How to kill a money-spinning career in less than a week

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 06: Masterchef stars Gary Mehigan, George Calonbaris and Matt Preston during the 7th AACTA Awards at The Star on December 6, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by James D

Up until a week ago the judges on MasterChef Australia were champions of the food industry and brought inspiration to countless food enthusiasts.

Then one of the trio, George Calombaris, was fined for underpaying hundreds of his staff by nearly A$8 million.

The decision by Fair Work Australia turned the TV star into a toxic nightmare for MasterChef's producers and put his fellow judges, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston, in a difficult spot. The show is a money-spinner for all three and over its 11 seasons has brought them fame and fortune and lucrative sponsorship deals.

Despite the outcry, both the show's producers and Mehigan and Preston stuck by Calombaris, and then came a twist out of no-where. Negotiating as a bloc, Calombaris, Mehigan and Preston demanded a pay rise and threatened to quit if they didn't get it.

The show's producers said no to their reported demands for a 40 per cent increase on their estimated A$1 million a season salaries and now the judging trio are seeking to land a new deal with a Netflix or an Amazon. But the move has tarnished their reputations - and is a lesson in how not to negotiate or deal with a PR disaster.

For Calombaris, the backlash has been swift. His Melbourne restaurants, where diners usually struggle to get a table, are eerily quiet, according to news.com.au.

Fair Work Australia ordered Calombaris to make a "contrition payment" of just $200,000, which angered Hospo Voice, the union for hospitality staff, and prompted a campaign from Unions Australia.

That campaign led to Tourism WA dumping the celebrity chef as the face of its current food and wine campaign after intervention from the West Australian Government.

Further damage to the chef's reputation came after a 2012 interview he gave emerged in which railed against weekend penalty rates.

Calombaris complained that waiters at his new South Yarra pasta restaurant Mama Baba would have to be paid "$40 an hour on Sundays".

"And it's not like they've had to go to uni for 15 years," he said.

"The problem is that wages on public holidays and weekend greatly exceed the opportunity for profit. It's really difficult to stay open and we only do it because of tourism but the reality is it's uneconomical. So our labour laws are something that need to be looked at and we keep talking about it."