It's in the pleasant village-like district of Pangrati that we meet Arnaud Bignon on a fine June afternoon. The French chef welcomes us to Spondi, in a strange little vaulted room with brick walls, which seems to serve as his informal office. It's only 3pm, but the Le Mans native is already on deck for the evening service. At this time of day, the last deliveries of fresh vegetables or fish arrive while the final details are being worked out for dinner. You don't have to be an expert to see that the chef is as good as gold here, masterfully managing this restaurant, which has been awarded at least one Michelin star for over 20 years.
From Paris to Athens via London
Greece? Arnaud Bignon arrived there for the first time in 2005, after a stint at the Bristol. He decided to join the kitchens of Spondi, an establishment owned by Apostolos Trastelis, an ambitious entrepreneur on the local gastronomic scene. With the help of his mentor Éric Frechon, the restaurant quickly earned a second Michelin Star and became an absolute reference in the land of Homer. This was a great reward for Arnaud, who quickly grew wings. He decided to try his luck in England and joined Greenhouse, a London establishment in the upmarket Mayfair district. The buzz that reigned there and the presence of numerous gourmet restaurants in the vicinity won him over. ‘At the time, Mayfair was full of great restaurants where young chefs from all over the world were working together. I met a lot of new people there, and I got really tired too’, he enthuses. After a few years and a second Star for the British establishment, Arnaud decided to return to Athens to work at Spondi. Since 2018, he has been at the helm of this restaurant, which remains a must in the world of haute cuisine.
©Spondi
A cuisine that is both Greek and French
After so much time spent in Greece, what does Arnaud Bignon's cuisine look like? ‘I'm still a French chef, but my style has evolved quite a bit over the years. For example, I use more and more Greek products. I've also noticed that I now aspire to a certain lightness. For example, I don't really want to make beurre-blanc or that sort of thing any more’, he confides. Among the local ingredients he can't do without are Greek olive oil, pine oil, seaweed, mountain herbs, fresh almonds and morels. ‘I also use a lot of local truffles, which stand up very well’, he says as he lists his latest shopping list. With these raw materials, he enjoys reinventing some of the country's classics, such as Greek salad, which he presents in a sphere, delivering all the characteristic tastes of this dish in a single bite. Sea bass? He serves it with rocket and bottarga from Trikalinos. He also works with figs, which he has fun reducing to oil to incorporate into a mayonnaise. For dessert, he likes to combine local citrus fruits: bergamot, lemon, kumquat... Freshness is always on the menu. Surprising with unusual and surprising combinations, that's his trademark!
©Spondi
Mentor to the new generation
Arnaud Bignon, a well-trained chef, also possesses unique expertise in Greece. So much so that he has trained many of the young stars of Greek gastronomy today. Panagiotis Giakalis, George Felemegkas and Grigoris Kikis have all passed through his brigade. They all speak of him with great gratitude and even a certain nostalgia. When you eat at their new addresses, you can sometimes find their mentor's touch: here, a crusty French loaf; there, a very intense meat juice... Leaving Athens? The French chef doesn't think about it: ‘I like the rhythm of Greek life, with the sun as my horizon and the sea always within reach of my flip-flops’. At Spondi, he often organises 4-hand dinners with his chef friends from France and elsewhere. And he also invites himself to the tables of his former seconds, who have in the meantime passed through the kitchens of top establishments in Spain, Scandinavia and Italy. All these experiences have considerably enriched Greek gastronomy, which nevertheless continues to draw on its roots to astonish the world. It's a heritage that Arnaud still loves to discover, travelling the length and breadth of the country, from Crete to Thrace, in search of new products, little-known skills and different ways of cooking...Hero Image : ©Spondi
Arnaud Bignon Cooking ©Spondi
This post is brought to you in partnership with Greek National Tourism Organisation
