While being a part of MasterChef Australia has been a dream come true for Petro Papathomas, away from the cameras, he has been navigating grief.
Sadly, the Greek/Cypriot lost his Yiayia Sophia earlier in the competition.
He credits his late grandmother as one of his earliest inspirations and teachers when it comes to food, along with his other grandmother and mother.
Now that he has made it through to the top three, the 30-year-old exclusively tells New Idea that she’s always at the back of his mind.
“It was very hard because it kind of came out of nowhere,” he says.
“And you are in a bit of a bubble there, so there’s really no time to stop. It was very hard to grieve while still trying to stay alive in the competition.”
Looking back on that difficult time during filming, he thanks the crew and cast members for helping him get through it.
He explains that he lives in Melbourne, so he was able to visit her after he received the call about her health.
“I got to see her basically half an hour before she lost consciousness and eventually passed away, but I’m very blessed that I got to see her briefly for one last time,” he reveals.
With the competition still in full swing at the time, he says he felt an overriding sense of guilt for not being with his family.
During that stage of the competition, he explains that he was “unravelling”, but he always thought about her as he made it through each round.
With the finale in sight, he said he knew she’d be proud of his efforts and determination to honour his heritage through his dishes.
He also celebrated his late grandmother’s legacy by making her Cypriot Ravioles during the family tree challenge.
“I’ve been brought up with those values and those traditions, and I was really close to both sets of my grandparents, and I spent a lot of time with them,” he explains.
“So food is a big thing for us. So Cypriot and Greek food has always been at the forefront. And I think connecting the essence of that to everything I do has been important.”
See more New Idea on Google – Save us as a Preferred Source
