Panos Deligiannis
Panos Deligiannis’ relationship with gastronomy began somewhat unexpectedly. Born in 1969, during his school years he dreamed of becoming a nuclear physicist and went on to study Mathematics at the University of Athens. Somewhere around his second year, however, his fascination with physics gave way to a new passion: wine, taste and the art of good living.
Together with a friend, he created the wine club “Emeis”, hosted at Bajazzo, one of the leading restaurants of its time. Two years later, he took over the Hellenic Wine Academy, organising wine tastings, seminars, dinners and trips while building relationships with people who shared the same passion for wine and gastronomy.
In 1995, he joined the committee of the Golden Toques awards, and in 1996 began writing for Athinorama and Ef Zin about food, wine, restaurants and the culture of good living. He became Editor-in-Chief of Ef Zin in 2004 and its Director in the summer of 2007.
In 2011, he took the next step by founding and directing FNL, a platform dedicated to gastronomy and the “good life”, which went on to become a point of reference within Greece’s gastronomic landscape.
In 2016, he launched the FNL Best Restaurant Awards, an institution dedicated to evaluating and recognising restaurants across different categories throughout Greece. Through journalism, criticism and restaurant evaluation, Panos Deligiannis’ career has developed alongside the significant transformations of the Greek dining scene over the past three decades.
At the heart of this journey lies a constant curiosity for taste: a desire to discover new restaurants, people, wines and experiences, while observing how our relationship with food and dining continues to evolve.
At Gastrosophy Fest 2026, Panos Deligiannis brings the perspective of someone who has observed, documented and evaluated Greek gastronomy for more than 30 years, witnessing first-hand its journey from tradition to today’s contemporary restaurant landscape.
