Francis Mallmann - Fame through flame 🔥

Meet Francis Mallmann, Patagonian conductor of smoke and fire — a man who turned open‑fire cooking into philosophical art. If that first sentence hasn’t got you, nothing else in this article will. And you’d be mad.

Born in 1956 in Acassuso, Argentina, he grew up in Bariloche and first lit a culinary flame at fourteen, cooking on tourist boats in Patagonia’s wilds. After honing French-kitchen finesse in no less than 8 restaurants each with 3 Michelin stars, Mallmann cast aside sauces for sizzle and opened an underground Buenos Aires spot in the ’80s—open at night only, no sign, teaching by day.

Watching him work—primal flames licking through rib cages, veggies sizzling on planchas—feels like witnessing a historical ritual and in many ways you are. That video above captures Mallmann in pure elemental mode: birthing flavor with nothing but smoke, salt, wind, and wood. His aesthetic is inextricably Patagonian—rustic, rugged, and deeply romantic.Might help that everywhere you look is equally as stunning. 

Mallmann’s philosophy of “The Seven Fires” defines his cuisine: infiernillo (mini‑hell), rescoldo (embers), parrilla grates, hot stones, and more, each with its own rustic raw ritual. Food must be touched by flame, left alone to develop it’s own caramelized magic — they mustn't be moved or fussed over — a purist’s creed. He often says that luxury isn’t caviar—it’s a humble potato slow-roasted over embers, eaten outdoors under an open sky. True connection to produce and the land. 

His restaurant empire spans Patagonia Sur in Buenos Aires, 1884 in Mendoza, Garzón in Uruguay, Los Fuegos in Miami, and spots in France and Chile. His collaborations with wineries and his dramatic fire pits overlooking vineyards deepen the drama and romance—fire, salt, grapes, and wind interweaving in his scenes. Is there a better mix?

Mallmann is also a thoughtful environmentalist: while known for grilling lamb and steak, he now champions vegetables with as much flair and seriousness in his Green Fire cookbook, arguing for careful, fire-driven veggie cooking and reduced meat consumption for a sustainable future - not to mention two of his daughters are vegan.

Beyond cooking, he’s a cultural rebel—loves to spend time sewing and painting, initials with fountain‑pen ink, gifts pink berets, and balances a muscular, macho image with a wryly self‑aware understatement about femininity and tenderness—even calling fire “the most tender and fragile thing ever”...

Not got the Mallmann vibe yet? Picture this. Imagine waltzing with the ghost of smoke, tasting a seductively charred steak paired with a silky contrasting wine under the stars wrapped in a blanket of conversation framed by crackling coals. The thrill of simplicity elevated. Mallmann’s cooking is storytelling—exactly what we live for at Denver & Liely. He is not merely a chef but a pilgrim, a poet, a provocateur of the flame, urging us all to remember the elemental language of simple cooking with fire.