Ettore Botrini
1 Michelin Star
For Ettore Botrini, cooking is more than a creative art. It is a form of communication, personal expression and connection to everything that has shaped him: family, nature, people and place.
Born and raised in Corfu, with Greek and Italian roots, Ettore discovered cooking through his father’s love for food. That family influence remains deeply embedded in his culinary identity and finds perhaps its most personal expression at Etrusco, one of Greece’s most historic restaurants, named after his father.
He studied Tourism Management at the École Hôtelière de Lausanne, while his pursuit of knowledge led him into leading European kitchens. In 2006, he travelled to Spain to explore molecular gastronomy and train alongside three-Michelin-starred chef Martín Berasategui, returning again in 2009. His exposure to international fine dining and modern culinary techniques became an important part of his evolution as a chef.
Today, he is Chef-Patron of Etrusco and Botrini’s, alongside his involvement in a series of acclaimed gastronomic projects. Since 2003, his restaurants and those he has collaborated with have collectively received 48 Toques d’Or from Athinorama and 11 stars from the FNL Guide, while Ettore himself has repeatedly been recognised as Chef of the Year and received numerous distinctions in Greece and internationally.
His influence on contemporary Greek gastronomy has also been recognised by the industry itself. In 2021, the FNL Guide named him “The most important & influential Chef in Greece of the Decade 2011–2020,” while in 2023 Athinorama, following a vote by Greek chefs, recognised him as the most influential chef in Greece.
Beyond the accolades lies a deeply personal philosophy. Ettore takes a holistic approach to cooking, connecting nature and the surrounding landscape with ingredients, the people who produce them and memories drawn from his family heritage and the places where he has lived. These memories are transformed into food, with each dish becoming part of a complete gastronomic experience.
His team and relationships with local producers are central to this process. Access to exceptional ingredients and a direct connection with the people behind them are an integral part of his creative approach. His ambition is for his cuisine to always carry a distinct sense of place, presenting the flavours of Greece through a contemporary and deeply personal perspective.
Alongside his restaurant career, his long-standing presence on television—including Kitchen Nightmares, My Way and Hell’s Kitchen—has made him one of the most recognisable figures in Greek gastronomy, bringing the world of the professional kitchen closer to a much wider audience.
At Gastrosophy Fest 2026, Ettore Botrini brings this very perspective to the conversation: gastronomy as a journey that begins with place and ingredients, moves through people, technique and memory, and ultimately becomes an experience capable of telling a story far greater than the dish itself.
