Celebrity chef reveals next big move
George Calombaris has a new gig.
Former MasterChef judge George Calombaris is making a surprise move back to Sydney in an attempt to shore up a struggling restaurant group.
The controversial celebrity chef has quickly moved on after he was informed his was let go from his consultancy role at the well known Hotel Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.
Calombaris has been picked up by Jon Adgemis’ Public Hospitality Group after it finalised a new $400m refinancing deal for its 22 pubs and hotels in Melbourne and Sydney.
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Hotel Sorrento no more. Picture: David Caird
“To my beautiful family at Hotel Sorrento, it was a 12-month contract, it ended up being two and a half years, it was awesome and I wish the Pitt family all the success as well as executive chef Beth Candy … love them to bits,” Calombaris wrote on social media.
And he also confirmed a move to the Harbour City, saying he had taken the “position of culinary director at a major hospitality group in Sydney. I’ll be starting next month, so stay tuned.”
Calombaris has previously worked with Public Hospitality Group with its Alpha Restaurant in the Sydney CBD.
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Jon Adgemis. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift
Adgemis’ pubs include Kurrajong Hotel and the Town Hall in Sydney’s Inner West and the Vine Hotel in Collingwood, Melbourne.
In June 2022, Adgemis paid $68m for the iconic Noah’s Backpackers at Bondi Beach, overlooking the famous sands at the southern end of the beach strip.
Adgemis beat a range of big-name players including fashion pioneer and Ingham chicken heir Robby Ingham and prolific property developer George Karageorge, who bought Surry Hills City Crown Motel for $11.5m last December, to the prized site at 2-12 Campbell Pde.
Noah’s Backpackers in Bondi was bought by Adgemis’ hospitality group for $68m. Picture: Toby Zerna
Calombaris has enjoyed and endured some ups and downs after enjoying a $1m MasterChef contract with Channel 10.
In 2017, he was convicted of assaulting a fan after an A-League game at Allianz Stadium in Sydney. A decision later overturned on appeal.
His hospitality group Made Establishment was found to have underpaid staff $7.8m in 2019 and collapsed a year later owning $20m.
