Never seen before on the Australian version of the popular cooking show, winner of Masterchef Greece Stavros Varthalitis announced on Thursday that he is gifting half of his prize money to runner-up Stavris Georgiou.
Hundreds of thousands of Greeks tuned in to watch Varthalitis be crowned the winner of Masterchef Greece 2020, beating out fierce competitor and friend Stavris Georgiou, Greek Reporter writes.
While Varthalitis rightly won the competition fair and square, he announced the next day that he would share the 50,000-euro prize with Georgiou.
“The prize money will be split 50-50,” he said speaking to interviewers from Star TV. “When I promise something, I keep my word,” he added, referring to a private deal the two competitors made during the show.
“Now that our real life begins, I don’t want to lose him. I want to maintain this healthy relationship that we had in the game as I hope we can cooperate as chefs in the near future,” Varthalitis added.
Masterchef Australia is close to wrapping up its twelfth season of the show. The show features a new panel of judges following judges George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan leaving due to a failed commercial agreement.