After his $2.6 million pay scandal George Calombaris cooks up plans for global empire

GEORGE Calombaris reeling from his $2.6 million pay scandal has for the first time revealed major restaurant expansion plans.

Celebrity chef George Calombaris, pictured at Jimmy Grants in Fitzroy, Melbourne, wants to expand his restaurants in Australia and overseas. Picture: Ian Currie

EXCLUSIVE

GEORGE Calombaris may be down over the pay scandal which engulfed his restaurant empire, but the MasterChef Australia star is definitely not out — revealing for the first time his staggeringly ambitious global expansion plans.

Despite being shamed for “cooking the books” and underpaying staff by $2.6 million, Calombaris and his new business partner Radek Sali are set to roll out up to 50 new Jimmy Grants souvlaki restaurants, as well as his Gazi (Greek) eatery, around Australia and the world.

Parramatta and Geelong have been scoped for Calombaris’ Hellenic Republic restaurants, while a health retreat is planned for Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.

Calombaris, who teamed with Sali, the former Swisse vitamins CEO back a year ago, is also looking to extend his food empire into Indonesia and America.

Radek Sali has joined Calombaris as a partner and they plan to expand to 100 outlets of Calombaris's souvlaki outlet Jimmy Grants. Picture: Rob Leeson.

The 38-year-old TV and food star admitted he is still bruised from the fallout over news he underpaid staff at his MAdE Establishmnet — an accounting issue only exposed when Sali’s team joined the business.

“There has been many nights of tears at home (thinking) ‘oh my god this is getting on top of me’,” Calombaris told News Corp Australia.

“Nothing has ever got on top of me before. I was devastated by it. I’m still devastated by it. It’s not like we were out there trying to skimp on paying people.

“It was a legitimate mistake. I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been bloody hard but now it is about the future. We f!@#ed up and I take it on the chin.

“If we are to take this company to the next level, meaning global, we can’t run it like a milk bar and that is how I was running it.”

Last Sunday, Calombaris endured the humiliation of being roasted in front of his peers, as the butt of a “cook the books” joke by comic Dave Hughes during his opening monologue at the Logie awards.

“Was it a horrible feeling? One hundred per cent,” Calombaris said.

“I could have avoided it and not gone to the Logies but I’m not going to do that.

“One thing that people aren’t writing about is that just as many staff as we underpaid, we overpaid.”

Calombaris said his MasterChef co-stars Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan have been great support. The new series starts on Monday. Picture: Channel Ten

Calombaris said the support of his MasterChef Australia co-stars Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan, as well as his restaurant staff, had helped him through the dark times.

“Matt and Gary said ‘we’re here for you George’. I was sitting in my hotel room in Tokyo [where MasterChef was filming when the scandal broke] most nights reading their (staff) texts of support — ‘chef we are with you all the way’.”

Sali, who now owns a one-third stake in Jimmy Grants, has made the difference, Calombaris said; while restaurant industry veteran, Troy McDonagh, previously a senior executive at Gloria Jeans [coffee] and Red Rooster, was hired as chief executive.

Accounting firm KPMG was also brought in to audit the books.

“I went in eyes wide open knowing we would find issues that we needed to deal with (but) this issue was obviously really disappointing,” Sali said.

“I had to be there for George and be the steadier. I said ‘let’s deal with it, get on the front foot and fix it’.”

Calombaris is looking forward, not back, with a massive restaurant expansion on the horizon. Picture: Ian Currie

It is Radek who has come up with the master plan to take Calombaris’ food to the world, “up 40 to 50 Jimmy Grants stores (opening) in the space of the next three years,” Calombaris said.

“With Gazi we’re talking Canberra and there are sites in Sydney we’re looking at. The Hellenic brand works better in the suburbs, so think of it in Parramatta, Geelong — that type of place.

“We are going to be opening up a health retreat in Red Hill with a Mastic eatery with a two-year plan of moving The Press Club out there as a 12-seat restaurant which only opens 60 days of the year. I will be in the kitchen for those 60 days. You will always have George cooking for you with his team.

“Internationally, we are off to Indonesia next month to talk to the biggest restaurant group in Jakarta about synergies. Radek was just in America for two weeks. There were lots of conversations there. We are currently the biggest Greek group — in terms of food — in the world but it doesn’t feel like it.

“There is only one restaurant group around the world that has done it incredibly well and that is Nobu. How can we do that with our Greek flavour? We’re working that one out but [the expansion plan] is exciting.”

Calombaris with his head chefs at his Press Club restaurant which will open in the Mornington Peninsula. Picture: Andrew Tauber

Calombaris conceded the underpayment headlines hurt his reputation but notes restaurant reservations were up 11 per cent the week after news broke.

“I’m sure there are people out there going ‘he’s not paying his staff properly, he’s ripping them off’ but I’m hoping I can turn them around,” Calombaris said.

Sali believes the public will forgive Calombaris.

“We’re human and we get things wrong occasionally but it is how we rectify the situation that defines us,” Sali said.

MasterChef Australia returns to air Monday, Channel 10, 7.30pm

Originally published as After his $2.6 million pay scandal George Calombaris cooks up plans for global empire