Gikas Xenakis
Head Chef Aleria Restaurant
Professor Culinary Arts, Le Monde
For Gikas Xenakis, cooking begins with memory. With images, aromas and flavours connected to the Greek countryside that have, over time, become the foundation of his personal approach to contemporary Greek cuisine.
Born and raised in Thebes, Gikas carries vivid childhood memories of weekends spent fishing, exploring nature and, above all, his mother’s cooking. These experiences shaped a culinary philosophy that continues to revolve around fresh, pure ingredients and locality.
After graduating from Le Monde, he realised that his professional life would be inseparably connected to gastronomy. His journey has since taken him through important restaurants in Greece and abroad, working alongside distinguished chefs and gathering influences from different culinary environments. Travel remains an essential part of his creative development, as he continues to explore the world as a collector of gastronomic experiences.
Since 2012, Gikas has been Head Chef at Aleria, where he has developed a distinctive culinary signature centred around new Greek cuisine. His approach does not seek to distance itself from tradition, but rather to revisit it, evolve it and give familiar flavours a new creative expression.
This philosophy comes to life through some of his most characteristic dishes. From Seafood Magiritsa and a deconstructed Pastitsio to Hortopita, Omega-3 Meatballs, slow-cooked Lamb and a contemporary interpretation of Moussaka, Gikas returns to flavours deeply embedded in Greek culinary memory and reimagines them through his own creative perspective.
In his cooking, the contemporary does not replace tradition; tradition becomes its starting point. The Greek land, its produce and the flavours he grew up with take on new forms without losing their identity or emotional resonance.
At Gastrosophy Fest 2026, Gikas Xenakis will bring this relationship between memory, place and contemporary creativity to the conversation, sharing his perspective on how the richness of the Greek land and its culinary heritage can become a starting point for the cuisine of today and tomorrow.
