Greek gastronomy shows its potential again
- By Chrysa Kakiori
At this year’s The Best Chef Awards ceremony, which took place on October 1–2 in Milan and once again highlighted the strongest voices on the world stage, five Greek chefs were featured. A clear indication that Athens (and its diaspora) is now playing at an international level.
The top three were occupied by Rasmus Munk (Alchemist, Copenhagen), Ana Ro? (Hi?a Franko, Slovenia) and Himanshu Saini (Tr?sind Studio, Dubai). The institution focuses on the chef himself (and not on the restaurant), which is why this year’s Greek five resemble a mosaic of modern Greek cuisine: research and fermentation, vegetable garden and product ethos, technique and extroversion.
The Greeks who entered the international “guide” with the One Knife (Excellent) distinction are:
Georgos Papazacharias- DELTA, Athens
Executive chef and creative mind of the double Michelin and Green Star awarded DELTA at the SNFCC, he combines fermentations, preservation techniques and Greek terroir in a 12-course menu. Before returning to Athens, he served in top Scandinavian restaurants such as Maaemo and worked in the R&D of Under.
Tasos Mantis – Soil, Athens
The chef who connected fine dining with his vegetable garden in Alepochori, building one of the cleanest “farm-to-table” menus in the city. He has worked at Hof Van Cleve, Geranium, Frantz?n and The Fat Duck and today at Soil (1* Michelin & Green Star) he signs a menu that honors raw materials and sustainability.
Alexandros Tsiotinis – CTC, Athens
Owner-chef of CTC (1* Michelin), with studies at Ferrandi and experience alongside Alain Passard, H?l?ne Darroze, ?ric Fr?chon and Pascal Barbot. His perspective on modern Greek cuisine balances French technique and Greek memory.
Stamatis Misomikes – Nyn Esti, Athens
His “neo-Greek” cuisine at the EMST restaurant gives classic recipes a modern narrative with an emphasis on product and detail. From a young age, he developed a style that combines technique and emotion.
Dimitrios Moudios – ?re, Bangkok
The 30-year-old Greek chef behind the award-winning 6-seat ?re in Thailand offers an extremely minimalist experience of 25-30 dishes that emphasize attention to detail with rare local ingredients. He previously worked in top kitchens such as the three-star Atelier in Munich.
This is not the first time that Greek names have stood out in the institution: Alexandros Tsiotinis was a New Candidate in 2023 and was officially listed in the 2024 Guide, as was George Papazacharias, while Georgianna Chiliadaki was already recognized among the top female chefs in 2017.
The Best Chef Awards were launched in 2015 by neuroscientist Joanna Slusarczyk and gastronome Cristian Gadau and have been held annually since 2017. From 2024, the award will rank chefs in Knife tiers: One Knife (Excellent), Two Knives (World-Class), Three Knives (The Best). This year, a record 783 awards were presented, while the number of voters almost doubled to 972 (572 chefs from 64 countries and 400 industry professionals). The new format reflects a more inclusive, global vision of excellence.
