Sisters doing it for themselves
South Australian twins Helena and Vikki Moursellas, who became known from their time on My Kitchen Rules, chat about how they carved a career in food – after cameras stopped rolling.
For Helena and Vikki Moursellas, food is the thread that weaves through their childhood, their grief, their fame and their work.
The proudly South Australian identical twins, 37, became familiar faces when they graced our television screens on reality cooking competition My Kitchen Rules in 2014. Since then, they’ve released three cookbooks – including the most recent OPA! Recipes Inspired by Greek Tavernas – forged careers in recipe writing and styling, and even created a limited-edition plate in collaboration with Robert Gordon.
“We feel so lucky, doing something that we love,” says Vikki, who together with Helena is chatting with SALIFE at their aunty’s Prospect home.
“We’ve always hustled,” Helena continues. “It’s taken us 10-odd years to get to where we are now. It’s always nice to look back to where you came from and how you began.”
Growing up, food was not only joyful, but also helped the family navigate the grief of losing the girls’ father, Nick, when they were just 12 years old.
“It was a comfort thing,” says Vikki. “Our grandparents would come to our house – Pappou (Greek for grandfather) would pick us up after school and Yiayia (grandmother) would have food ready to go, and our clothes fully washed and ready to go on the bed.
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“They were there as second parents to support Mum while she had to go back to work.
“Food was a big part of making us feel happy, at home, and safe.”
MKR was a launchpad for the pair, who moved to Sydney shortly after filming to carve a path in the industry. But it doesn’t come easy.
“We don’t give up,” Vikki smiles. “Even with MKR, we applied three years in a row. Sometimes, it’s just not the right time.”
Writing recipes is a way of preserving their Greek culture and keeping memories alive.
They say keftedes, or Greek meatballs, are particularly nostalgic.
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“We still envision our yiayia in the kitchen with her big bowl, and she’s got her bare hands, cutting the onion, mixing it all in,” Vikki says. “That’s where we watched her have so much love and passion. Now, when we feed people, that’s our way of showing love. That’s something she taught us, and something I will teach my daughter.”
Helena adds: “The door was always open. It was like, what do your friends from school want? A lot of our memories were around just feeding people.
“That’s where our passion and love have come from, to write books. It’s so special for us to have people cook these recipes in their homes.”
Helena returns to Greece every summer, and for OPA!, she shares the recipes and tales of the people behind regional tavernas.
She names the story of Kyria Sofia from the island of Amorgos, who “cooks the most delicious chickpeas in her woodfired oven”, as particularly inspiring.
There’s also a version of pastitsio – pasta bake – a mainstay on Greek tables.
“When we were younger and we’d go to our auntys’ houses, there’d always be pastitsio on the table,” Vikki says. “No matter what, whether it was a birthday or christening, there’s always a tray of pastitsio.
“The reason we make these recipes is to be transported back to those memories. You close your eyes and it’s like, we’re there – we’re at yiayia’s stove top, stirring the minced meat.”
While the sisters continue to collaborate and have plans for a fourth book, Helena is also broadening her horizons in London, where she’s working as an assistant food stylist. Her dream is to open her own taverna in Greece, splitting the year between Greece and Australia.
“It’s scary, stepping out of your comfort zone,” she says. “But it’s an invigorating feeling.”
This article first appeared in the March 2026 issue of SALIFE magazine.
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