Juan Arbelaez

A one-way ticket to escape

The darling of the Paris food scene arrives on the Croisette with Copal Beach. Marking the second anniversary of the Breitling boutique in Cannes, Breitling’s brand ambassador here looks back at his past and present projects.

Par Pauline Weber

“We’ve gone to great lengths to transcribe Copal into our cuisine, inspired by the colour of sunsets in Rio or Cartagena. It’s all about wood, smoke and the acidity tickling your taste buds. It’s a philosophy, a human adventure. We put everything on the table to share convivially and bring joy.” Juan Arbelaez finds the right words to take us on a journey from the outset, admitting that having a beach in Cannes has always been one of his dreams.

Paris to Greece

A chef-entrepreneur with some 15 restaurants to his name, Juan never thought he’d settle so far from his native Colombia when he arrived in the capital at age 18. “I lived the Paris cliché – strolling through the streets of Montmartre after a bowl of onion soup.” Everything amazes him. The cheese – he gets to taste a new one each day. The vineyards. And, of course, the Michelin-starred restaurants. 'I discovered a sumptuous country in terms of culinary creativity. I couldn’t go back. That was 18 years ago, half my life.' Having worked alongside some of the best, including Pierre Gagnaire, Eric Briffard and Eric Frechon, he had to persist to make a name for himself. After a short stint on Top Chef in 2012, he flew to the rescue of a restaurant owner in Boulogne. 'We spent three months doing three covers per shift but stuck with it. And it paid off in the end,' he recalls. Plantxa is the result, offering inventive cuisine inspired by the produce he brings back from the market each morning. His meeting with Kalios’founders during an olive oil delivery proved decisive. Together, they co-founded Eleni, the group behind the first Yaya in Saint-Ouen’s Manufacture du Design, and Bazurto, a Colombian restaurant on the Left Bank and in Tignes

Colombia to Switzerland

'Colombian cuisine was so important to me, I didn’t dare try my hand at it. I waited until I grew up.' He recalls some of his homeland treasures, including tucupi, a poisonous manioc juice from Amazonia. 'The only way to eat it is to ferment and cook it. The taste is awful. It’s like a hyper-concentrated chicken broth, but completely plant-based.' The recipe is in his book Recuerdame and will be on the menu this winter at his earthy beach club, inspired by Mexico’s hot spots. A Breitling ambassador for several years, he recognises that life is often a question of timing – meeting people at the right time, which is what happened with the Swiss watchmaker. His love of extreme sports caught their eye. 'There aren’t many chefs who surf and run marathons,' he jokes. True to his vision of fusion cuisine and sharing, he has created the menu for Breitling Kitchen in Geneva, an upmarket but relaxed restaurant that adds a Latin American street-food twist to local ingredients. 'Breitling’s strength lies in becoming powerful without getting too carried away,' he concludes, his Superocean dive watch on his wrist – combining elegance and performance at depths of up to 300 metres.