George Calombaris blames ‘back end’ bungle for $7.8 million wage scandal
George Calombaris’ new eatery appears to have hit a snag as the fallout from his underpayment saga continues. The celebrity chef has called on Australians to not “punish’ his staff by boycotting his restaurants.
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Former MasterChef judge George Calombaris has promised to be a “voice for change” in cleaning up wage theft in the food and hospitality industry.
The besieged chef said “back end” bungling across his restaurant empire was to blame for the $7.8 million underpayment of 515 staff members, exposed in an audit of his Made Group when new investors joined the business in 2017.
The Melbourne food star told ABC’s 7.30 program that while he was juggling his TV and restaurant commitments he had “assumed” other staff were taking care of the finances.
“You know, you’re running a million miles an hour, being creative. You are being someone that can inspire the team with the food that you’re cooking, the way you’re serving, all that stuff. And you assume that in the back end, things are happening at the same speed, but they weren’t. But now we have a great audit system. Incredible people back at house, that can make sure this never happens again,” he told host Leigh Sales.
He said the reputational damage, on top of a $200,000 fine by the Fair Work Ombudsman, was a hard lesson to learn but added, he was determined to be an example of what not to do.
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“We’re obviously multiple restaurants, there’s single restaurants out there, and I understand it’s hard … they haven’t got the opportunity where they can have CEOs and infrastructure, but doesn’t mean they can do this. They have to seek advice, they need to make sure they’re on top of that just as much as the food, the service, the great wine, the great dishes … that at the back it needs to be just as delicious.”
Insisting his restaurants now had better processes, he took responsibility for the “terrible mistake” made and committed to doing better by his current staff of 642 “team members.”
“We’re not closing our restaurants, we’re here. And it’s my job as their leader to keep pushing forward and keep spreading this message, not shying away from the mistake we made. But also acknowledging that we fixed it, and you know, I love these people.”
He also called on viewers not to “punish” his people for his mistake.
“I love this industry, I really do, and I love every opportunity that it’s given me,” he said. “I love the people that have worked for me and I don’t want them to suffer right now.”
“Great restaurants are voted by bums on seats. Don’t punish my people,” he said.
“Just know when you come into one of our restaurants, know when you pay the bill, that my people are getting paid and paid correctly.”
The chef’s Melbourne restaurants Hellenic Republic, Jimmy Grants and Gazi have seen less diners in them since the scandal unfolded.
Today, News Corp observed three of Calmobaris’ eateries to see how busy they were.
At 12.50pm at Jimmy Grants in Melbourne’s Emporium there were just three people ordering while about four were waiting for orders.
An employee at a competing food outlet at Melbourne’s Emporium shopping centre who spoke to News Corp on the condition of anonymity said Jimmy Grants was the “number one” retailer in the food court.
The employee said there was generally long queues to order, but claimed trade at Calombaris’ restaurant had become inconsistent since news of the wage theft scandal broke.
“At lunchtime yesterday there was no one lining up to order. I hadn’t seen that before,” they said.
Over at Gazi on Exhibition St, another of the embattled celebrity chef’s restaurants, News Corp observed about 12 tables were filled at the “Greek street-food” establishment during lunchtime trade.
But brown paper covers the windows of his newest venture, Elektra, which was due to open at the end of July. The restaurant which replaces the iconic Press Club is now understood to be launching in mid-September.
Asked about his exit from MasterChef, Calombaris’ confirmed the trio of judges, including food critic Matt Preston and chef Gary Mehigan had agreed to financial terms with Ten, before new contract talks broke down.
Denying the split came down to greed and money, Calombaris said “the sticking point that we got to with MasterChef and with Channel 10 was simply time. The dollars were all signed off. That was all done and dusted. It was time, and time for Gary to do more of his own stuff, for Matt to do more of his stuff and for me to be in my restaurants more. It takes up a long time, it takes you know, sort of six, seven months of the year. And we just needed more time. And that’s all it came down to,” he said.
The full sit down ABC interview came after calls for Calombaris to face criminal changes for the wage saga, which saw him fined $200,000 by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Public outrage over the underpayment put pressure on the CBS-owned network, Ten, to dump Calombaris from MasterChef, but boss Paul Anderson denied it was a factor when they terminated contract negotiations with the chef and his on-air partners, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan.
Preston has since revealed the trio had accepted Ten’s financial terms to return next year, but could not agree on other “commercial terms” including the time commitment required for filming.
CALOMBARIS ‘GENUINELY REMORSEFUL’
Australian body language expert Dr Louise Mahler said Calombaris appeared “genuinely remorseful” during his interview with Sales.
The celebrity chef appeared “anxious” and “eager to please” from the start of the grilling.
“It was a solid story — he made a mistake two years ago,” Dr Mahler said.
“He was anxious to be there. He threw in his apology very early on in the piece.
“It was clear that he wasn’t trying to hide anything.”
Calombaris’ “wavery chin” and croaky voice further indicated his distress, Dr Mahler said.
“His lower hanging jaw appears to have lost its strength,” she said.
Dr Mahler praised Calombaris for his direct approach.
“His eye movements were consistent, his breath and his body language — it was a solid story that he pulled off professionally,” she said.
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