Discredited celebrity chef George Calombaris has revealed how he reacted to falling from a pinnacle in his life. He has openly confessed his new outlook about life after his experiences due to a number of scandals.
After joining MasterChef as a judge in 2009, Calombaris, 43, became a popular name in households. He rapidly built a restaurant empire after attaining success in life.
However, a decade later, the once-venerated culinary legend plummeted from popularity in a $7.8million wage underpayment controversy and assault of a teenage soccer fan.
His firm Made Establishment (MAdE) entered voluntary administration and all of his eateries were closed.
‘I went from being on the biggest TV show in Australia, flying with 21 restaurants, to nothing at all,’ Calombaris told the Herald Sun.
‘And then it all just vanished,’ he continues. ‘The phone stopped ringing. Crickets. My sense of worth decreased, and I no longer felt needed or respected.’ Everything came to a halt. I had to sell my company and move on.’
In February 2020, MAdE went bankrupt after being fined by the Fair Work Ombudsman for failing to pay millions of dollars in unpaid overtime.
Mr Calombaris, who was personally fined $200,000 for the wage rorts, has always maintained that the underpayments were the result of an oversight.
Mr. Calombaris explains that the error was discovered after his firm made a self-report, but the publicity that followed made it impossible to continue operating 21 different companies.
His reputation was brought into question after he was filmed assaulting a 19-year-old at the A-League’s grand final between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory.
Calombaris was found guilty of assault and fined $1,000, but his reputation was so damaged that his conviction was reversed.
As his enterprises began failing around him, the celebrity fought to see the light at the other end.
Many high-profile individuals and his closest friends rallied around him during the terrible period, giving him the power and assistance to endure.