GEORGE CALOMBARIS FALL FROM GRACE

EVERYTHING IS NOT NECESSARILY WHAT IT APPEARS FOR THE CELEBRITY CHEF AND HIS EMPIRE

- Holly Richards

Things just keep going from bad to worse for George Calombaris. Not only has the 41-year-old former MasterChef judge, who was charged with assault in 2017, seemingly lost everything, but he has been slammed online since news broke that the hospitality empire he founded, MAdE Establishment, has been placed into voluntary administration.

The news of the collapse of MAdE comes just months after the company admitted to underpaying $7.83 million in wages to 515 of its current and former employees.

Many blamed Calombaris personally for the accounting mishap, with punters also pinning last week’s news of the immediate closure of 12 venues and loss of more than 400 jobs on the celebrity chef.

“That’s what happens when you rip people off,” one Facebook user commented shortly after the announcement.

As the very public face of the business, Calombaris unsurprisingly copped the brunt of the blame for the fall of the 12 venues, and it seems he and wife Natalie Tricarico will also take a personal financial hit after they listed their Toorak home and Safety Beach holiday property for sale.