Funky Gourmet, A star is Born

One star after the other for Funky Gourmet restaurant in Central Athens area.

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After receiving last year their first Michelin star, now leading travel website TripAdvisor has ranked the Athenian restaurant, Funky Gourmet, among the world's top 10 restaurants

They well deserved it and surely are going to get more rewards in the coming years.
Still, thick tears came into my eyes. I have been there to watch this mature since it was still an idea, a dream. I think chef patron Georgianna Hiliadaki is a bliss and I was lucky to have been following her since her very first steps.

When she came back from her studies in the Institute of Culinary Education in New York her father was so proud for his daughter that he was anxious to show her off. She had done her practicing in Kitchen 82 with Charlie Palmer in the Upper West side NY and then worked in the team of chef Ferran Adrià constantly seeking new culinary horizons. There, in the premises of EL Bulli with no doubt she worshipped the master of molecular gastronomy. I still remember the first bite I had by her gifted hands . I knew right that moment that a shinning star had fallen in the Greek gastronomy scene.

Georgianna had already met in the States her talented partner Nikos Roussos and they were imagining the whole plan as all young people do. I had thought that their choice of Keramikos as the Athenian neighbourhood to nest their new restaurant was full of guts. And when you have guts, glory will surely follow. They picked an old neoclassical house which they renovated with minimal modern style . People from suburbs that never even knew the whereabouts of Keramikos are now storming in giving a boost to the center of Athens as well. The mayor of Athens should have their name in a golden shield outside the City Hall.
This is haute cuisine of the most extreme, stylized kind. It's art in a plate.

And if you can afford it please take your kids there as well. It is worth it all the way. They will get to see a small "olive tree" in a plate. They will be introduced to what fine food looks like, smells like, tastes like. The rite of dessert is just divine. The whole team will come to your table and create a Black Forrest, where every single element of the forrest is edible. It's an experience that they will cherish forever. And who knows? Maybe your little angels will become a chef like Georgianna one day, and will make you feel proud, just as her father does today.