HE may be gracing our TV screens as one of the judges on Channel Ten’s much-hyped new reality show MasterChef Australia, but whatever you do, don’t mention “celebrity chef” to George Calombaris.
Perhaps best known for his appearances on light-hearted daytime foodie program Ready Steady Cook, the Melbourne-based culinary maestro is wary of naive youngsters who approach him at his restaurants wanting to be taken on as apprentices.
“As soon as I hear that word ‘celebrity chef’ and ‘TV’, I absolutely cane them. I don’t accept it because it’s not what it’s about,” he says over the phone from Sydney, where he has just wrapped up a day of filming for the series.
“TV is a means for us chefs to promote what we do; it’s not about us being egomaniacs on TV just because we wear a chef’s jacket and can cook a chicken stock.
“Unfortunately, the majority of people out there think it’s glamorous. They think I just cook a few little scallops and wander around the restaurant like Superman.”
At just 30, Calombaris already lays claim to three establishments in his native Melbourne, as well as another in his parents’ homeland of Greece on the tourist-magnet island of Mykonos.
And there have been industry accolades aplenty – his flagship restaurant, The Press Club, was awarded The Age Good Food Guide Best New Restaurant 2008 title, while the man himself was named Chef of the Year at the same awards.
Five years ago – when just an emerging young kitchen talent – the Global Food and Wine industry magazine voted him as one of the Top 40 Chefs of Influence in the World.
And it is not hard to work out why he has reached such lofty heights in such a short space of time.
Even over the phone, you can’t help but get inspired by the sheer dedication and innate passion Calombaris has for his craft.
He demonstrates an insatiable appetite for constant work and progress, something his Greek migrant father “drilled” into him.
“I’m no good at downtime… I love what I do,” he said.
“I’m about to go back to Melbourne now. I’ll be in my kitchen at The Press Club by 7pm tonight and am thrilled and chuffed to see another beautiful dish go out and also go pick up on the mistakes that my guys are making.”
Just as he needs to continuously keep in check (as well as inspire) the 130 staff he employs across his four restaurants, Calombaris fulfils a similar role on MasterChef – commending the contestants on work done well and condemning them (without humiliating them) on poor performance.
“Humility is important to me and it’s the way I run all of my restaurants,” he says.
“The days are gone when we need to have a chef on TV yelling and screaming and giving them the F word.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love Gordon (Ramsay). I think he’s a great chef, but do we need to degrade people and get personal on them?”
Calombaris is joined on the show by fellow judges Matt Preston, a highly regarded magazine food critic, and chef Gary Mehigan, who trained in London and now owns Melbourne’s award-winning Fenix and Maribyrnong Boathouse restaurants.
So, where does the fiery yet humble Calombaris fit in as a personality type amongst his new colleagues?
“I’m definitely the uneducated one in terms of speaking,” he says.
“I’ve got to give it to Gary and Matt, they really know how to explain themselves.
“I just get so passionate… the contestants are hearing all my words at once.”
Calombaris laughs when asked if the trait is indicative of his southern-European heritage.
“I like to listen, but when I speak, it’s like a steam train coming through and that’s what (the cooks) get,” he says.
“When (the dish) is great, I love them and I’ll hug them. When it’s bad, look out.
“I want them to lift and go to another level.”
Calombaris says it is important to him to instil in his onscreen proteges an understanding of the commercial realities of working as a chef.
“If they think they’re feeling the pressure now, they’re going to have that every day of the week in their own restaurant,” he says.
“So we want them to be prepared: to understand what it feels like when it’s 7pm at night and your restaurant’s fully-booked, a customer’s anaphylactic and can’t have dairy and you need to think on the spot, a table of four’s just rocked up and there isn’t a table but they say they had booked. What do I do?
“They need to feel all of these pressures, but in a civil manner.”
MasterChef Australia screens on Channel 10 at 7pm on weekdays and 7.30pm on Sundays.