George Calombaris backer stands firm after $2.6m

A MAJOR backer of George Calombaris says he will keep bankrolling the celebrity chef’s restaurant empire following revelations chaotic accounting had left staff short-changed.

Radek Sali and George Calombaris. Picture: Rob Leeson

A MAJOR backer of George Calombaris says he will keep bankrolling the celebrity chef’s restaurant empire following revelations chaotic accounting had left staff short-changed, to the tune of $2.6 million.

High-profile businessman and former Swisse Wellness chief executive Radek Sali leapt to the defence of his business partner after the Herald Sun revealed 162 staff had been underpaid for six years.

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Radek Sali and George Calombaris. Picture: Rob Leeson

Mr Sali told the Herald Sun his investment fund had decided not to take dividends in order to aid growth, so cash flow “will more than pay for it (the wages). The business has a very bright future.”

Mr Sali said the pay revelations did not make him regret his $250 million private investment company’s taking a 33 per cent stake in Calombaris’s Made Establishment in the middle of last year.

On Monday night, Calombaris told Channel 10’s The Project he was “totally devastated and embarrassed” by the bungle.

“It’s been a super tough time for me. I’ve never been through this in the 21 years I’ve been cooking food,” he said.

George Calombaris says he was “totally devastated and embarrassed” by the bungle.

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Despite his company’s self-reporting the six years of underpayments, the Fair Work Ombudsman will still investigate. Firms can be fined $54,000, and individuals $10,800, for a knowing breach of the law.

The Ombudsman would not comment beyond welcoming the back-payment pledge.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the error had been recognised, and it was crucial that it was made good.