Since 2006, Sani Resort in Halkidiki, Greece, has hosted a gourmet festival, inviting top chefs from around the world to create an exclusive tasting menu for the event. Since its inaugural year, the festival has grown and become known as one of the Mediterranean’s most respected culinary gatherings. And 2026 is a biggie with some huge-name Michelin-starred chefs gathering to cook at this really unique experience.
This year, the event is being held from July 10 to August 7. Every Friday evening during this period, a new chef will enter the kitchen to create a unique, exclusive culinary experience at the Elia restaurant in Porto Sani. Take a look at the selected chefs from New York to Paris behind the upcoming event.
The Resort that Started a Gourmet Event
Sani Gourmet 2026 is a massive reason to visit and there is so much more to do too. Sani Resort is a luxurious, award-winning resort that consists of FIVE hotels at the intersection of three natural worlds of wetlands, forests, and beaches. The dreamy combination.
The resort prides itself on ensuring that guests have plenty of activities to choose from to truly make the most of their experience in Greece. They offer activities for families and for those seeking a more spiritual experience, including yoga and forest meditation. For more adventurous experiences, there is scuba diving, beekeeping, bird watching, and even waterskiing.
Chef Pierre Gagnaire – July 10
A three Michelin-starred chef from France, Pierre Gagnaire, will be the opening chef for the Sani Gourmet 2026 event. He specialises in blending traditional French cuisine with contemporary flavours to create something truly special that people travel from around the world to taste. He began his culinary career in small restaurants in Lyon and worked his way up to leading restaurants around the world, and now has his own flagship restaurant in Paris. This will be a strong opening for the event, which will highlight a renowned European cuisine and chef.
Disfrutar (Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, Mateu Casañas) – July 17
A group of three chefs, all coming from the three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Barcelona that was previously named The World’s Best Restaurant. The trio of chefs, all from Spain, work as a team to combine Mediterranean cuisine with modern technical innovations, allowing them to continue the legacy of the classic cuisines while bringing them into the future to cater to the modern palate. Their Sani Gourmet menu will highlight their mastery in balancing playfulness with meticulous execution for a culinary avant-garde experience.
Pía León – July 24
For week three of the Sani Gourmet calendar, they will be hosting Pía León, who comes from across the Atlantic, all the way from Peru. There she is, a co-owner of Central and the founder of Kjolle. Being in Peru, Chef León leverages the biodiversity of the landscape around her and uses these ingredients in her creations. Going above and beyond and working closely with researchers to truly understand the richness of the land around her, so she can further infuse the identity of the earth into the food on the plate. At Sani, she will bring her terroir-driven gastronomy approach to highlight the importance of ingredients and using what the earth has to offer.
Albert Adrià – July 31
The creative force behind Enigma, this avant-garde chef coming from Spain, will be the fourth chef in the lineup for the event. Albert Adrià was and is a key figure in Spain’s avant-garde culinary movement. Like the Spanish chefs seen earlier in the programme, he too explores technical innovations within the culinary world, but he uses them to execute his imaginative ideas, bringing whimsy to his dishes. His Sani Gourmet menu will feature his affinity for contemporary fine dining.
Daniel Humm – August 7
The closing chef for the event is Daniel Humm, an owner of New York’s three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park. He is known in the culinary world for making the bold move of transitioning the iconic Eleven Madison Park restaurant into a fully plant-based concept. This strategy was risky in the beginning, and he made global headlines for this decision. However, it worked out in his favour, as it became the first plant-based concept restaurant to retain three Michelin stars. At Sani Gourmet, he will continue to showcase this philosophy of ingredient-led refinement through sustainability.
For guests who want dessert after their meals, pastry chef Antonio Bachour will be hosting a summer pop-up at the Sani Marina Patisserie, showcasing his signature desserts. Like the chefs, people will come from around the world to try all these unique dishes and enjoy a beautiful vacation in Greece. Sani Gourmet 2026 is more than an event; it is an experience to taste the food that is at the forefront of contemporary gastronomy.
For more information on Sani Gourmet 2026, visit Sani Resort
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All Images Courtesy of Sani Resorts.