MasterChef in Cyprus. Kuba Tomaszczyk, Joanna Szymanowska, and Tomasz Marczewski cooked for the Polish diaspora.

MasterChef arrived in Cyprus in a very literal way. On May 4, 2025, Kuba Tomaszczyk, Joanna Szymanowska, and Tomasz Marczewski stood at the barbecues during a Polish community picnic in Kelokedara. Instead of a television studio, they had before them a Cypriot landscape, grills full of food, and an audience watching them at work up close.

All three are well-known to TVN viewers. Kuba Tomaszczyk won the 11th season of "MasterChef," Joanna Szymanowska triumphed a year later, and Tomasz Marczewski almost reached the grand finale in the 12th season. However, they came to Cyprus not to compete. This time, they cooked together.

MasterChef in Cyprus. Three chefs in Kelokedara

The meeting took place on May 4, 2025 at Argonaftis Donkey Farm in KelokedaraThe Polish community picnic was organized on the occasion of the May 3rd Constitution Day.

Among the invited guests were representatives of the next two editions of "MasterChef".

The following people appeared on the scene:

Kuba Tomaszczyk – winner of the 11th edition of the program,

Joanna Szymanowska – winner of the 12th edition,

and Tomasz Marczewski – one of the best participants of the same edition.

This time there were no jurors, no clock, and no fight for the next place in the program.

There was a real fire under the grate.

From the TV kitchen straight to the Cypriot barbecue

Photos from the event give a good idea of what the visit was like.

Meat and sausages were prepared on large grills. Picnic participants gathered around the stations, and the chefs worked in distinctive white sweatshirts emblazoned with the program's logo.

This is a completely different image than the one viewers remember from TVN.

In "MasterChef," each dish is assessed by judges, seconds count, and a mistake can mean the end of your participation in the program.

At Kelokedara the most important thing was cooking together.

The Cypriot hills replaced the studio, and the audience could observe the entire work from almost a few steps away.

Kuba Tomaszczyk was already cooking as a teenager

Kuba Tomaszczyk has a special history with "MasterChef."

He first appeared on television as a contestant on the first Polish edition of "MasterChef Junior," where he reached the finals.

A few years later he returned to the program – this time for adults.

And he won.

In 2022, he won the 11th season of "MasterChef." At the age of 19, he became the show's youngest winner to date.

After his victory, he published his own cookbook and continued his culinary activities.

In Cyprus he was given another assignment.

During the picnic he also led culinary workshops for children.

For the youngest participants, it was an opportunity to prepare food together with someone they had previously watched on one of the most popular cooking shows in Poland.

Joanna Szymanowska won another edition

A year after Tomaszczyk, she won the MasterChef title Joanna Szymanowska.

The 12th edition of the program concluded in December 2023. In the finale, Szymanowska prepared a three-course menu that earned her victory, PLN 100,000, and the opportunity to publish her own cookbook.

Later, "Look, Feel, Taste" was published.

TVN reminds that the final menu included, among others, grilled octopus tentacles with horseradish and potato purée, chorizo and pepper and tomato sauce.

A year and a half later, instead of the French chateau where the show's finale was filmed, a much more relaxed setting awaited her.

Cyprus and an open-air barbecue.

Tomasz Marczewski was one step away from the final

He was associated with the same 12th edition Tomasz Marczewski.

He made it very far in the program, only to bow out of the competition just before the final, which was ultimately won by Joanna Szymanowska.

In Cyprus, former participants of the program found themselves side by side again.

This time, however, they were not on opposite sides of the culinary rivalry.

They worked together on the grills and prepared food for the event participants.

Instead of a restaurant – a Polish community picnic

The visit of the three chefs also shows another side of the presence of famous Poles in Cyprus.

It's not always about a concert, a vacation, or photos from the hotel pool.

Sometimes celebrities from television appear in places where the Polish community meets every day.

The picnic in Kelokedara had a family feel. There was Polish food, music, activities for children, and a shared celebration.

In such an environment, the "MasterChef" participants were not separated from the audience by a television screen.

You could see them at work, talk and watch them prepare food.

Familiar faces in a completely different setting

It is the photos from Kelokedar that tell this story best.

The white chef sweatshirts with the "MasterChef" logo are familiar from television. The background is definitely less so.

Instead of a studio, we have an open Cypriot landscape. Instead of an elegant stand, we have a large barbecue. And instead of Magda Gessler, Michel Moran, or the other jurors, we have participants in a Polish community picnic.

For Kuba Tomaszczyk, Joanna Szymanowska and Tomasz Marczewski it was another culinary project.

For Poles living in Cyprus – an opportunity to meet three people whom they previously knew mainly from the screen.

And there remains one more interesting trace for us.

We can now add to the ever-growing list of Polish stars, artists and TV personalities who have appeared on the island three names associated with "MasterChef".

The material was prepared on the basis of archival materials from the event in Kelokedara and official TVN materials regarding the "MasterChef" program and its participants.