Empire Builders

Some years ago I had the privilege of interviewing esteemed Perth restaurateur Harry Ferrante (Alberto’s, Romano’s, Mama Maria’s, Cicero’s, Harry’s Bar & Grill, Simon’s Seafood Restaurant and Harry’s Seafood Bar & Garden Restaurant) for the brave but sadly defunct SPICE magazine.

Harry had a lot to say about the hospitality industry and Harry was a member of a dying breed – the owner operator. This was the model while I was growing up in Sydney where famed restaurants such as Beppi’s  and The Blue Angel endure. There are also a number of contemporary restaurants doing the same. But we are living in an age where growth is everything and making a tidy profit is not good enough – businesses must grow, apparently.

Justin Hemmes’ Merivale group is an exception. But he has the exceptional talents of Dan Hong! If you haven’t caught the SBS cook show, The Chef’s Line, you should. https://www.sbs.com.au/food/programs/the-chefs-line

Worth a look for many reasons, including food writer Melissa Leong and the Black Olive – bush tucker exponent Mark Olive. No drawn-out tales of “what this means to my Nona and how it’s the only way for me to follow my food dream”. Seems like Masterchef contestants have never heard the word “apprentice”.

But I digress! It takes strong leadership to keep an empire together. Sometimes you wonder why the empire? Why expand if you can’t do so in a business-like manner? Why have George Colambaris’ staff been underpaid to such a great extent?

Apparently George is devastated:

https://www.smartcompany.com.au/people-human-resources/george-calombaris-devastated-repays-workers-2-6-million-poor-processes-lead-underpayment/

I imagine his underpaid staff aren’t thrilled either. Claims of ignorance are a bit hard to digest when speaking of $2.6 million.

But it’s not isolated behaviour. Et tu ponytail?

(https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/rampant-exploitation-at-rockpool-restaurant-empire-20180706-p4zpvc.html)

This isn’t a case of “oops, silly me”. According to the Sydney Morning Herald:

“All point to the group’s dependence on extensive unpaid work by permanent skilled chefs and managers who are often migrants”. http://ww.smh.com.au/business/workplace/rampant-exploitation-at-rockpool-restaurant-empire-20180706-p4zpvc.html

You don’t have to have read Anthony Bourdain to know that cooking in a hot kitchen or whizzing around a busy restaurant for hours on end is damned hard work. Surely being paid for the hours you work is the least you would expect?