Funky Gourmet

Georgianna Chiliadaki and Nikos Roussos, the founders of the Michelin awarded Funky Gourmet restaurant open their own magic cabinet. It is full of memories, aromas, flavours, their loved ones and plans for the future

Cookbook

The cookbook we always go back to is The Flavor Bible by Karen Page’s and Andrew Dornenburg. We have got five copies: in the office, the restaurant, our house and our holiday home. We always revisit it when we’re preparing a new dish.

Favourite flavours

Georgianna: My mother’s rooster pasta with grated graviera cheese. My mother, a dentist by trade, is an incredible cook. I remember her making this when I was a kid and its flavour is imprinted on my brain.

Nikos: There used to a grocery store in Kythira owned by Maria, who could really cook. She used to handpick all her ingredients and her dishes will always be amongst the most gourmet experiences I have ever had.

Photos of our kids and their drawings

It wouldn’t be our magic cabinet without photos of our children and their imaginative drawings.

Favourite place: Kythira

If we could put one place in a magic cabinet, that would be Kythira, where we’ve been holidaying for the last 15 years. Every time we go, we love it even more. We have such wonderful memories there and every year, we create more. It’s the place we got married and where our children learnt to swim. Kythira for us is the smell of thyme and spending time relaxing with our loved ones.

Advice

The most precious advice we have ever received was from the Michelin inspector who visited us in 2012. He told us not to cook to get awards but to do it for ourselves and our customers instead.

Works of art

The art we would put in our magic cabinet would be the paintings of our friend, Stefanos Rokkos, which hung in our Keramikos restaurant since we opened in 2009. They’re inseparably linked with our early days at Funky Gourmet so when we closed for renovation, we brought them home. They’re in our living room as a reminder of where it all began.

Logo

We have totally fallen in love with the new Funky Gourmet logo. Our restaurant is now ten years old so alongside our colleagues at Ioniki, we are celebrating by giving it a new home at the Athens Hilton, which will be ready in a few months. Inspired by the last ten years and by its new location, we are working on a new culinary concept, full of surprises, flavours and feeling. That’s what we based our new logo on too.

We have totally fallen in love with the new Funky Gourmet logo. Our restaurant is now ten years old so alongside our colleagues at Ioniki, we are celebrating by giving it a new home at the Athens Hilton, which will be ready in a few months.

People

Our team. We could never leave out all the people who made our restaurant a success. We have been lucky enough to be surrounded by people who have really supported us and continue to be by our side as we look to the future.

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Georgianna Chiliadaki and Nikos Roussos are executive chefs and co-founders of the Hospitality Group Modern Greek Food Group (MGFG). The jewel in the crown of this group is the two Michelin starred restaurant, Funky Gourmet, famous for its molecular cuisine.

They started Funky Gourmet in 2008 with Argyro Chiliadaki and introduced the world to avant garde Greek cooking. Their philosophy is that of an edible theatre, with dishes that evoke memories and feelings.

After ten years in the Kerameikos neighborhood (2008-2018), Funky Gourmet is moving to the Hilton hotel and re-opening its doors in a few months!