LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Apostolos Trastelis
Thirty years of Spondi mean thirty years of haute cuisine in Athens. In Apostolos Trastelis, we honour a man whose rare instinct and determination laid the foundations for an entire gastronomic scene. Spondi has been the great training ground of Greek fine-dining culture: a place where chefs came of age, teams were trained, the public’s gastronomic awareness was shaped, and the bar for hospitality was raised dramatically. Demanding, perceptive and deeply creative, Trastelis has been, and continues to be, a catalyst for the Greek restaurant scene, while his career remains one of the defining chapters in modern Greek gastronomy.
AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION TO LOCAL TRADITION:
Giorgos Pittas
In Giorgos Pittas, we honour a tireless champion of Greek tradition, someone who has recorded it, protected it and transformed it into a living field for the future of Greek gastronomy. Through Greek Breakfast, the Greek Gastronomy Guide and his books, he has brought together places, producers, kafeneia, fairs, recipes, products and people into a valuable narrative of continuity. His perspective is marked by tenderness, knowledge and a deep faith in the value of locality.
Culinary Hero:
Spiros & Vaggelis Liakos
Spyros and Vaggelis Liakos are among the people who changed the vocabulary of Greek dining. From Basegrill, Travolta, Cookoovaya and Ateno to Metameat, they placed ingredients, provenance, the producer, the breed, the cut and the act of sharing at the centre of the experience. Tireless, restless and always present, they continued to open new paths with Gastrosophy, a gastronomic festival that brought international dialogue and major figures to Athens, among them Massimo Bottura. In them, we honour two creators of rare energy, deep hospitality instinct and a defining contribution to the contemporary Greek restaurant scene.
Chef of the Year:
Georgianna Hiliadaki
Georgianna Hiliadaki is one of the chefs who truly broadened the horizons of modern Greek cuisine. With Funky Gourmet, she brought a new language of haute cuisine to Athens, defined by technique, imagination, boldness, artistic thinking and international reach. Her gastronomic voice remains contemporary, but is now also more outward-looking and approachable, something she proves every day at Iodio.
Greek Culinary Ambassador:
George Calombaris
From The Press Club in Melbourne, where he explored Greek flavour through a contemporary, creative lens, to Hellenic Republic, which made the Greek table more open, vibrant and accessible to Australian diners, George Calombaris’ career has always remained rooted in his heritage. As a judge on MasterChef Australia from 2009 to 2019, he spoke about Greece, Cyprus, the Mediterranean, family, the table and Greek memory to millions of viewers. In him, we honour a gastronomic ambassador who made Greekness more visible, more outward-looking and more loved by a vast international audience.
PASTRY CHEF OF THE YEAR:
Liza Kermanidou
Liza Kermanidou represents a new, bright and highly promising moment for Greek pastry. With studies in France, significant experience in London and a path through demanding kitchens, we encountered her again this year in Athens, at No Crumbs. There, she brought to viennoiserie a finesse the city had been missing, without losing the immediate pleasure of indulgence, raising the bar for contemporary Athenian pâtisserie.
RISING STAR BY THE MACALLAN:
John Skotidas
John Skotidas brings to the Greek scene a rare personal journey and a bright, distinctive cuisine. With a Greek father, a mother of Filipino and Chinese heritage, a childhood spent in Panama, a career in London, a significant role behind Mazi and Suzi Tros, and now as the culinary force behind Abra Ovata, he moves naturally between Greekness, the Mediterranean, Latin America and Asia. His cooking has appealing intensity, character and clean flavours, promising even greater things to come.
ARTISAN OF THE YEAR BY M. ARTISAN WATER:
Stefanos Livanios / Tromero Paidi
Tromero Paidi is one of those cases that has decisively changed an everyday habit in the city. Stefanos Livanios took the bakery, a word deeply familiar in Greek life, and gave it renewed prestige, precision and gastronomic significance. Working with natural sourdough, carefully selected flours, a deep understanding of fermentation and great attention to detail, he has created breads and baked goods with a clear identity, depth of flavour and excellent technique, while remaining, at their core, simple and accessible to a wider public.
BEST CULINARY DESTINATION (HOTEL):
Abaton Island Resort & Spa
Behind Abaton Island Resort & Spa stands the Kaloutsakis family, with a deep connection to Cretan hospitality and a steadfast belief that a hotel can become a complete culinary destination. In Hersonissos, Abaton has created a multifaceted restaurant universe, led by chef Giorgos Chronakis, where luxury, the sea, creativity, Cretan tradition and locality come together in an entirely natural way.
RESTAURANT MANAGER OF THE YEAR:
Nektarios Ntallas
Nektarios Dallas is an emblematic figure of Athenian hospitality, inextricably linked with its most elegant, generous and meaningful side. His career spans almost forty years in some of the city’s major restaurants, years filled with experience, people, demanding nights and that subtle art of front of house, which can only be learned through deep, sustained contact with guests. Today, at S One Hospitality, his role is pivotal, as he passes this rare knowledge on to a large team and across a series of ambitious restaurant projects. In him, we honour someone who has served hospitality with integrity, class and a genuine love for its world.
Best Service:
Nammos Mykonos
Nammos Mykonos is honoured for shaping a complete and compelling model of service in the field of luxury beach dining, one that gave Greek cosmopolitan hospitality international prestige and a recognisable style. Frantzeskos Zannis was among those who understood early on that hospitality needed a code of its own: speed without haste, precision without coldness, theatricality without excess, and a personal connection within an experience of enormous scale. His presence has been defining in this journey, as the soul and face of Nammos, giving Greek luxury dining a service culture of international stature that went on to set a benchmark.
Best Bar at a Restaurant:
Zuma Mykonos
At Zuma Mykonos, we recognise a bar that stands on equal footing with the food, bringing its own rhythm to the overall experience. From outstanding aperitifs at sunset to signature cocktails that accompany the restaurant’s contemporary Japanese cuisine, it acts as a natural extension of the space, reflecting Mykonos’ energy with a distinctly cosmopolitan flair.
WINE PROGRAM OF THE YEAR:
Gallina Athens
At Gallina Athens, wine has been at the heart of the experience from day one. Giannis Gougoutoudis has built one of the most comprehensive and exciting wine lists in Athens, with more than 900 labels and a rare balance between the great and the unexpected. Classic greats, fine wines, rare vintages, biodynamic estates, exclusive imports, the Greek vineyard and small producers that are a joy to discover all come together in a program shaped by genuine vinous intelligence. Gallina’s list offers peaks for the collector, depth for the connoisseur, and refreshingly human prices for guests who simply want to surrender to a beautiful discovery.
Best Guilty Pleasure of The Year:
Greasy Spoon
Greasy Spoon came from Naousa, Paros, to Archelaou Street, giving Pangrati a smash burger that instantly became a talking point. Panagiotis Koutsoubis, Constantinos Xiros and chef Christos Poulimenos have understood a category that may seem simple, but in reality is judged in the details. The result has all the joy of street food and the precision of a team that knows how to create places with personality.
BEST GUILTY PLEASURES OF THE YEAR:
Mirlo
Mirlo is a small canteen on Koulouris Square in Gazi, behind which are Andreas Kiltsiksis of Feyrouz, Greek-Palestinian chef Vasilis Chamam and Andreas Nikolopoulos. Its great strength lies in the way it brings the East and the Mediterranean into a contemporary Athenian street-food idiom, with outstanding kebabs and a very distinctive, clear culinary point of view.
GREEK SPIRIT LIST BY SKINOS:
Mezen
Mezen has made Greek spirits an organic part of its overall experience. Its philosophy is rooted in the culture of the tsipouradiko, brought into the present day with deep knowledge and unwavering dedication. Tsipouro, ouzo, aged distillates and Greek spirits arrive at the table alongside excellent meze, forming a central axis of enjoyment. At Mezen, we recognise a spirits list that honours Greek distillation, supports small producers, and shows just how contemporary, rich and outward-looking this side of Greek eating and drinking can be.
