EXCLUSIVE
Celebrity chef Opel Khan has broken his silence after his restaurant empire closed as debt collectors closed in and he was accused of wage theft following a rumored split with his wife.
Khan recently closed his Sydney restaurants, including French-themed Metisse and pasta restaurant Acqua E Farina in Potts Point, as well as his Bistronomie restaurant in Surry Hills.
He confirmed the closures last year, insisting rising wages and rising food costs meant there was “no more money to be made” in Sydney’s hospitality industry.
But it has now been revealed that a series of debt collectors have been trying to track him down at previous addresses listed in the company’s files.
The Fair Work Ombudsman also launched legal action against Khan and his company over allegations of wage theft affecting some of his restaurant staff.
Adding to his work turmoil, a family member claimed to Daily Mail Australia that he and his wife Jules separated “some time ago” and had not spoken in over a year.
However, this week the chef made a video call to Daily Mail Australia with his wife and insisted the couple are still “very close”.
But he admitted his marriage had been rocked by claims of an affair after a mystery woman contacted Ms Khan and claimed she was his secret lover.
Chef, author and TV personality Opel Khan (pictured) closed his restaurants, saying rising food costs made it impossible to run the businesses for profit.
His wife Jules was contacted by a mysterious woman claiming to be her husband’s mistress.
“A woman contacted my wife saying she was my lover,” he admitted.
‘I was at a dinner with five or six women and they sent a photo to my wife suggesting things.
‘Now people are making up all kinds of rumors that there is a baby on the way. None of this is true.’
He added: “The people of the Bangladeshi community are against me.”
There is no suggestion that there is any truth to the allegations made against Khan.
The dispute comes after Khan closed his Opel Group hospitality website in October and told Good Food he was withdrawing from the restaurant sector due to rising food costs.
‘Food costs have increased by 40 per cent, we cannot increase the price we charge customers. ‘Wages went up, interest rates (went up),’ he said at the time.
In May, the chef replaced his signature restaurant Khanaa in Surry Hills with Bistronomie, a venue he promoted as affordable dining for tough times.
But now the doors have closed for the entire empire.
Khan also scrapped plans to open a second Bistronomie outpost at the ill-fated Potts Point site that previously housed the ex-Gastro Park and Antipodean restaurants.
“A friend who owns a lot of stores says he can’t make any money right now,” he said while announcing the closures.
“I’m going to take a little break, but I live and breathe food and wine, so don’t rule me out from opening another restaurant.”
The Opel Group website, which previously displayed Khan’s various Harbor City restaurants, now displays an error message.
Since closing his restaurant, he has kept a low profile.
His social media accounts have gone silent in the wake of the turmoil and the last post on his Instagram account, which has three million followers, dates back to November.
It showed the chef having brunch, along with images of a designer watch and Louis Vuitton boots.
An Instagram reel from 15 weeks ago shows Khan’s hand on the steering wheel of his Bentley, with the “Opel iPhone” on the dashboard and wearing a chunky $1,000 Fendi ruthenium bracelet.
He was also said to be a regular at Sydney’s Star casino, and was tagged and photographed on social media at a barbershop in Westfield Miranda, in Sydney’s south, on Christmas Eve.
Opel Khan says difficult trading conditions have forced Opel Khan to close a number of locations, including its latest affordable restaurant, Bistronomie.
Opel Khan is no stranger to designer clothes and cars (pictured) sporting a Fendi bracelet behind the wheel of a Bentley.
The couple married in a ceremony in Bangladesh 28 years ago.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched legal action in the Federal Court against Khan and his Metisse group of bars and restaurants for allegedly underpaying a cook’s minimum wages, overtime and fines for the work. night and weekend.
The cook was also not paid personal leave entitlements and received no pay in lieu of notice or annual leave entitlements when his job was made redundant.
A beverage supervisor also lost his paid annual leave entitlements, the Ombudsman alleged, and the company failed to calculate and pay workers.
Khan strongly denied the claims and said he returned the money to both workers and provided receipts for the bank transfers. The matter is currently still before the court.
Daily Mail Australia can now reveal he is also being pursued over other alleged outstanding debts.
While debt collectors fail to locate him, chef Opel Khan went for a haircut in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire on Christmas Eve.
A current tenant of a former residential rental property where Khan and his family once lived has revealed how unpaid bills have filled his mailbox since he moved out.
He said debt collectors have continually turned up at his door looking for Khan for the past 10 months after he moved into Beecroft’s home in northern Sydney.
“A lot of different people and companies have come looking for him, about half a dozen since February,” the tenant said.
“A lot of different people from different companies want to know where it is.”