Five Chefs, One Land: Discovering the Flavors of Messinia

By Nena Dimitriou

Amid the fertile fields of Messinia, at the heart of Costa Navarino, we set the table with five acclaimed chefs creating magic in the resort’s restaurants. Together, we cooked some of their signature dishes, discussed their favorite ingredients, and explored the essence of their culinary identity and the inspiration they draw from this land they’ve chosen to call home.

What’s it like to wake up next to an olive grove? To walk through fields and gather vibrant blue wildflowers – borage blossoms – that will later grace the plates? What does it mean for a chef to step into their garden at sunrise and handpick vegetables at peak ripeness?

You’ll meet these chefs at the restaurants you visit during your stay, through dishes full of character, rooted in tradition, and executed with skill. The recipes they shared with us – flavorful, inspired creations – tell stories: of philosophy, of place, of a deep connection to local produce and Messinia’s culinary heritage.

Bertrand Valegeas

Executive Chef, Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino

Before Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino welcomed its first guest, Bertrand Valegeas was already here, laying the culinary foundations for a full year. Known for his refined French style, he brought with him a philosophy shaped by decades of experience, aiming to create a destination where every dining experience reflects both locality and sustainability.

Today, Valegeas oversees seven distinct dining venues, each with its own character, yet united by a shared philosophy: local sourcing, seasonal produce, and environmental awareness. “All our suppliers are within a 50 to 100-kilometer radius,” he explains. “We visit the nearby farms and producers in person. We ask them to grow specific vegetables for us, to supply our dairy products. And of course, we have a beautiful garden on-site — it’s the heart of our kitchen.”

“Our vegetables don’t know what a refrigerator is,” he adds. “We pick, cook, and serve. That, to me, is real luxury.”

His dishes embody this ethos. We watch him prepare Tomato Fraîcheur – a sun-ripened tomato filled with basil and crab – and a delicate Beef Carpaccio with ethically raised meat, simply dressed with Navarino Icons Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Each dish reflects a stripped-down purity.

What drives Bertrand is not culinary spectacle, but restraint. “We have, right in front of us, the ultimate ‘supermarket’: the open sea, for fresh fish and seafood. There’s no need to look far. We’re surrounded by olive groves, with a true nutritional treasure at our fingertips.”

Joris Larigaldie

Cluster Director of Culinary Strategy and Operations, Costa Navarino

For Joris Larigaldie, cooking is a way of bringing people closer together – to connect them with the land, the stories of the region, and the true character of each dish. He sees gastronomy as a thoughtful composition: flavors rooted in agricultural tradition, inspired by the Mediterranean, and touched by the elegance of his French heritage. Over the past year and a half, his expertise in the art of fine cuisine has played a pivotal role in shaping Costa Navarino’s culinary identity.

“Fresh local vegetables are the perfect invitation to enjoy more olive oil,” he says. “The seasons may shift, but olive oil is the soul of our table all year-round. Like the cello in the symphony, it plays the low, grounding melody through which the other ingredients find their voices. A constant presence, it is the heart of our Mediterranean cuisine.”

One such example: a velvety yogurt dip served with vegetables preserved in olive oil, paired with his hand-kneaded bread enriched with fig, graviera, and walnut. The bread echoes southern France, while the dip speaks purely of Messinia. His signature presentation — Navarino Icons Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Dip with Fig Graviera Walnut Bread, Tapenade, and Honeycomb — is a study in contrasts: fresh and aged, soft and sharp, sweet and sour, sudden and patient. Earthy, aromatic, and naturally sweet, it finishes with a floral burst.

Giannis Georgousopoulos

Complex Head Chef, The Romanos & The Westin, Costa Navarino

Giannis Georgousopoulos joined Costa Navarino as a young chef in 2010. Today, as Complex Head Chef for The Romanos and The Westin, he oversees more than eleven restaurants – each with a unique concept, yet unified by a reverence for Messinian ingredients.

“It all starts with the ingredients,” he says. “When you work with exceptional products from small-scale producers — people who pour their love into what they do — then cooking becomes a kind of responsibility: to honor their effort, to tell their story through food.”

He blends local tradition with modern technique. His signature slow-cooked lamb with trahanas and eggplant purée, served daily at Flame, is rooted in Greek heritage but elevated through precision and presentation. “Trahanas, a truly Greek ingredient, often surprises those who try it for the first time – in the best way. At first, some guests hesitate, but once we explain that it’s a traditional pasta, often enjoyed at breakfast in soup form, they change their minds. Many request it again and again.” The dish integrates multiple Navarino Icons ingredients, from honey and fig jam to olive tapenade and red pepper dip.

For Georgousopoulos, the challenge is to keep culinary traditions alive while presenting them in a way that feels modern, open, and welcoming. “Messinian cuisine has outstanding products and a rich story to tell. Our role is to respect it, nurture it, and help it evolve – not to change it for the sake of change, but to keep it alive.”

Nikos Billis

Executive Chef, W Costa Navarino

Nikos Billis stepped into his role with a clear vision: to highlight the region’s rich gastronomic identity and establish W Costa Navarino as a true culinary destination.

“The region is inspiring,” he says. “I have access to outstanding products: high-quality olive oil, thriving wild herbs, fresh greens and legumes – ingredients you can use to create food that speaks to memory and to the heart. Greek cuisine is, at its core, vegetarian, without ever needing to announce it. It’s a cuisine of substance, of everyday life, of seasonality. And for centuries, it has embodied principles of sustainability and zero waste — concepts that global gastronomy is only now rediscovering.”

In front of us, he prepares a dish that perfectly encapsulates his philosophy: black-eyed peas with wild greens and herbs – simple, delicious, and authentically local. “At the end of the day, what we must offer is delicious food. We live in an age of aesthetics, and we often forget about substance. But if a dish is first and foremost delicious – and also beautiful – we’ve succeeded. Greek cuisine is not about image; it’s about substance.”

Used to cooking with an audience, Billis leads a dynamic team at Parelia, W Costa Navarino’s beachside destination restaurant, where seafood takes center stage. The setting is as engaging as the food, with many dishes prepared tableside by the expert service team.

Alexandros Tsiotinis

Head Chef, Kafenio & Deli, Souvlakerie, Paráfrasi by CTC

Chef Alexandros Tsiotinis, renowned for his Michelin-starred Athens restaurant CTC, brings his distinctive vision to Costa Navarino this season, taking the helm of three vibrant venues within the Navarino Dunes: Kafenio & Deli; the Souvlakerie; and Paráfrasi by CTC. The latter is a bold new project – his take on the “neo-taverna” — reimagining Greek cuisine through a modern, personal lens.

“The idea behind Paráfrasi is to reinterpret the concept of the Greek taverna in our own words,” Tsiotinis explains. “To express tradition in a way that is creative and personal.”

The menu offers inventive takes on beloved Greek classics. One standout is an eggplant salad paired with fire-roasted eggplant, smoked eel, xygalo cheese from Sitia, and a hint of sumac.

“The greatest truth here at Costa Navarino is that we are surrounded by nature. Every season brings new possibilities: wild asparagus, oregano, rosemary. A stalk of celery picked just minutes ago tastes completely different from one harvested two days earlier. Freshness has its own flavor, its own presence, its own power.”

Tsiotinis also incorporates naturally preserved ingredients, such as Navarino Icons Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Dip and marinated olives, into refined dishes such as his sea bass with a tomato-pepper sauce, garnished with handpicked herbs from the garden beds surrounding the restaurant – infusing each bite with the aromas of the Messinian countryside.

Navarino Icons – A Taste of Messinia

Used throughout the kitchens of Costa Navarino, Navarino Icons products offer a direct link to the land. From olive oil and raw honey to fig jam, red pepper dip, and Kalamon olives, they represent the essence of Messinian flavor – crafted with tradition, care, and nutritional integrity.

With over 55 global awards, they’ve become both culinary tools and meaningful souvenirs. But more than anything, they remind us that excellent food begins with exquisite ingredients – and a deep respect for where they come from.