«The best ideas come from what you don't know yet», an interview with Mauro Colagreco From Mirazur to Lake Como, the Argentine chef talks about Cetino and a cuisine built around new ingredients, local traditions and personal geographies

There are chefs who arrive at a place with a ready-made cuisine, and others who prefer to first understand what surrounds them. Chef Mauro Colagreco firmly belongs to the second category. We met him on Lake Como, at his new restaurant Cetino, inside The Lake Como EDITION, where for the first time he officially brings his cuisine to Italy. A debut that, in his case, has something inevitable about it: Colagreco was born in Argentina, trained in France, but Italy has always remained in the background of his family and personal story, also through the geographical proximity of Mirazur, his three-Michelin-star restaurant in Menton.

On Lake Como, however, he did not arrive to repeat tried-and-tested formulas. Cetino was born instead from a kind of exploration: freshwater fish, mountains, herbs, cheeses, local producers — everything that makes this territory different from the Mediterranean that Colagreco knows so well. And perhaps this is precisely the thread that holds all his cooking together: starting from a place, understanding its habits, and only then beginning to transform it. We spoke with him about Italian tradition, missoltini, three Michelin stars, and why, sometimes, a new ingredient can still change the way you cook.

With Cetino you made your Italian debut. What convinced you about Lake Como?

Opening my first restaurant in Italy is something very personal, because much of my family was of Italian origin. At the same time, I didn't simply want to return to my roots — I wanted to discover a new territory. Lake Como struck me immediately for its richness: the lake, the mountains, the gardens, the producers, a very strong gastronomic culture. With Cetino we started from exactly this, trying to understand the territory through its people and products, and to build a cuisine that could truly belong to this place.

How does Lake Como concretely make its way into the menu?

First and foremost through freshwater fish. Trout, whitefish, agone: for me they were a real discovery. Then there are the mountain products — cheeses, aromatic herbs, Valtellina bresaola, hazelnuts. I really love the dialogue between lake and mountain. A trout raviolo with roe, smoked goat's cheese and aromatic herbs, or whitefish with leeks and bagna cauda can tell the story of this territory without turning it into a gastronomic caricature. That's what interests me: understanding an identity and then translating it through our own sensibility.

Your cuisine brings together Argentina, France and Italy. How much do these three geographies still weigh on you?

They are all part of me. In Argentina I grew up with a very strong culture of generosity and sharing at the table. In France I learned technique, precision and respect for the product. Italy, on the other hand, has always been part of my family history and also of my life in Menton. When I encounter an Italian product, I first try to understand its history, the way it is cooked, the relationship people have with that ingredient. Only then does my personal experience come into play. For me, tradition is not something static: it continues to live precisely when it is passed on and transformed.

You have three Michelin stars at Mirazur. After such recognition, what is there left to pursue?

The three stars were an enormous moment and a recognition for the whole team, but I never saw them as an ending. After receiving them I still had a desire to learn, to change, to question certain things. Today I also think a great deal about the impact a restaurant can have on the territory, on producers, on the people who work there. What truly makes me happy is seeing a team grow, continuing to discover and create emotions around a table.

If you had to choose one dish to explain Cetino?

The rosemary focaccia with agone and anchovies. I like it because it brings together two fish from different worlds: the agone from Lake Como and the sea anchovy. Both carry with them ancient traditions of preservation. Here the agone is salted and dried to become missoltino, while anchovies too have a long history tied to salt. Together with the focaccia and rosemary, they tell the story of the lake and the Mediterranean, but also of the different places that are part of my own story. And then there is the simplicity of the focaccia, which for me is fundamental: something popular, immediate, that makes you want to eat.

Is there something about Lake Como that truly surprised you?

Definitely the lake fish and the aromatic herbs. At Mirazur I work a great deal with micro-seasons, wild plants, ancient varieties and the different stages of ripeness of an ingredient. Here I am beginning to do the same work with different products. Whitefish, trout and agone are becoming very important ingredients for me. Often the best ideas are born precisely this way, when you encounter something you don't yet know well.