Why former Masterchef judge George Calombaris refuses to do other reality TV

Celebrity chef George Calombaris. Photo / Getty Images

Despite all the furor around his recent departure from Masterchef, celebrity judge George Calombaris has already ruled out any other reality TV appearances.

Calombaris quit the cooking show earlier in the week amid an $8 million pay saga.

However he maintains he will only return to reality TV if it's "food related".

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Calombaris said he would refuse to do certain reality shows, saying; "I can promise you, you'll never see me on Dancing With The Stars or I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here".

He added: "I'll give Zorba The Greek a go, if you get a few wines into me. But for other shows, it's got to be food-related for me."

But the offers may not fly in too quickly, as the going rate to keep Calombaris on screen has reached astronomical new heights.

He and his co-judges Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan left Masterchef after 11 years, after Channel 10 refused to give them a 40 per cent pay rise which would've seen them earning $1.5 million each for a "guaranteed two years".

Their exit also came after Fair Work Australia revealed that Calombaris had underpaid 500 staff at his MAdE Establishment restaurant empire by $7.8 million.

The chef and his company were fined a "contrition payment" of $200,000 by the Fair Work Ombudsman and more than 22,000 people signed a petition calling for him to be sacked from MasterChef.

"George should pay a serious price for this massive theft of workers' wages," the petition read.

"Channel Ten should stop making excuses for this serial wage thief."