For Chef Thierry Blouet, now Bailli Délégué of Mexico, opening his own restaurant in Mexico in 1990 was a dream come true. The visionary founder of the Café des Artistes Group is today the proud owner of the Café des Artistes Bistro Gourmet restaurant, P’yote Piano Lounge and Bar and Thierry Blouet Cocina de Autor - all in Puerto Vallarta - as well as Tuna Blanca, situated on the water’s edge at the beach in Punta Mita.

“Café des Artistes is a way of looking at and experiencing life with artistic sensibility, insofar as we are all, to a certain extent, artists.”

Thierry Blouet came to Puerto Vallarta in 1987 to head the kitchen at the prestigious La Perla, Hotel Camino Real and immediately fell in love with the charming little town with its red tiles flanked by the Pacific beaches and mountains of the Sierra Madre Mountains. La Perla’s customers were equally impressed with his gastronomic fare, which was like nothing else in Mexico at the time. Colours and textures, flavours and aromas, were all presented in perfect harmony in his dishes, featuring ingredients that had never before been used in local restaurants.

“The philosophy of my cuisine is inspired by colours, shapes, architectural designs, fashion, sounds, aromas and experiences that have made an impression on me,” explained Thierry. “Combining products of the highest quality, the magic of flavours, spices and the vibrant colours of Mexico is a passion for me.”

Rapidly becoming a favourite dish on the menu at Café des Artistes is the grilled, marinated octopus, which combines the best of French and Mexican culinary influences in one dish. Thierry Blouet developed this method of cooking octopus in 2014 and describes it as the best octopus dish he has had the honour to serve in the Café des Artistes in the 25 years since he opened the restaurant.

“For me, grilled marinated octopus served with chayote au gratin, spinach, mushrooms, bean sauce and crispy cuitlacoche is one of the best octopus dishes we have ever served at the restaurant. We tried various ways to prepare octopus, always keeping in mind the questions: How can we reinvent it? How can we use it differently? Until this recipe occurred to me.”

The star of the dish, the octopus, is cooked twice, firstly in water taking care not to overcook it, before being refrigerated for two days in an oil-based marinade and then grilled. The marinade forms a crust-like layer that keeps the octopus juicy and soft inside.

Café des Artistes does not stand still. With a vision to reinforce its position as the best restaurant in Mexico and to be among the 50 best restaurants in the world, its concept is constantly reinvented fusing the best of the past with the products, technology and trends of the present in order to shape the future.