George Calombaris bans "racist" diner
Celebrity chef George Calombaris has publicly slammed a diner's "racist" review of his Victorian restaurant, The Hellenic House Project, and banned them from visiting his business.
The diner left a negative Google review of the restaurant yesterday, claiming that it was the "Worst 'non' dining experience ever!"
The diner claimed they had to wait six weeks for a booking to arrive at the first sitting, and had issues with the manager who they ordered food from.
They alleged that after 45 minutes of waiting for their food to arrive, they had to find a waiter themselves and was told the manager had "forgot" to put in the order.
"Typically, we weren't offered any compensation except that our food would be out in 5 mins. Which it wasn't. I should've realised it was going to be a disaster when I had to ask for the menu after 10 [minutes]," wrote the customer.
"Like others, we've dined in many, many restaurants and were keen to try this 'authentic Greek' experience. It was far from it.
"Practically none of the staff were Greek (including' 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," they concluded.
They gave a one out of five star rating for everything.
The celebrity chef hit back at the scathing review by posting a screenshot of it on Instagram with the caption: "Won't lie. I am 99 percent a very positive human. But this is horrible.
"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 @thehellenichouseproject," he added.
"You don't have to speak Greek or be a Greek to work at THHP. You just have to be a good human. I am so proud of my team. I hate racism. F****n hate it."
Various celebrity chefs have come to his defence including, My Kitchen Rules judge Manu Feildel.
"Well done George, people like this should just stay home. And that is a very polite way to say what I really feel like saying," he commented with an angry emoji.
Calombaris' former MasterChef co-host and celebrity chef also came to his defence, with a quote from diplomat Mohamad Safa.
"Our world is not divided by race, colour, gender or religion. Our world is divided into wise people and fools. And fools divided themselves by race, colour, gender, or religion," he commented
Former MasterChef contestant Nicholas Fredrick Riewoldt also commented his support and said, "5/5 across the board when I visited @thehellenichouseproject love you GC ❤️".
Another former MasterChef contestant Dan Churchill also defended Calombaris.
"Standing up for your team mate, huge. You often ask if this kind of note means the individual needs a hug. Absolutely love @thehellenichouseproject," he commented.
Images: Instagram