GEORGE GOES APE FOR ZOO CONSERVATION

Manu Feildel, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris cooking up a storm

From kitchen crusader to wildlife warrior, renowned chef George Calombaris continued his support for conservation by raising over $11,500 at a recent dinner for Zoos Victoria.

Hosted by fellow MasterChef judge, Matt Preston, the special dinner was held at Melbourne's newest Greek taverna, Hellenic Republic.

The outstanding five-course meal was created with the help of culinary colleagues Martin Boetz (Longrain, Melbourne and Sydney); Shane Delia (Maha Bar and Grill, Melbourne); Manu Feildel (L'Etoile, Sydney) and Gary Mehigan (MasterChef co-judge and the Boathouse, Melbourne).

All proceeds from the sold-out event will support Zoos Victoria's much needed conservation work.

As an ambassador for Zoos Victoria, George said he was thrilled with the success of the night.

"It was an opportunity to raise awareness for a worthy cause."

"It's my little bit to ensure that conservation is not forgotten in a world where many other important charities exist," he said.

George's previous fundraiser at his award-winning restaurant The Press Club raised more than $30,000 for orang-utan conservation in Sumatra.

Paul Clark from the Zoos Victoria Foundation welcomed the enthusiastic support of the multi-award winning chef.

"George is a loyal and longstanding supporter of our three great zoos."

"It's great to have his support to help us carry on with our important conservation work both here and abroad," he said.

George is also an ambassador for Zoo's Victoria's newest campaign to help save orang-utans in the wild - Don’t Palm Us Off

Zoos Victoria is involved in more than 15 conservation projects in Australia and overseas, including:

  • Regional endangered species breeding programs for the Tasmanian Devil, Spotted Tree Frog, and Helmeted Honey-eater.
  • Overseas projects including habitat protection initiatives to protect endangered Tree Kangaroos in Papua New Guinea and Sumatra's endangered elephants, tigers, and orang-utans.
  • The mobile phone recycling campaign ‘They're Calling on You' is raising funds to help save gorillas in Africa.