“Growing up, I always looked at chefs as my idols,” Nick Deligiannis tells The Greek Herald. 

While other kids were looking up to football and pop stars, Deligiannis was enamoured by culinary connoisseurs.

“You know how kids look at footy players; that’s what chefs were like to me. I grew up idolising the Calombaris’, the Shane Delias’, McConnells’, Scott Pickets’, Jacques Reymonds’ of the world. They were my superstars growing up,” he says. 

Today, Deligiannis joins the ranks of his beloved idols. 

There’s no place like home, according to the 2023 Young Chef of the Year. Having worked across the world, in countless kitchens, some with Michelin stars, Deligiannis found himself back in Melbourne.

Only this time he’s leading his own brigade. 

Deligiannis is taking up the role as executive chef at Melbourne Place’s rooftop Mediterranean restaurant Mid-Air, along with the events spaces and in room dining menu of the new hotel.

“I was always looking to come back to Melbourne from Sorrento. I just wanted to be back in the city and kickstart my Melbourne-based brand and I got approached about this project. I was captivated by its originality and the freedom to cook what we want,” he says.

“It was just a very easy decision to make, I guess it’s a big decision to move back to where it started, but the job was very attractive in itself. And I want to push myself, not just having Mid-Air, but taking over the events floor and in room dining. It’s a collective and something that I really want to try and excel at.”

Years of passion and hard work have culminated in Deligiannis’ exciting new venture. 

His love affair with food, as it did for many coveted chefs, started in the family. Deligiannis got a taste for professional cooking in his dad’s pizza shop. 

“My dad had a pizza shop in Hoppers Crossing, and my two older sisters and mum lived upstairs. When I was born, they moved to Centre Road in Bentleigh and they’ve been there for 29 years now. Nothing’s changed; the menu hasn’t changed, dad hasn’t changed. He still does everything the same; it’s that old school Greek mentality of ‘it works, so why fix it?’” Deligiannis explains.

It was there that he learned the first important rules of running an efficient kitchen. 

“I got to know what real work ethic looks like; having to be organised. Growing up, it was always prepping during the day, then we’d have lunch, and then people start coming in. You didn’t really think about it too much but then as soon as I got older and started my apprenticeship, I realised this is your ‘mise en place’ time during the day, you make the dough and then five o’clock when everyone walks in, you’ve got to be ready,” he says.

“The first thing I realised about the industry is it’s all in the back end. People may only see you work for four hours a day, but it’s actually in the 10 hours before where the more important stuff happens. And dad always implemented high food standards. People won’t come to wherever you are if you’re serving mediocre stuff. Whether you’re a pizza shop or if you’re a three-hat fine dining restaurant, it’s the same principle.”

Stepping into the next phase of his culinary career, Deligiannis found himself as an apprentice under the masterful watch of Reymond. 

“Jacques was very big on balance. His restaurant was probably one of the first of its kind; a French, Southeast Asian influence restaurant. He taught me to balance sauces, proteins and vegetables. It didn’t really matter what it was, but everything needed to have its place. There was no putting unnecessary things on dishes and no over complicating things,” Deligiannis says.

“From a business standpoint he knew what people wanted and people were willing to pay for it. It was one of those places that people love to go to and was able to maintain the regulars. It was amazing for a restaurant of that standard. You’d expect that from a pizza shop, but you wouldn’t necessarily expect that from a three-hat restaurant. 

“It was amazing to have the opportunity to jump between the fine diner and the bistro he later opened because it felt like I had two restaurants in one apprenticeship without having to move workplaces.”

Deligiannis then took his three-year apprenticeship experience to London, learning some harder truths of the industry.

“As a chef in London, it is quite hard to sustain a lifestyle. It’s 70-plus hours a week in hard, aggressive environments. It’s not sustainable and honestly, I’ve been raised better than to talk to people like that. I learned what not to be over there and then I was ready to come home and manage kitchens,” he explains.

“I wanted to have my own team, I wanted to grow, I wanted to teach people and the only place I could do that was Melbourne… that’s what really pushed me into coming back. You learn so much every day, at every job. It’s just a matter of keeping your eyes open and not being ego-driven.”

Deligiannis says he’s now at a stage in his career where he wants to cook what he wants to eat. That’s exactly the essence of Mid-Air’s menu.

“I love everything about Europe, from the refinement in France, to the spices in Turkey, to the clean seafood in Greece, it all has a place. I love that and I want to sort of champion that,” he concluded.

Mid-Air at Melbourne place is set to open in early November.