George Calombaris sells his $4.75 million Melbourne mansion as he continues to pay debt

Former MasterChef judge George Calombaris sells his $4.75 million Melbourne mansion as he continues to pay his collapsed restaurant empire’s debt – and home’s mystery buyer is revealed

Former MasterChef judge George Calombaris has reportedly sold his $4.75 million mansion in Melbourne‘s Toorak.

According to The Age, a caveat was lodged on the property last week under a sale agreement first signed in July.

The exact sale price is unknown, but the buyer of the home is Chinese-born Ka Ning Cheung, 35, who is linked to a business called CHZH Finance.

It’s a deal! Former MasterChef judge George Calombaris (pictured) has sold his $4.75 million Melbourne mansion as he continues to pay his collapsed restaurant empire’s debt

Calombaris and his wife Natalie Tricarico purchased the lavish home for $4.75 million in 2013.

The Toorak property boasts five spacious bedrooms, four bathrooms, a lift and a five car garage, plus a recently constructed gym.

This comes after the celebrity chef waved goodbye to his career with the sale of his last food business.

In July, the former MasterChef host sold the up-market Yo Chi frozen yoghurt chain he owned with former Swisse vitamins boss Radek Sali.

Sold! Calombaris and his wife, Natalie Tricarico, purchased the lavish home for $4.75 million in 2013 and recently sold it to Chinese-born Ka Ning Cheung

Sold! Calombaris and his wife, Natalie Tricarico, purchased the lavish home for $4.75 million in 2013 and recently sold it to Chinese-born Ka Ning Cheung

The new owners are the two sons of Boost Juice founder Janine Allis – Oliver Allis, 23 and Riley Allis, 20.

The sale signals the full collapse of his restaurant empire, which was made up of 18 venues across Melbourne including the Press Club, Gazi and Hellenic Republic.

Proceeds from the sale reportedly went straight to the Commonwealth Bank which is owed $8.5million after the collapse of the restaurant empire, The Age reported.

The former MasterChef judge’s MAdE Establishments business spectacularly folded in February with just $389 in the bank and owing staff $1.2million in wages and entitlements.

Business: This comes after the celebrity chef waved goodbye to his career with the sale of his last food business

Business: This comes after the celebrity chef waved goodbye to his career with the sale of his last food business

Last year, Calombaris also made headlines after he was found to have underpaid his restaurant staff by nearly $8 million.

He was fined $2000,000 for underplaying 515 staff between 2011 and 2017 and will have his business audited for the next three years.

He was also axed alongside veteran MasterChef co-judges Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston amid the controversy.

‘Despite months of negotiations, Ten has not been able to reach a commercial agreement that was satisfactory to Matt, Gary and George,’ Ten’s CEO Paul Anderson said in a statement in July 2019.

Controversial: Last year, Calombaris made headlines after he was found to have underpaid his restaurant staff by nearly $8 million. Pictured Calombaris (centre) and former MasterChef co-stars Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston

Controversial: Last year, Calombaris made headlines after he was found to have underpaid his restaurant staff by nearly $8 million. Pictured Calombaris (centre) and former MasterChef co-stars Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston