Dead at 42: $300m crash of Aus\u2019 Crazy John\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n One detail closed 340 Aus pizza chain\u2019s stores<\/a><\/p>\n Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Picture: Sam Ruttyn<\/p>\n Jamie\u2019s Italian in Perth. Picture: Jordan Shields<\/p>\n Neil Perry <\/p>\n In 2025, Neil Perry closed his Double Bay Cantonese site Song Bird after less than a year. It followed the closure of his basement bar, Bobbie\u2019s, just a month prior.<\/p>\n Perry admitted the cost of the ventures blew out to $12 million, forcing a rushed opening.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first three months were the worst of my life,\u201d Perry said. <\/p>\n \u201cEven after this many years in business, you can still make monumental mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n Neil Perry.<\/p>\n George Calombaris<\/p>\n George Calombaris\u2019 hospitality empire once established him one of Melbourne\u2019s most powerful restaurateurs. <\/p>\n At its peak, the MAdE Establishment group controlled more than 20 venues.<\/p>\n The company collapsed into voluntary administration in February 2020 after years of losses and the $7.8m underpayment scandal that poisoned the brand.<\/p>\n The collapse led to the closure of 12 restaurants and eateries including 7 Jimmy Grants souvlaki outlets, Gazi, Elektra (formerly The Press Club), and several Hellenic Republic locations (which had been rebranded as Crofter Dining Room, Hotel Argentina, and Vita).<\/p>\n The former MasterChef Australia judge was forced to pay a $200,000 \u201ccontrition payment\u201d and admitted \u201cdeep sadness and regret\u201d over the failure.<\/p>\n George Calombaris. Picture: Jason Edwards<\/p>\n Jimmy Grants was George Calombaris\u2019 fast-casual souvlaki chain, launched in 2014 and later shut as MAdE Establishment collapsed in 2020. Picture: David Geraghty\/The Australian<\/p>\n Heston Blumenthal<\/p>\n Heston Blumenthal\u2019s Dinner By Heston at Crown Melbourne was a five-star flop.<\/p>\n The eatery was placed into administration in 2015 after failing to meet a Fair Work deadline to back-pay staff $4.5 million in entitlements.<\/p>\n According to records, the company made a loss of $492,004 in 2018 and a loss of $308,526 in 2017.<\/p>\n Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.<\/p>\n Dinner by Heston in Melbourne. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n Gordon Ramsay<\/p>\n Gordon Ramsay suffered his own kitchen nightmare when Maze and Maze Grill at Crown Melbourne closed in 2011.<\/p>\n The sites lasted little more than a year before being put into liquidation.<\/p>\n Ramsay\u2019s team claimed the business was \u201cnot sustainable,\u201d despite Crown\u2019s insistence that the restaurant was one of the \u201chighest-grossing\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n Gordon Ramsay<\/p>\n Gordon Ramsay\u2019s Melbourne restaurant Maze.<\/p>\n Manu Feildel<\/p>\n The My Kitchen Rules judge has seen a string of restaurant failures, most notably Le Grand Cirque in Melbourne.<\/p>\n A partnership with Calombaris, the eatery lasted just four months.<\/p>\n Feildel also closed Duck In Duck Out in Sydney after one year, and his long-running French bistro L\u2019\u00c9toile in 2014.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s still a negative experience, so it will always hurt,\u201d Feildel said.<\/p>\n The French chef was a co-owner in Aperitif, a tapas bar in Kings Cross with Miguel Maestre, which shuttered in 2011 after less than 12 months of operation.<\/p>\n Manu Feildel also closed Duck In Duck Out in Sydney after one year. Picture: Dylan Robinson<\/p>\n Shannon Bennett<\/p>\n In 2019, Shannon Bennett\u2019s Benny Burger collapsed, leaving $170,000 in unpaid debt.<\/p>\n The \u201cethical\u201d burger chain, which spanned Sydney International Airport and prime Melbourne CBD spots, struggled to win over diners who baulked at paying nearly $18 for a single burger.<\/p>\n That same year, the celebrity chef\u2019s live music venture, Geddes Lane Ballroom, also folded less than 12 months after its high-profile launch.<\/p>\n Shannon Bennett at his former burger shop Benny Burger. Picture: Norm Oorloff<\/p>\n Pete Evans<\/p>\n The former My Kitchen Rules judge\u2019s foray into the Melbourne steakhouse scene, Little Hunter, turned into a mess within just 12 months.<\/p>\n When the 150-seat eatery collapsed in 2013, it left more than 100 creditors high and dry, owing a total of $769,000. The debt pile included a $122,000 hit to the Australian Taxation Office.<\/p>\n Despite holding a 10 per cent stake in the failed venture, Evans personally launched a claim for more than $50,000 from the disaster.<\/p>\n Pete Evans. Picture: Pan MacMillan Australia<\/p>\n Karen Martini at ACMI\u2019s Hero. Picture: Pete Tarasiuk<\/p>\n Karen Martini<\/p>\n TV chef Karen Martini\u2019s Federation Square flagship, Hero, came to a screeching halt in 2023 after ACMI abruptly terminated her contract.<\/p>\n In a brutal eviction, staff were reportedly given just six hours to vacate the museum.<\/p>\n ACMI claimed the high-profile restaurant was axed over \u201csignificant unpaid debt\u201d and a breach of contract by Martini\u2019s company, HospitalityM.<\/p>\n The former Better Homes and Gardens star hit back, declaring herself \u201cdevastated\u201d by the lack of support for a struggling city.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this climate, it is hard to believe that ACMI couldn\u2019t match our passion and enthusiasm for good things,\u201d Martini said.<\/p>\n \u2014 Additional reporting by David Bonaddio<\/p>\n MORE: Sad demise of Planet Hollywood Aus<\/a><\/p>\n One detail ended Pizza Haven in Aus forever<\/a><\/p>\n EB Games\u2019 collapse sparks Aussie job fears<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Michelin star might get you a TV deal, but it won\u2019t pay the rent. Despite million-dollar budgets…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-491031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Jamie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/capi_c1240bf5939c4271042142c44e2b57e6_1597fe643be59d371723f3cce749586e.jpeg\")
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