“I copped a lot of shouting," the former chef said. Loading A Fair Work Ombudsman spokeswoman confirmed an inquiry into Maha was under way but said as a result it could not comment further.“We urge workers to contact us directly for assistance," she said. A Maha spokesperson said they were "cooperating fully with the Fair Work Ombudsman’s investigation". "Compliance with all relevant workplace legislation is a high priority for us and we have engaged independent specialist advice to assist with responding with Fair Work’s questions.”

Mr Delia started Maha with his then business partner George Calombaris in 2008 and bought him out in 2014. Mr Delia also owns the recently-opened Maha East and Biggie Smalls. He has appeared on Masterchef and hosts his own TV shows Spice Journey and Recipe for Life. Maha, which specialises in Middle Eastern food, has been awarded one hat in the Good Food Guide since 2009. An eight-course dinner costs $140 a person. An ongoing investigation by The Sunday Age has uncovered an industry-wide rort whereby permanent restaurant staff are significantly underpaid through the excessive use of unpaid overtime. The investigation has uncovered the practice at restaurant businesses fronted by industry heavyweights Neil Perry, Heston Blumenthal, Guillaume Brahim and Teage Ezard. As a result all those businesses are currently under investigation by the Ombudsman. Heston Blumenthal with Neil Perry and Guillaume Brahimi. Businesses fronted by all three have been embroiled in wages scandals. Credit:Simon Alekna

Another industry heavyweight, George Calombaris and the restaurant business he fronts recently paid back $7.8 million to workers it had underpaid. United Voice Victorian secretary Ben Redford, whose Hospo Voice offshoot was set up last year , welcomed the Ombudsman probe into Maha. “Hospo Voice members won’t cop any proven abuse of annualised salaries; it's highway robbery. And the outrage about Calombaris shows that venue patrons are right behind them," he said. “We know of countless venues who see that the winds of change are blowing hard and they're cleaning up their act. Now it’s time for the rest of the industry to join them.” ACTU secretary Sally McManus said wage underpayment had got significantly worse and there needed to be major law reform to tackle it.

“It’s an epidemic, it’s happening everywhere,” she said. “It’s got worse over time and we need to look at why that’s the case.” Ms McManus said since 1996 “there’s been an absolute shift in the law” in the favour of employers. The ACTU is pushing for a range of changes including restoring the rights of union officials to inspect the wage records of business along with higher fines for contraventions. The hospitality industry has a culture of long and unsociable hours, and the restaurant award allows management to "buy out" penalties and overtime for a 25 per cent higher hourly rate. However, workplace law requires that under any such buyout, permanent workers are still paid more than the award overall, the wages safety net.

An industry source , who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the scale of the alleged underpayments was lower. That reflected that Maha was a much smaller business than those fronted by the likes of Neil Perry and George Calombaris. Neither the Ombudsman or Mr Delia would comment on the specific details of the alleged underpayment. Chef Shane Delia in the kitchen. Credit:Pat Scala It is expected there will be significant payouts at Neil Perry's Rockpool Dining Group which is by far the largest of the businesses involved in the industry wage scandal. The private equity-owned Rockpool business, which has turnover of more than $300 million a year, agreed to pay back staff $1.6 million last October for a single year of underpayment.

It has since expanded those payments stretching back a further five years. Rockpool Dining Group has not disclosed the amounts involved, but they could be worth, in total, up to $10 million. Do you know more? Send us a confidential and encrypted message on Journotips Follow Ben Schneiders on Facebook