George Calombaris

George Calombaris
Calombaris in 2016
Born
George Dimitrios Calombaris

(1978-10-04) 4 October 1978 (age 46)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation(s)Chef, restaurateur, TV personality
Style
Spouse
Natalie Tricario
​
(m. 2018)​
Children2

George Dimitrios Calombaris (born 4 October 1978) is a Greek Australian chef and restaurateur and television personality. Calombaris was one of the judges of the Network 10 series MasterChef Australia from 2009 to 2019.[1] Prior to his role on MasterChef Australia, Calombaris appeared regularly on the daytime Network Ten cooking show Ready Steady Cook.

He owned several restaurants in Melbourne. His flagship restaurant, The Press Club, was awarded The Age Good Food Guide "Best New Restaurant 2008" with Calombaris named "Chef of the Year 2008". Calombaris draws on his Greek, Cypriot and Italian heritage for inspiration.[2]

In 2019, Calombaris's company MAdE Establishment Group admitted to underpaying $7.83 million in wages to 515 employees, which was back-paid.[3] MAdE agreed to pay $200,000 to the Australian Government and to undertake a number of other activities.[4] In February 2020, MAdE went into voluntary administration with the majority of its venues closed immediately.

  1. ^ Knox, David (11 January 2009). "Food critic becomes Masterchef host". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  2. ^ "Hellenic heart, business head". Hospitality Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  3. ^ Ansell, Benjamin (18 July 2019). "Network 10 back celebrity chef following wage scandal". www.msn.com. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Undertaking was invoked but never defined (see the help page).