MasterChef Australia: George Calombaris' former employee speaks out
Following the sudden departure of MasterChef Australia judges George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan on Tuesday, speculation has been rife about the reasons behind the mass exodus.
According to Network 10, the three TV chefs ended their 11-year run due to a contract disagreement — though, on Tuesday night, Mehigan denied it was about money.
MasterChef. AAP
The news came amid calls by unions for Network 10 to dump Calombaris as host after his restaurant grou, MAdE Establishment, was fined $200,000 for underpaying 515 workers a total of $7.8 million. Calombaris was also let go from a WA tourism campaign on Monday.
On Wednesday night, A Current Affair spoke to one of Calombaris' former employees, Orlaith.
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George Calombaris' former employee. Nine
"I'd ask him 'Where's my money and my back pay?" the hospitality worker said when asked what she'd say if she spoke to Calombaris. "And also for where's the back payment to all these other workers that still haven't heard anything from him or his company?"
Masterchef judge George Calombaris has been underpaying staff to the tune of millions of dollars. AAP
Sally McManus from the Australian Council of Trade Unions told A Current Affair that she was pleased Calombaris was no longer a judge on MasterChef Australia.
"Look we think it's a really good decision by the network for him to no longer be a judge because why should he be a role model?" she said. "He's someone who's been held up and given that position as a celebrity chef and they're not the type of people we should be looking up to."
MasterChef judges George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan exit show. Instagram
However, Network 10 chief executive Paul Anderson told Ten News that Calombaris, Preston and Mehigan's departures were not linked to Calombaris' issues.
"We've been in negotiation with the three guys for a number of months so this is not about George," he said. "The reality is that we couldn't meet the demands of the three judges."
Leigh Small, Chief Executive Office of MAdE Establishment told A Current Affair that "all entitlements verified as owing to current and past employees have been calculated and paid, with a handful of claims now being finalised."
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