George Calombaris has hit back at a Sydney-based food critic who ripped his latest restaurant project Double Happy Chinese to shreds in a scathing review.
Sydney Morning Herald food writer Callan Boys had nothing nice to say about George’s new eatery, which opened its doors in February, and even claimed he saw ‘dead flies floating in the soy sauce’ while dining there.
But rather than be disheartened by the brutal review, the former MasterChef judge, 46, responded in the funniest way he knew how—by posting a tongue in cheek picture of himself as a fly.
He took to his Instagram Stories with the photo on Thursday, which appeared to be an AI generated image of the celebrity chef as a fly holding a can of Mortein bug repellent.
‘Got to love my besties,’ George captioned the post alongside laughing emojis, suggesting one of his friends may have created the picture to make light of the negative review about his Annandale Empire Hotel restaurant.
On Friday, George also posted a more official response to Callan’s claims online, writing, ‘Feedback, whether positive or negative, is always valuable.
George Calombaris, 46, has hit back at a Sydney-based food critic who ripped his latest restaurant project Double Happy Chinese to shreds in a scathing review
‘As a team, we are committed to working closely with our managers and chefs to continue improving our food and service every single day.’
He went on to thank his regular customers and supporters of his new project, which promises to pay tribute to the golden era of Chinese-Australian restaurants.
‘A huge thank you to our regulars and supporters. Your love means to world to us. We’ll keep striving to make every experience better than the last,’ George added.
Food critic Callan had few positive things to say about Double Happy Chinese when penning his review last week.
‘One night, there’s a cluster of dead flies floating in the soy sauce on our table—the kind of flies that invade my kitchen when fruit turns,’ Callan wrote.
The wine list copped a bad rap too, with Callan pointing out a bottle of sparkling is 13 times more expensive than one you can buy at a local bottle shop.
‘There’s a bottle of “Gossips” NV Cuvée on the list for $65. Charlie’s Liquor Barn in Warilla sells the same wine for $4.99,’ he wrote.
‘The cocktails are fine. The roast pork belly is fine. The moist hand towelettes reek of isopropyl alcohol,’ he finished his brutal review.
Sydney Morning Herald food writer Callan Boys had nothing nice to say about George’s new eatery, which opened its doors in February, and even claimed he saw ‘dead flies floating in the soy sauce’ while dining there
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to George for further comment.
The controversial chef recently sung his own praises during an interview about the new venture in Good Food.
‘Everyone’s been saying, “What the hell do you know about Chinese food?”‘ George said.
‘We’re doing proper, Aussie, old-school, Chinese food, and I know how that’s supposed to taste.’
George opened his new restaurant after his stint at a popular Sydney eatery ended in June last year after just five months.
Melbourne-based George took over the reigns as creative partner at the beloved Greek restaurant Alpha in Sydney’s CBD in March 2024.
The restaurant changed operators just a few months later when the Public Hospitality Group exited and it was taken over by Con Dedes of Dedes Waterfront Group.
Dedes told the Sydney Morning Herald at the time George would not be continuing at Alpha after they ‘agreed mutually not to join forces’.
But rather than be disheartened by the brutal review, the former MasterChef judge responded in the funniest way he knew how—by posting a tongue in cheek picture of himself as a fly
He added George ‘lightened up the menu’ at Alpha and the restaurant would follow in that direction, but added the chef’s dishes would disappear from the menu in the following weeks.
George said although Dedes is a brilliant operator, the new situation ‘just didn’t match’.
‘I love Sydney, and I loved my time at Alpha, but I feel like I’ve been teased. I wouldn’t say I was upset, I was saddened,’ he said.
‘But it did open up other opportunities. Sydney is definitely on my agenda.’
George didn’t elaborate on the other opportunities at the time, but didn’t rule out working with another venue in the Public Hospitality Group’s portfolio.
His departure from Alpha came after his career was disrupted by numerous personal controversies over recent years.
His MAdE group, which had 22 companies, collapsed in February 2020 after being ordered by the Fair Work Ombudsman to pay workers millions in unpaid penalty rates.
In 2019, George was ordered to repay $7.8million in unpaid wages to 515 current and former members of staff.
George also posted a more official response to Callan’s claims online, saying: ‘Feedback, whether positive or negative, is always valuable’
He was fined $200,000 for underpaying his staff between 2011 and 2017 and lost his hospitality company Made Establishment, to liquidators.
George was personally hit with a $200,000 penalty for the wage rorts but always insisted the underpayments were simply a mistake he blamed on inexperience.
He said the payment error was detected after the company made a self-report, but the publicity that followed made it impossible to keep his businesses afloat.
‘We apologise to all our affected team members, past and present—as it is our people that make our restaurants great, and it is our priority to ensure all of our employees feel respected, rewarded and supported in their roles,’ he said in a statement.
In 2023, George banned a patron from his restaurant after the customer left a scathing one-star review complaining about the lack of Greek staff.
They claimed they had the ‘worst dining experience ever’ after booking six weeks in advance.
The customer said their table waited 45 minutes for their food after the manager forgot to put their order through.
‘Practically none of the staff were Greek (inc the Manager who was of Indian descent) and the menu didn’t reflect what has been posted online. Calombaris—this place is a joke and you’ve certainly got a few people fooled.’
But George hit back in a fiery Instagram post, telling the diner they were never welcome in his restaurant again.
‘Won’t lie. I am 99 per cent a very positive human. But this is horrible,’ George wrote.
‘Yes, we made a mistake with your order. We are humans. And yes, my manager is Indian. You know who you are guys. You’re not welcome ever to [the restaurant].’
