South Melbourne fine-diner Restaurant Lume went into voluntary liquidation last week but appears optimistic about its future, with its website declaring a “culinary transformation [is] in progress”.

That transformation has been prompted by a walk-out of at least 10 staff, including head chef Diego Huerta Chabert, days before the restaurant was placed into liquidation on June 26.

Staff claim they have not been paid superannuation for three years and their tips were being siphoned off to pay suppliers.

Nearly $300,000 in superannuation is owed, $7000 in tips and hundreds of thousands in federal and state taxes, according to documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The restaurant’s debts total around $1,083,000.

Huerta Chabert, who has worked at Lume since mid-2020, says he asked Lume’s owners about staff superannuation and tips many times but was repeatedly told the money was coming.

“It came to the point where I couldn’t defend the staff from the situation,” he says. His superannuation balance from the duration of his employment at the restaurant is just $416.81.

Chabert describes constantly having to front suppliers whose bills were not being paid. Documents show that one cleaning company is owed more than $11,000, while wineries, gourmet food distributors, coffee roasters, dairies and a litany of other small businesses have outstanding bills.

“We had to change suppliers so many times because they refused to work with us,” says Huerta Chabert.

Restaurant Lume opened in 2015 and has been awarded many chef’s hats by the Good Food Guide over the years.

Earlier this week, the restaurant’s website was not taking reservations, and there was no menu published.

After media reports of the staff exodus, a new holding page was displayed that claims:

“We momentarily pause our normal operations to craft a novel and innovative menu. Our culinary master will surprise your palate with exceptional flavours and beautifully presented dishes.”

Who that culinary master is remains unknown, given the restaurant is without a chef.

Chabert says once he decided to walk out, there was “a domino effect”, with kitchen and front-of-house staff following suit.

“We all work hard, we are passionate about what we do. The minimum is just to be fair and pay [us] what we are owed,” says Huerta Chabert.