Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine for the soul – Luther Burbank
Michelin-starred chef and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity Mauro Colagreco, has launched a limited-edition five and seven course Flower Menu at Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO. The menu showcases Chef Colagreco’s renowned passion for gardening and biodiversity, and celebrates the vibrant abundance of the season and the natural beauty of floral displays.
Building on the success of last year’s offering, and launching to coincide with the flower season, Chef Colagreco has crafted a new menu that will be available until Saturday 28th June, designed to demonstrate the versatility of working with flowers. An extension of Chef Colagreco’s connection to UNESCO and his commitment to championing biodiversity, seasonality and sustainability, this special menu allows for his culinary artistry to highlight the vital connection between gastronomy and the natural world around us.
Circular Gastronomy
Chef Colagreco, who was awarded a Michelin star this year for his eponymous restaurant at Raffles London at The OWO, has crafted a five and seven-course menu where the plates are designed as works of art showcasing the abundance of colours and shapes of seasonal flowers.
At the heart of his culinary ethos is a commitment to Circular Gastronomy, a holistic vision that considers the full journey of food, from soil to plate and back to the earth. It values every participant in the food chain, champions local and sustainable farming, and mirrors the principles of a circular economy. This philosophy integrates ecological stewardship with culinary excellence.
Mauro offers a totally unexpected cuisine, as he likes to work with freedom from the usual constraints of conformity. His cooking is masterful yet unrestrained, driven by an ethos that the exceptional is often found in simplicity. He sees himself as a Chef without Borders, where the art of cooking is an exciting journey that has taken him from one border to another, to get the best of the sea, land, and air: spanning France, Italy, Great Britain and elsewhere around the world.
The Flower Menu
The experience begins with Calendula (a mild, floral and slightly daisy like plant) with a rich chicken liver parfait paired with crispy liver skin and carrot ham, followed by a Nasturtium taco, an edible flower with its leaves that has a peppery flavour. He fills it with ex-dairy cow tartare and a delicate anchovy emulsion. Other highlights include Alkanet, paired with scallop and almond, and an Allium Flower with a dazzling colour and delicious taste, and onion grelot tartlet, finished with creamy goat cheese.
The menu then unfolds as a graceful progression of flower-inspired dishes, starting with the signature Pain de Partage, baked from a treasured heirloom bread recipe and served with flower-infused olive oil. This is followed by Dianthus – Flower veil, line-caught seabass, Isle of Man honey dressing (a UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man partner) and Elderflower Pil Pil, pairing Scottish langoustine with Maison Sturia caviar and a crisp tempura.
Standout dishes also include the Tulip, which has a mild, sweet and flowery taste – consisting of grilled lobster, garam masala, potato foam and Geranium Leaf (a citrusy taste) Curry, featuring Cornish John Dory accompanied by a vivid flower salad. For meat lovers, the Cherry Blossom, a delicate sweet tasting flower with floral notespresents Merrifield duck, enriched with fresh almond and preserved cherry.
Chef Colagreco cultivates his flowers, which are native to many different parts of the world, near his restaurant, assuring a fresh and organic taste in every dish. We recently visited the amazing five gardens at Mirazur in Menton to see all the wonderful ingredients that are grown for the restaurant.
To conclude, Marigold (similar taste to anise and native to the Americas) offers a sweet finale with Sussex sheep ricotta, bright orange marmalade, and a refreshing marigold leaf ice cream , alongside the Jasmine – compressed cucumber, jasmine espuma and milk semifreddo. Jasmine flowers originated in Asia, but have found their way to Europe as well as Africa in the last century.
A Limited Edition Menu
Priced at £175 per person for five courses and £205 for seven, you will also be able to enjoy a choice of wine pairings to accompany. Options include the Exploration Route Pairing, the Leisure Route Pairing or the Temperance Pairing of non alcoholic drinks. The menus at Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO trace a path through the English countryside, exploring British terroir and more than 70 varieties of fruit and vegetables found across the British Isles.
The Flower Menu will be available until Saturday, 28 June 2025 at Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO.
To book, visit: raffles.com/london/dining/mauro-colagreco
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All images courtesy of Mauro Colagreco London and Raffles.