Monaco Hosts the World Caviar Awards at the Yacht Club de Monaco: A Night of Luxury and Taste

Awards

Monaco Hosts the World Caviar Awards at the Yacht Club de Monaco: A Night of Luxury and Taste

On Thursday 6 November 2025, the glamorous setting of the Yacht Club de Monaco in the Principality of Monaco played host to the second edition of the World Caviar Awards — a gathering that brought together producers, merchants, culinary experts and VIP guests from around the world for a celebration of one of gastronomy’s most refined delights.

Setting the stage: Monaco, mastery and pearls of the sea

Monaco, with its harbour-front elegance and refined luxury ethos, provided the perfect backdrop for the competition. According to founder Laurent Morin, the move to Monaco “offers a prestigious and cosmopolitan stage” for caviar, one where tradition, innovation and elegance meet. Held under the high patronage of Princess Yasmine Murat, Princess of Pontecorvo, the event underscored that caviar is more than indulgence — it is craftsmanship, heritage and sensory experience.

The competition: blind tasting with rigorous standards

At the core of the event was the blind tasting competition. Entries of caviar from more than 20 countries — including Poland, Latvia, Iran, France, Italy, China, the United States and others — were submitted for evaluation.

Two separate juries assessed in two categories: one for Farms (producers who raise sturgeon and produce caviar themselves) and another for Merchants/Affineurs (those who refine, package and market the caviar).

The tasting was conducted under strictly controlled conditions — identical temperature, standardized dosage, anonymous containers — to guarantee impartiality. Two sworn bailiffs oversaw the process. Jurors scored each sample on criteria such as:

Appearance & brilliancy of the grains

Texture & grain integrity

Taste, aroma, balance and persistence on the palate

The jury: a constellation of culinary stars and connoisseurs

The 2025 jury featured illustrious names from the world of haute cuisine, fine gastronomy and luxury lifestyle. Here are some of the key figures:

Merchants/Affineurs category

Gérald Passedat – Chef of Le Petit Nice in Marseille.

Pascal Garrigues – Executive Chef at Monte-Carlo Beach.

Pierre Casiraghi – Vice-President of the Yacht Club de Monaco.

Eulalie Rus – MOF fishmonger & shellfish seller.

Pierre Frolla – World-record freediver, representing a different kind of expertise.

Farms category

Christian Garcia – Chef of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco.

Michel Roth – MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) and winner of the Bocuse d’Or.

Philippe Joannes – MOF 2000, culinary consultant at Yacht Club de Monaco.

These jurors exemplified the ethos of the Awards: not only gastronomic prestige, but also meticulous attention to provenance, craftsmanship and ethics. As Eulalie Rus remarked:

“Knowing that the animal was properly cared for and grew in good conditions is also a guarantee of quality.”

The Gala & Dinner: a celebration of caviar beyond tasting

After the judging session, the afternoon gave way to festivities. A refined cocktail reception opened the evening, featuring curated bars of caviar, oysters, olive oils (from Domaine de Léos), black garlic, champagne and fine wines.

The pièce de résistance was a 10-hands dinner — 10 courses crafted 100 % caviar — by top chefs collaborating specially for this event. Around 220 guests gathered to indulge in a curated gastronomic journey where caviar starred in each dish, from entrée to dessert.

“Caviar is no longer reserved for an elite few; thanks to the creativity of chefs, it is now regarded in haute cuisine as a full-fledged ingredient, while retaining its aura of rarity.” — Laurent Morin

Awards & Winners: global diversity, artisanal excellence

The results of the Awards underscored the global nature of caviar production, with winners from Switzerland, Iran, Canada, Belgium and other countries.

In the Farms > Oscietra category: 1st place – Oona Caviar (Switzerland) with its “Osietra Only Salt”

Farms > Baeri: 1st place – Oona Caviar (Switzerland) “Baerii 102 Ultra Fresh” and Lotfi Luxury Caviar, Iran

Merchants > Oscietra: 1st place – Luxury Food GmbH (Switzerland) Origin: Iran.

The winners reflected not just taste and texture, but the values of ethical farming, traceability and innovation — key pillars of the Awards’ mission to democratise caviar appreciation whilst honouring its elite character.

The wider significance: luxe, sustainability & the craft behind the pearls

Beyond the sparkle of gala life, the World Caviar Awards stressed deeper themes: sustainability of sturgeon farming, transparency of origin, technical mastery of production, and the evolution of caviar from symbol of luxury to ingredient of modern haute cuisine. “The caviar is a story of rivers, farms, patience, precision,” as one article put it.

Monaco, often associated with yachts, casinos and red-carpet glamour, here offered a more refined narrative — that of craftsmanship, taste and international exchange. Hosting the Awards in the Principality signalled a deliberate choice to elevate caviar within the world of gastronomic excellence.

Final word

The 2025 World Caviar Awards succeeded in more than bestowing medals — it created a moment where the caviar community, gastronomes and curious connoisseurs converged to reflect on what makes this delicacy exceptional: quality, provenance, artistry, and the sensory magic of each shimmering grain.

For one extraordinary day in Monaco, the spotlight was not solely on luxury, but on heritage — and the quiet grandeur of caviar expressed at its finest.

Awards

Monaco Hosts the World Caviar Awards at the Yacht Club de Monaco: A Night of Luxury and Taste

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