MasterChef Greece premiered on Mega Channel in October 2010, quickly becoming one of Greek television’s biggest cultural exports — Season 1 winner Akis Petretzikis went on to become one of the most recognizable celebrity chefs in the country. Here’s the complete story of the show’s first two seasons, including one of the most unusual finales in MasterChef history worldwide.
Quick Reference: MasterChef Greece Winners (Season 1–2)
| Σεζόν (Season) | Έτος (Year) | Νικητής/ές (Winner/s) | Κανάλι (Channel) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2010 | Άκης Πετρετζίκης (Akis Petretzikis) | Mega Channel |
| 2 | 2012 | Κωστής Κάππας & Μπάμπης Κουδούρης (joint winners) | Mega Channel |
Season 1 (2010): Akis Petretzikis
MasterChef Greece premiered on Mega Channel on 3 October 2010, running for 20 episodes until 28 December 2010. Akis Petretzikis was crowned the very first MasterChef Greece champion, becoming the country’s first-ever titleholder.
Petretzikis’s win launched arguably the most successful post-show career of any MasterChef Greece contestant — he went on to become one of the country’s most recognized and commercially successful celebrity chefs, with many crediting him with starting the trend of tattooed, modern-style chefs on Greek television.
Host: Eugenia Manolidou
Judges: Giannis Loukakos, Lefteris Lazarou, Dimitris Skarmoutsos
Season 2 (2012): Kostis Kappas & Babis Koudouris (Joint Winners)
Season 2 brought a major judging panel change — Dimitris Skarmoutsos departed, and Leonidas Koutsopoulos joined the panel, going on to become one of the most beloved and recognizable judges in Greek television history, alongside Loukakos and Lazarou.
What makes Season 2 truly unique in MasterChef’s global history is how it ended: the production faced serious financial difficulties, and the grand finale was never actually broadcast. As a result, the two remaining finalists, Kostis Kappas and Babis Koudouris, were jointly declared co-winners of the season without a televised final showdown — an outcome virtually unheard of anywhere else in the franchise worldwide.
Judges: Giannis Loukakos, Lefteris Lazarou, Leonidas Koutsopoulos
MasterChef Greece: Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Original Network | Mega Channel (2010–2013) |
| Later Network | Star Channel (from later seasons onward) |
| Directors | Panos Georgiou (Seasons 1–4), Costas Tripylas (Season 5 onward) |
| Prize Money (later seasons) | €100,000 |
What Came After Season 2?
MasterChef Greece eventually moved from Mega Channel to Star Channel, where it has continued for many more seasons and crowned additional champions, including:
| Winner | Note |
|---|---|
| Lambros Vakiaros | First MasterChef winner on Star Channel |
| Timoleon Diamantis | |
| Manolis Sarris | |
| Stavros Varthalitis | |
| Margarita Nikolaidi | First female MasterChef Greece winner |
| Panagiotis Koumoundouros | |
| Maria Bei | |
| Lefteris Zafeiropoulos | 9th overall MasterChef Greece winner (2024), 8th on Star Channel |
Fun Facts About MasterChef Greece
- Most successful alum: Akis Petretzikis (Season 1) remains one of Greece’s most commercially successful celebrity chefs
- Unprecedented finale: Season 2 is one of the only seasons in global MasterChef history where the finale was never broadcast, resulting in joint winners
- First female champion: Margarita Nikolaidi broke new ground in a later Star Channel season
- Judging legacy: Leonidas Koutsopoulos, who joined in Season 2, became one of the longest-running and most beloved judges in the franchise’s Greek history
FAQs
Who won the first season of MasterChef Greece? Akis Petretzikis won Season 1 in 2010, going on to become one of Greece’s most successful celebrity chefs.
Who won MasterChef Greece Season 2? Kostis Kappas and Babis Koudouris were jointly declared winners after the finale was never broadcast due to production financial difficulties.
Who are the judges of MasterChef Greece? Giannis Loukakos and Lefteris Lazarou judged both seasons, with Dimitris Skarmoutsos (Season 1) and Leonidas Koutsopoulos (Season 2 onward) rounding out the panel.
Which channel airs MasterChef Greece? It originally aired on Mega Channel (2010–2013) before later moving to Star Channel.
Who was the first female winner of MasterChef Greece? Margarita Nikolaidi, who won during the show’s Star Channel era.