Chef Arnaud Bignon : the most Greek of French chefs
- 1* as Executive chef of Spondi in Athens
- Worked in France, UK, Greece
- Youngest chef to achieve 2*, at 32yo
More 1 Stars chefs here. Other French chefs here.
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Arnaud Bignon is the Executive chef of Spondi in Athens, where he began as head chef in 2005, earned two Michelin stars in 2008 and ranked No. 69 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list of 100 in 2011.
Born in Le Mans, France, Chef Arnaud developed a sense of harmony with seasonality in his grandfather’s garden and pursued a culinary career in Paris. Arnaud trained at the Michelin-starred Montparnasse 25 restaurant, Alain Ducasse at Poincaré Avenue, and Éric Frechon at Épicure in the Hôtel Le Bristol. In 2012, he worked at Michelin-starred The Greenhouse in London, where he was named among Le Chef’s 100 Best Chef’s in the World in 2016 and 2017.
Each dish Arnaud turns out is based around harmony and balance and combines his traditional French training, with contemporary techniques that he’s picked up while on his journey to culinary stardom.
Among his most acknowledged achievements, Arnaud became one of the youngest chefs to achieve two Michelin-star-status, at the age of just 32, while at the helm of restaurant Spondi in Athens.
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.
