Kids Cooking Club

Kyriakos Melas - Chef

Our founder, inspiration and head chef!

And no wonder!

He has been cooking since he was five! In fact, his nose still bears the mark of his first kitchen mischief! With roots in Crete, the Peloponnese and Corfu, the traditions and secrets of some of the most celebrated Greek cuisines are part of his DNA.

Education

He entered university twice, only to discover that his true passion was studying cooking! He eventually gained three qualifications in the field: École Hôtelière Le Monde, the Organisation of Tourism Education and Training, and postgraduate studies with a Eurochef scholarship. He complemented these with numerous seminars and specialist training courses in Greece and abroad, covering French cuisine, meat, wine, Food Styling and Art de la Table.

 

 

Career

  • He began at Arion Hotel Astir Palace Vouliagmenis (2002) and La Veranda Restaurant, Chandris Resort (2003), continuing at the Athens Hilton Hotel (2004), where he received his first appointment as chef.
  • Key kitchens in his career include the Piraeus Sailing Club (Varoulko Restaurant, 2003, Michelin star), Armonia Hotel Vouliagmenis, Porto Hydra Hotel and Ecali Club.
  • Career highlights: Head of Pastry and Expeditor Chef at Milos, Athens Hilton Hotel, an official hotel of the Athens Olympic Games (Golden Chef’s Hat, 2004); Executive Chef at the Olympic Stadium (2005–2008); lead Chef and culinary consultant for the Eurovision Song Contest in Greece (2006), the UEFA Champions League in Athens (2007) and the Final Four in Athens (2007).
  • Memorable milestones: cooking for Shakira (Athens, 2006) and coordinating George Michael’s chefs (Athens, 2007).

Collaborations

  • Organiser of culinary events for companies including Welcome Home, Tsitouras Collection and Swarovski.
  • Regular collaborator with Miele, Sanitas - Sarantis, Cook-shop, Kanelli and Mondelez Hellas.
  • Food service consultant for the Quality Taste Group and Chef Consultant for yachting companies and private clients.
  • Practising chef and member of the Greece Chef’s Club.
  • Creator of the first children’s cooking and pastry programme at Kalitechnoupolis.

Activities

Alongside his extensive professional work, Kyriakos Melas remains committed to his vision of developing social awareness of gastronomy and sharing inspired, healthy approaches to food. He regularly speaks at gastronomy and nutrition conferences (Unilever, Horeca, Greece Chef’s Club), and promotes his ideas through appearances in print and online media, on television and on radio. A notable example is his daily cooking segment on the television programme MIA on Star Channel.