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George Calombaris: “I take full responsibility for this”

Ex-MasterChef judge makes a mea culpa on 7:30, after ongoing headlines around his business affairs.

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George Calombaris says his departure from MasterChef Australia was not a dispute over money, but a fail to agree over the time commitment.

“The dollars were all signed off. That was all done and dusted,” he sold 7:30‘s Leigh Sales.

“What I can say is that the sticking point that we got to with MasterChef and with Channel 10 was simply time. Time for Gary to do more of his own stuff, Matt to do more of his stuff and for me to be in my restaurants more. It takes up a long time. It takes, you know, six, seven months of our year and we just needed more time. And that’s all it came down to.”

He added, “I’m not upset at anyone or anything. They gave us that opportunity to be on a show that has absolutely changed the world.”

Calombaris was told he had been dropped by his representatives shortly after 10 made the announcement.

But he was primarily questioned by Leigh Sales over his business affairs, following reports his MAdE Establishment underpaid 500+ staff by $7.8m.

Calombaris attributed the underpayment was an oversight when running a growing business with his focus on the service but without enough care in administration and management.

“I’m not here to blame anyone,” he said.

“I take full responsibility for this. I’m sorry.

“The thing about 13 years ago, you’re a young chef, 26 years of age, you want to open your first restaurant, you get together with three other partners at that point, and you open the first one, then the second one opens, the third one, the creativity is flying, the ideas are flying, the dreaming is there.

“But the sophistication in the back end wasn’t there.

“There was no CEO, there was no people culture manager, there was no elite finance team like we’ve got now, that can make sure that mistake that we made will never happen again.”

He also acknowledged his reputation had taken a battering.

Fighting back tears he said, “I love this industry, I really do, and I love every opportunity that it’s given me.“I love the people that have worked for me and I don’t want them to suffer right now.”

But on social media, many criticised the former TV chef for his responses.

Calombaris confirmed he is contracted to 10 until the end of the year.

22 Responses

  1. i am not surprised this came out. He is a famous chef/celebrity. i think him taking on MasterChef duties contributed to this happening. Butt its not just his restaurant there are other hospitality businesses who are also at risk of the same thing. At least he faced the music while others did not i can think of the 7eleven scandal being just one example. unfortunately this kind of practice is more likely in hospitality because of an uneven power disparity.

  2. I’ve said it a few times elsewhere on TVT but I’m even more convinced of his sincerity. What more could he have done, indeed. At least he hasn’t scampered into the shadows and not publicly faced the music like too many other gutless wonders out there.

  3. Frankly I think its the staffs fault
    for not speaking out. If your underpaid, u go to the boss and tell them. If that doesn’t work u go to fair work and make a complaint. Secondly, why isn’t anyone complaining about maccas, kfc, hungry jacks etc. Have u seen their wages!!!

    1. SMH on 10 Jan 19 ran a story about the ABC underpaying 2,500 casual staff over up to 6 years. A complainant to Fair Work got $19,000 backpay from the ABC (TV) covering 3 years of casual employment. In April this year, CBA admitted underpaying 8,000 staff due to a systems problem.

      Particularly in relation to the ABC underpayment issue, the outrage and finger-pointing at ABC management does not seem to have reached anywhere near the Alpine heights that have been directed at George C in recent times.

  4. Executive summary here (and he has paid all outstanding employees …

    assets.ctfassets.net/vqs1ymc4f0zu/7BNjGOwdgY7SCnZzD4AOTE/147eed17bf254f2c9f342800f89e99da/Made_Public_Apology.pdf

  5. If it was a time issue for the three then it’s a pity it couldn’t have been handled better and all the parties coming together and deciding it was time to move on. There then could have been an amicable hand over to new hosts and none of this happening now, they could have even come in next season as special guests like they have with the others now.

    However nope they wanted more money for less work or at the least the same amount of money for less work, be interesting to see if anything becomes of the talks with Amazon Prime and Netflix.

  6. Underpaying $7.8 million to some 500+ employees appears to be a little more than a lack of an elite finance team George. As a business owner you have a duty of care to make sure you keep everything above board, that includes paying your employees the correct wage.

  7. I never found his excuses convincing and only have sympathy for the ripped off lowly paid workers. I also found it to be a soft interview by Sales. I run a small business and its very easy to find the correct wages for your workers.

  8. This morning on 3AW, Neil Mitchell interviewed George’s business partner, Radek Sali, about the underpayment issue. It was an enlightening interview and provides some balance to the whole issue. The whole interview is available to stream on 3AW’s website.

  9. I watched this story with some interest as I have been following proceedings since the initial findings of underpayment a few years ago. The initial reports were as he explained last night: the result of an internal audit engaged by his business and partners.
    I don’t for a minute condone the underpayments. But as a small business owner I do understand his explanation. He has chosen to accept the blame and must know it could be career damaging (or ending). Some of the blame surely lies with the people employed to pay the staff, and the culture of hospitality which has enabled systematic underpayments in the industry.
    Redemption will be difficult for him. The Australian Tall Poppy Syndrome has swung into force despite his open admissions and pledge to repay, correct and set an example for the broader hospitality industry.

  10. Even if you put aside the question of the 40% pay demand, cutting the length of the commitment period each year at the same $1m pay rate would constitute an improvement in my mind. Given the fall in ratings and the reduced contract period, you could expect a pay decrease not increase!

  11. While I’m no fan of George, and think there is more to the underpayments than just a mistake, I’m actually feeling a bit sorry for him now. He is paying the money back and has apologized. What more can he do ? The kind of media scrutiny and public condemnation that he is experiencing could be enough to push someone over the edge. Time to back off I think.

  13. I was waiting for Leigh to ask him if any of the staff had complained or even just questioned about being underpaid at any point? He just makes sure he points out himself and his staff were the first to notice something was wrong with the wages. I find it very hard to feel sorry for him.

  14. I am in two minds about this. Yes, boycotting the restaurant does hurt the innocent staff, but do you continue to reward bad behaviour, despite pleas that he has accepted responsibility. Has he paid back the $8m dollars yet? I haven’t read this in all the reporting thus far.

    The interview sounded like three separate story lines. First there was his new (court imposed) role of industry spokesman for paying the correct wages. Second there was George trying to resurrect his career and business. Third was George fighting for his legacy.

    My gut says he is a driven person and that is part of what lied behind the underpayment. At the same time, like a lot of driven people, they are unaware of the consequences / implications when the walls come tumbling down. Then it is too late.

  15. I came to this interview with a relatively open mind and as a non watcher of Masterchef. Not one episode. His explanations were a bit amorphous and I wondered if Leigh would push him a bit more forensically about how staff can be underpaid on such a grand scale but she didn’t overly pursue it. His upset in answer to her succinct reflection of how you can spend 25 years building up a reputation only to see it crumble in a week was clearly resonant and I think his biggest takeaway from the entire incident. Reputation is everything. He knows he needs to get it back.

  16. I don’t believe that money didn’t form part of the reason why the 3 of them left Masterchef. Also George should have been fined the same amount he underpaid his workers, then the government can truly stamp out employee underpayments. They do in my opinion form part of the business plan which is unacceptable. $200,000 just isn’t much of a deterant. I don’t believe a lot of what he is saying. Even back in 2006 when the restaurants started there was information available as to what you be paying your workers. It is your responsibility to ensure it’s correct. Don’t make excuses.

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