Turkish-Australian celebrity chef Somer Sivrioglu has been sentenced to more than five years in prison over a collapsed wall in front of his Istanbul restaurant, Efendy, that killed one person and injured another.

Sivrioglu, who also co-owns restaurants Anason at Barangaroo and hatted Maydanoz in the CBD, is a household name in his native country after being chosen as a host for MasterChef Turkey in 2018.

At a hearing at the Istanbul 32nd High Criminal Court, Sivrioglu and two others were sentenced to five years, six months, and 20 days for “causing death and injury by negligence”. The case relates to the collapse of the wall in May 2022. The deceased is believed to have been a former diplomat from Jordan.

“The indictment explained that, despite being in a position to foresee the death or injury of individuals due to the collapse of the garden wall, the defendants continued to use the wall without carrying out licensing, maintenance, renovation, repair, or reinforcement procedures,” Turkish news website Haberler reported.

Speaking to the Herald from Turkey, Sivrioglu explained he was a new tenant at the time of the incident, was not the owner of the building and had no way of knowing the condition of the wall.

“It isn’t the wall of the restaurant, it’s the retaining wall of the property,” he says. “It [collapsed] during service, we didn’t realise [at the time].”

The chef has a number of legal options to explore. “This has been going on for over two years,” he says, confirming he will appeal.

While upset at the loss of life and injury, Sivrioglu – who now lives most of the year in Turkey – posted many messages of support on social media following the latest court date.

Born and raised in Istanbul, Sivrioglu completed an MBA at the University of Technology Sydney following his move to Australia. After opening the award-winning Efendy restaurant in Balmain in 2007 (it closed in 2021 after the sale of the building), the popular restaurateur, his business partners and senior team launched Anason, Baharat and Maydanoz.

Last month, Sivrioglu’s team announced they would add a 280-seat seafood restaurant next year at the redeveloped Sydney Fish Market. “Nothing has changed, it’s going ahead,” he said.