Marseille, France
Flavours Without Borders: The Avant-Garde Cuisine of Chef Margaux Delacourt
In the heart of Marseille’s historic Le Panier district, where the scent of salt and spices lingers in the air, Margaux Delacourt is rewriting the rules of French cuisine. At just 34, she has already carved out a reputation as one of France’s most daring and stylish culinary minds. Her approach is unapologetically bold: sea urchin paired with black garlic foam, fig-glazed pigeon with fermented plum, or oysters served with yuzu pearls and rose-pickled radish. Each dish is a visual and sensory experience, blurring the line between food and art.
Margaux's restaurant, Vertebra, is a minimalist space where stainless steel meets soft linen, and diners are treated to a choreographed tasting menu that evolves with the seasons. Every plate tells a story, both rooted in her French heritage and fearlessly global in inspiration. Her ingredients come from trusted foragers, fishers, and micro-farmers; but her ideas are sparked by music, fashion, and even architecture. “I want food to surprise you the way a bold line in a painting does,” she says.
Her personal style mirrors her cuisine — eclectic, expressive, and always intentional. Often spotted in oversized linen suits, sculptural earrings, and vintage boots, Margaux has been featured in style sections as frequently as in food columns. She finds creative fuel in photography books, electronic music, and long walks through Marseille’s chaotic markets. Cooking, for her, is not a repetition of tradition but a continuous act of reinvention. Magazines like Le Foodiste, Nouveau Goût, and even Kinfolk have praised Margaux as a “visionary of the plate” and “a chef who paints in acid and velvet.” Her food doesn’t seek to comfort — it seeks to wake you up. At Vertebra, every course is a conversation starter, an experiment in balance, tension, and curiosity.
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