Education
Calombaris went to Mazenod College high school in Mulgrave and studied at Box Hill Institute of Technical and Further Education. He won the Bon Land scholarship in 1999 while an apprentice.
Calombaris went to Mazenod College high school in Mulgrave and studied at Box Hill Institute of Technical and Further Education. He won the Bon Land scholarship in 1999 while an apprentice.
Prior to his role on MasterChef, Calombaris regularly appeared on the daytime Ten cooking show Ready Steady Cook. He owns seven restaurants in Melbourne. His flagship Melbourne restaurant, The Press Club, was awarded The Age Good Food Guide "Best New Restaurant 2008" with Calombaris named "Chef of the Year 2008".
Calombaris draws on his Greek and Cypriot heritage for inspiration.
In 2004, the Global Food and Wine Magazine voted him as one of the Top 40 chefs of influence in the world. In 2006 Calombaris opened his own restaurant in Melbourne, The Press Club designed by renowned restaurant architects Mills Gorman.
In 2008, he opened two other restaurants in Melbourne, Maha Bar and Grill (with chef Shane Delia) and Hellenic Republic (with chef Travis McAuley) both in collaboration with Mills Gorman. Also in 2008, he opened his first international restaurant, The Belvedere Club, in a hotel on the Greek island of Mykonos.
In December 2010 Calombaris teamed up again with Mills Gorman to open P M 24 with culinary legend Philippe Mouchel.
In 2011 he opened Street Katherine"s in Kew, again with Shane Delia and Mills Gorman. In January 2012 he opened Mama Baba located in South Yarra, Melbourne. According to his interview with Q Weekend 13-14 June, he is opening a new Greek restaurant (with something different), in Sydney at the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016.
Calombaris has published five cookbooks: The Press Club, Hellenic Republic: Greek Cooking from The Hellenic Heart, Your Place or Mine, Cook With Us with MasterChef Australia co-judge, Gary Mehigan and Georgie Porgie.
He appears in Who"s Who in Australia 2011 edition and appeared at the 2011 Good Food & Wine Show. In January 2012, he criticised the federal government"s Fair Work Acting for instituting high penalty rates paid to restaurant staff, which he claimed were uneconomical for small businesses.