Ex-MasterChef Judge George Calombaris opened up about his drinking problem and unpaid wage scandal
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Former celebrity chef George Calombaris has spoken out about his drinking problem that arose after he was caught underpaying staff in a wage scandal.
The scandal caused him to lose his position as a judge on MasterChef Australia and ultimately led to the downfall of his company.
In an interview held last Sunday, the 44-year-old chef said he was ‘drinking a lot to deal with the pain’ of losing his company to liquidators in 2020. This resulted from being ordered to repay $7.8 million in unpaid wages to 515 current and former members of his staff.
‘There were months of tears, anger, and I was drinking a lot to take away the pain, but then I snapped out of it and went “no”,’ he shared.
He admitted he thought he was ‘invincible’ amid the scandal.
‘I thought I could get through anything I could do everything because I was taught as a young kid never say you’re tired and work bloody hard, just get on with it.’,’ he explained.
George stated he ‘probably needed good management’ as soon as he became a television celebrity chef.
MADE Establishment, which was made up of 22 companies, was shut down after being ordered by the Fair Work Ombudsman to pay workers millions in unpaid penalty rates.
George was also hit with a $200,000 fine following the scandal but had always insisted that the underpayments were a mistake he blamed on inexperience.
He explained that the payment error was discovered after the company’s self-audit report, but the publicity that followed made it ‘impossible’ to keep the business alive.
It didn’t help that he was later caught on camera attacking a 19-year-old during an A-League grand final between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory. He was convicted of assault, and fined $1,000, but ultimately, further damaged his reputation.
George eventually relocated his family to Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula in March 2020 to work on his problems privately.
A full timeline of events is as follows:
You can watch his full interview below:
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The scandal caused him to lose his position as a judge on MasterChef Australia and ultimately led to the downfall of his company.
In an interview held last Sunday, the 44-year-old chef said he was ‘drinking a lot to deal with the pain’ of losing his company to liquidators in 2020. This resulted from being ordered to repay $7.8 million in unpaid wages to 515 current and former members of his staff.
‘There were months of tears, anger, and I was drinking a lot to take away the pain, but then I snapped out of it and went “no”,’ he shared.
George seemed to recover from his drinking problem quickly. Credit: gcalombaris/Instagram
He admitted he thought he was ‘invincible’ amid the scandal.
‘I thought I could get through anything I could do everything because I was taught as a young kid never say you’re tired and work bloody hard, just get on with it.’,’ he explained.
George stated he ‘probably needed good management’ as soon as he became a television celebrity chef.
MADE Establishment, which was made up of 22 companies, was shut down after being ordered by the Fair Work Ombudsman to pay workers millions in unpaid penalty rates.
George was also hit with a $200,000 fine following the scandal but had always insisted that the underpayments were a mistake he blamed on inexperience.
He explained that the payment error was discovered after the company’s self-audit report, but the publicity that followed made it ‘impossible’ to keep the business alive.
It didn’t help that he was later caught on camera attacking a 19-year-old during an A-League grand final between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory. He was convicted of assault, and fined $1,000, but ultimately, further damaged his reputation.
George announced the downfall of his company on Instagram. Credit: gcalombaris/Instagram
George eventually relocated his family to Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula in March 2020 to work on his problems privately.
A full timeline of events is as follows:
- May 2014 – The Department of Health investigated the Hellenic Republic at Kew after diners fell ill. It was later confirmed that norovirus affected about 100 people.
- April 2017 – It was revealed about $2.6 million in back payments were dished out to 162 workers employed by MADE Establishment because of payroll 'discrepancies' dating back to 2011.
- May 2017 – George was charged with assault over a fight with a 19-year-old who heckled him about the wage scandal at an A-League grand final in Sydney. That same month, a man from Melbourne sued the Hellenic Republic restaurant and MADE Establishment group over the norovirus encephalitis outbreak.
- August 2017 – The chef pleaded guilty to assault over the A-League incident.
- October 2017 – George was fined $1,000 for the A-League assault.
- February 2018 – The assault conviction was overturned on appeal after a District Court judge agreed with George’s lawyer that he had suffered significant financial and personal loss, and was unlikely to re-offend.
- July 2019 – The Fair Work Ombudsman fined him and MADE Establishment $200,000 for underpaying staff at his restaurants by nearly $8 million.
- February 2020 – MADE Establishment fell into voluntary administration.
- Early June 2020 – The Yo Chi Frozen Yoghurt chain owned by George Calombaris is told off, marking the end of the celebrity chef's restaurant empire.
You can watch his full interview below:
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