Star Power

SBM has more michelin stars than any other European resort and vistamar's chef Jean-Philippe Borro has served up one of them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      As the only resort in Europe to count a galaxy of Michelin stars, seven precisely in 2021, Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) continues to dazzle in culinary luxury. From three-star decadence at Ducasse’s Louis XV to one-star cuisine at Le Grill, Blue Bay and Elsa, the fi rst organic restaurant to ever receive the coveted nod from the red guide book.                                                                                                               Also noted in SBM’s group of seven, Vistamar has maintained its star at the Hotel Hermitage thanks to chef Jean-Philippe Borro, who will pass on the torch to Yannick Alléno in April.                                                                                                                                                                             “I grew up in a family where we cooked with products from our garden,” says chef Borro, an Auvergnat. “We would always get together for a big meal aft er harvest, eating stews and typical local dishes. You know, those authentic moments and fl avors are still etched in my memory.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Borro, who took over last year from Benoît Witz (now at Elsa), was also strongly infl uenced by Italian culture on his father’s side and is still drawn towards pasta, tomato sauce and gnocchi which, he recalls, “formed my childhood.”                                                                                 While on vacation on the Côte d'Azur, Borro discovered the culinary philosophy of Alain Ducasse and his goal was set: “My only ambition was to work for this artist.”                                                                                                                                                                                                        After a stint at Le Taillevent in the City of Light, he entered the world of Ducasse starting at Ducasse Paris and then on to Louis XV Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel de Paris and the Abbaye de la Celle. And since 2020, he has been head chef at Vistamar, an intimate restaurant with exceptional terrace views of the palace and Port Hercules.                                                                                                                                                “All of these experiences have allowed me to acquire a great culinary mastery of the products of our soil and taught me to magnify every flavor with great simplicity,” says the Michelin-star chef.