werelargebillsouttherebecausewe
weredeliveringtosomanylargevenues.”
ForLizetteSnaithofWarialdaBelted
GallowaysBeef,Made’sforfeituremarks
thefifthtimeherbusinesshasbeenleftwith
unpaidbillsduetorestaurantclosures.“It
feelsliketheproduce,farmersor producers
arenotvalued,”shesays.
“Youhearaboutthebanks,
employeesandATOgetting
theirmoney,butwe’re
luckytogetanythingat
all.If ourproductshave
beensold,wedeserve
togetpaid.”
Snaithestimatesher
totallossesfromunpaid
billsoverthelast 20 years
haveexceeded$10,000,
puttingunduestrainonher
smallbusiness.“I haveto
accommodatetheexcessstockandsellit at
a discount.I’mgoingtobea bitnervouswith
anycreditthatotherrestaurantshavewith
ourbusiness.”
LikeFreshGeneration,Snaithhas
beenintheindustryfor 30 years,supplying
restaurantswitha rarebreedofgrass-fed
beeffromherfamily-runoperation.She
believessmallbusinesseslikehersshould
beprotectedin thesamewayasemployees.
“Ifthegovernmentwantssmallfamily-run
agriculturalbusinessestokeeponproducing
food,theyneedtocomeupwitha wayto
helpprotectus,”shesays.“Itfeelsasif the
Madegroupknewthiswasonthecardsand
tooksmallbusinessesalongfortheride.”
AmongSnaith’scustomerswaschef
MattWilkinson,whoopenedCrofterDining
Room& BarinBrunswickinJanuary.He
tookovertheleaseofMade’sHellenic
Republicbutwasforcedtoclosejustfour
weekslater.Wilkinsonbelievesmore
shouldbedonetoprotectthesuppliers,
aswellasotherunsecuredcreditors.
“Therearea lotofsmallcompaniesthat
areowedmoneythatthey’llprobablynever
see,”hesays.“It’s$2000hereand$900
there,butthat’sa lottoa smalloperator
andit alladdsup.It’sthesmall-business
guysthatalwaysseemtolose.”WHO’STOBLAMEFORTHEFALLOUT?
InApril2017,MadeEstablishmentself-
reportedunderpaymentsof$2.6million
totheFairWorkOmbudsman.It resulted
indiners’lossoffaithinfigurehead
Calombaris(whodeclinedtocomment
forthisarticle)anda downturnacrossthe
group that ultimately led to its collapse.“Thosearethe
peoplethatare
really goingtoget
hurtbecausethey
don’thavea voice.
They don’thave
TVshows.”Priortothedownfall,ReubenDavis
servedastheexecutivechefofElektra
andGazi,andalsocountshimselfasa
friendofCalombaris.Hebelievesthatthe
group’sself-reportingandquickattempts
torepayemployeesshoweda lackof
maliciousintent.“GeorgeandMade
fronted-up,”hesays.“Asanindustry,
wehavetobepreparedtoforgive
andmoveon.”
DuncanWelgemoedof
Adelaide’sAfricolais one
ofmanychefstohavecome
toCalombaris’sdefence.
Hissupport,however,
is temperedwiththe
understandingthatfame,
garneredfromCalombaris’s
decadeasonMasterChef, is
a double-edgedsword.“[George]
hasinvitedscrutiny,butheis byno
meanssolelyresponsible.”
Othershavetheirdoubts,suggesting
Made’sunderpaymentswerea strategyto
offsettheindustry’sfamouslylowmargins.
“Thesewerenotoversightsorerrors,”
saysMarkBest.Thechef,whoonceled
celebratedSydneyrestaurantMarque,has
beena vocalcriticofCalombarisonsocial
mediasincenewsoftheunderpaymentswas
firstreported.“[George’s]fallis duetothe
betrayalpeoplefeltwhentheysawthathe
is justsomeoneouttoprofitontheirlabour.”
AnthonyHammel,whobeganhisculinary
careerunderCalombarisatThePress Club
andwouldlaterworkfor
BestatPeiModern,equates
thehospitalityindustryto
modern-dayslavelabour.
“Workinga 90-hourweek
withnoovertimewaslikea
badgeofhonour.”
Asforthedefencethat
Madehasback-paidstaff,
Bestsays,“It’sirrelevant.
Also,theideathathe
‘self-reported’is bullshit.He
soldtoa newinvestorwhounder-reported
aftergettinga goodlookatthebooks.”
Bestis referringtothediscovery
ofMade’spaymenterrors,reportedly
triggeredbyaninvestigationintothe
group’sfinancesconductedbySwisse
vitaminsfounderRadekSali,whojoined
thegroupasco-investorandchairin2016.
Theunderpaymentswouldprovegreater
thanfirstthought,withcloserscrutiny
revealinga $7.83millionshortfall.
Wilkinsonbelievesthepaymentscandal,
while serious, was a smokescreen for othermismanagementwithinthecompany.“There
werea lotofpeoplein seniorroles[atMade]
whodon’tknowmuchabouthospitality,”he
says.Heclaimsthosein seniorroleswere
awareofthecompany’sfinancialtroubles
in January,butstillsignedhimontoopen
Crofter.Therestaurantonlycompleted 33
lunch-and-dinnerservicesbeforeclosingin
February.“That’swhatI’mreallyangryabout.”
Welgemoedconcedestherearemany
challengesfacingthehospitalityindustry,
citingthenotoriouslyhighrestaurantfailure
rate.Still,heremainsoptimisticaboutits
future.“I’veneverseena restaurantthatis
trulyengagedwiththeircustomerbaseand
providinga greatexperienceata reasonable
pricegettakendownbycompetition.”
ButBestsaystheindustryis facinga
realcrisis.“Themarginsarewafer-thin.”WHAT’SINSTOREFORTHEFUTURE?
“I thinkthatit’saninterestingtime,”says
Elektra’sReubenDavis.“I hopethissituation
cancreatemoreopendialogueaboutwhat
is neededtokeepit becomingstrongerfor
everyoneinvolved.”Thatdialogue,Wilkinson
insists,mustincludethesuppliers,producers
andfarmers.Thesearethesmallbusinesses,
hebelieves,thatarethemostnegatively
affectednotonlybyrestaurantclosures,
butbyquestionablebusinesstacticsthat
seepaymentstoprovidersdelayedto
improvecashflow.“Largebusinessesare
usingotherpeople’smoneybecausea
bank wouldn’t letit happen,”hesays.
Whilehebearsnoill-
willtowardsCalombarisor
Made,FreshGeneration’s
GerryKatiforissays
suppliershavethemost
toloseina changing
hospitalitylandscape.
“Unscrupulousowners
cantakeadvantageof
suppliers;we’rethepeople
theycanignore,”hesays,
citingthelackofcontracts,
directors’guaranteesandgovernment
protectionsaffordedtostaff,property
owners,banksandtheATO.
Anddespitehisowndisappointment
atlosinghisbusiness,it’stheideaoflosing
thesequalitysuppliersthatWilkinson
believeswillmostsignificantlydamage
thealreadyvulnerablerestaurantindustry.
“Oncewelosethoseguys,welose
allourgreatfood.Nobodytalksaboutit.
Thosearethepeoplethatarereallygoing
togethurtbecausetheydon’thavea
voice. They don’t have TV shows.”●Special
reportPHOTOGRAPHY JOHN LAURIE (THE PRESS CLUB).
Below:MadeEstablishment’s
GeorgeCalombaris.Opposite:
The Press Club’s dining room.