Clooney's owner had hoped Kear's reputation would bring in new customers - even through the down period - but he denied the restaurant was in serious debt.
He told the media outlet his relationship with the head chef had turned "septic" but wouldn't go into specifics beyond saying he felt Kear was using Clooney's brand to leverage his own profile.
"He's after Instagram followers. He's after exposure for himself."
Kear told Fairfax the accusations were unfounded and said his vision was to get Clooney among the world's top 50 - 100 restaurants.
The former Clooney chef believed money was the heart of the restaurant's problems and wishes Stewart had been more upfront about the finances.
"I would not have moved my whole family here. If I knew that Clooney was slow, I would not have moved my family here."
Kear took the job as Clooney's head chef in January. A public Instagram post reflected his hopes that Clooney would take him one step closer to his dream of being among the top chefs globally.
"I'm super excited to announce that I'll be taking over as Chef of one of New Zealand's Iconic restaurants.
"I have a dream and that dream is to be somewhere on the World's Top 100 list, and once again achieve the ranks of three hats."
However, his latest Instagram post showed while Kear's dream was not over - his journey with Clooney was.
"I wanted to let you ALL [sic] know that I have decided to part ways with Tony and the team at CLOONEY."
Despite how it has ended Kear has declined to say anything negative about his former boss.
He told Fairfax: "It hurts so much, but I'm not going to say anything negative about Tony."
In his latest instagram post Kear said he was really proud of everything he had achieved at the restaurant in the ten months he was there.
"But we ultimately all wanted different things ... a case of "creative differences" if you will. I wish Tony well, Clooney will close its doors on January 28th, so again, thanks everyone for their love and support. I'll be back with news of my next adventure."
