Former MasterChef judge tipped to join Hotel Sorrento as Conti welcomes Scott Pickett
George Calombaris is tipped to get back on the pans at a Mornington Peninsula pub.
South East
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Embattled celebrity chef George Calombaris is considering a kitchen comeback on the Mornington Peninsula.
Excited staff at Hotel Sorrento let it slip on Wednesday that Calombaris was joining the team.
The chef is understood to be in talks with the former MasterChef judge about a role with the iconic pub and he has been spotted at the venue several times this week.
The coup would add to Sorrento’s growing culinary clout.
In 2021 Melbourne chef Scott Pickett and publican Craig Shearer plan to open seven restaurants and bars down the road at the revamped Conti.
The luxe resort will open in stages across 2021 including a seafood focused fine diner from Pickett.
The precinct is being developed by consortium Victor Smorgon Group, Kanat Group and Trenerry Property and was scheduled to open for the summer.
However, the ambitious redevelopment has been delayed by Covid, a construction shut down and council red tape.
Trenerry Property Group director Robert Dicintio confirmed on Friday that The Continental would begin a staged opening in late March 2022, if no further restrictions were imposed.
Unless Calombaris is keen to commute to Sorrento he might also be lookout for a new pad after selling his Safety Beach holiday house in 2020 for an undisclosed sum.
Records show the four-bedroom house was owned by Trical Beach Pty Ltd, which is solely directed by the chef’s wife Natalie Tricarico.
In 2019 Calombaris was embroiled in a $7.8 million underpayment scandal that caused the collapse of his MADE Establishment Group and being fined $200,000 by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
After stepping away from the spotlight the former MasterChef judge returned to TV in September as The Duster on The Masked Singer.
The surprise appearance received mixed reactions from the public.
However, Calombaris said he had no time for “haters” and his turn on the show was motivated by a desire to please his children James, 10 and Michaela, 9, who loved the show.
Hotel Sorrento has been contacted.