George Calombaris’ restaurant empire collapses into voluntary administration

George Calombaris’ restaurant empire has collapsed into voluntary administration, less than a year after he was forced to pay out $7.8 million in wages and superannuation to staff after admitting to underpaying 500 employees.

The former Masterchef star announced the news on Monday and penned an emotional social media post, in which he said he was “personally devastated” by the situation which has seen a total of 12 of his restaurants close their doors for good.

“It is with deep sadness and regret that today MAdE Establishment has been placed into voluntary administration,” he said. “To all of my team, I truly regret it has come to this. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your loyalty and friendship.

“On a personal note, the last few months have been the most challenging I have ever faced. At this time, while personally devastated, I remain thankful to my family, friends, the MADE team, our loyal and regular customers.

“I am so sorry all our collective efforts have not proved to be enough. I’m gutted that it’s come to this.”

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KordaMentha Restructuring have been appointed as administrators for 22 companies within the MAdE Establishment Group, which was founded by Calombaris and operates 12 restaurants and food venues in Melbourne.

Craig Shepard from KordaMentha said in a statement: “A major rebranding of a number of high-profile venues including Hellenic Hotel Williamstown (relaunched as Hotel Argentina), Hellenic Republic Brunswick (recently re-opened as Crofter Dining Room) and The Press Club (relaunched as Elektra) was unable to turn the business around, despite strong reviews.

“Other factors were generally difficult trading conditions in the hospitality industry in recent years due to the expansion of the on-demand economy via services such as UberEats and Deliveroo, increasing costs, fierce industry competition and changes in consumer tastes to favour cheaper mid-tier dining options.”

The news comes months after Calombaris publicly apologised for his company’s wrongdoings during an interview with the ABC’s 7.30 program in July last year. Breaking his silence for the first time, the head chef claimed the underpayment was simply an oversight and said he only has himself to blame for the getting to that position.

“I won’t forget that afternoon in 2017 when we sat there with my new business partners after we’d done a full audit for the business and discovered the underpayments,” he told 7.30.

Don’t miss @leighsales’s exclusive interview with George Calombaris tonight on 7.30. #abc730 pic.twitter.com/In6B3n6pny

— abc730 (@abc730) July 30, 2019

“I want to apologise to all my team, both past and present, for the effect I’ve had on them, we’ve had on them. I apologise to them. I take full responsibility for this. I’m sorry.”

Calombaris went on to explain that he didn’t have the systems in place to ensure finances were being managed correctly when he opened his first restaurant or a chief executive officer to keep everything in check. The chef claimed it is a mistake they will never let happen again and said he “absolutely adores” his team of hundreds who – until this week – were still under his employment.