Yannis Sgard

French fine dining is where Yannis Sgard’s style was formed: measured, exacting, and built around flavour before flourish. In his own words, his cooking is “French tradition, modern, elegant, and subtle — always focused on the right flavours.” That brief is clear enough to read as method: restraint, balance, and a disciplined approach to the plate. Paris was the first training ground. In 2010, Yannis Sgard entered the profession as a cook / trainee in Various kitchens in Paris (Café de la Paix, Hôtel Le Bristol, Shangri-La Paris) in Paris, France, a setting where pace and standards leave little room for error. By 2016, he had moved into the role of chef at Restaurant Lasserre in Paris, France, while also serving as senior chef de partie / kitchen brigade member at Le Cinq, Four Seasons George V in Paris, France. Those positions kept him close to the formal demands of French dining and reinforced the precision that runs through his work. Dubai expanded the frame without changing the foundation. As Executive Chef at At.mosphere, Burj Khalifa, he carried his Paris-trained sensibility into a different dining context, keeping the focus on clarity and the right flavours. Across each move, the language stays consistent: elegant, subtle, and grounded in French tradition. That grounding is explicit in his own description of the work. “My culinary vision is deeply rooted in my fine-dining background and the rich traditions of French cuisine,” Yannis Sgard says, and the statement maps directly to the path he has taken. The emphasis is not on spectacle but on control, polish, and the discipline of taste. His cooking reads as a continuation of the same set of priorities: modern, but anchored; refined, but never overdrawn. His recognition follows the same trajectory. In 2023, Yannis was a Future Great Chef of the Year Finalist, and in 2016, he was named Jeune Chef, concours Espoirs de Mougins. Those honors sit alongside a career that began in Paris in 2010 and moved into some of Dubai’s most prominent rooms. The pattern is steady rather than dramatic: technique first, tradition intact, and a clear preference for precision over noise.