” says Michelin-starred chef Alexandre Mazzia, who has called Marseille home since his teen years. A former professional basketball player, Mazzia still enjoys a game by the beach in the Montredon neighbourhood. “It’s so close to the sea,” he says. “The ball sometimes flies away in the wind. But I love the natural brightness and the clean sea air – there’s something so carefree about it.”
In summer 2024,
the Paris Olympic Games descend on Marseille. The pristine Roucas-Blanc marina is set to host Olympic sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing while footballers will face off at the nearby 67,000-seat Stade Vélodrome. Mazzia, who is set to serve as an Olympic torchbearer on 8 May, runs his avant garde modern French restaurant AM on a quiet lane in between the two venues, along with his popular lunchtime food truck Michel par AM, serving croques, frites and chicken brochettes.
Before setting out for the Olympic Village in Paris where he has been appointed one of the official chefs, Mazzia took us on a journey to the places he feels best reflect the warmth of his adopted hometown. Here are his picks for making the most of a weekend in this splendid seaside city.