"MasterChef" Graham Elliot has ended his beef with some bitter ex-waiters ... agreeing to settle the lawsuit they filed against him and now the culinary god has to fork over some cold, hard cash.

According to court docs, both parties came to an agreement earlier this month. The judge signed off on the settlement and terminated the case on the same day.

The docs say Graham will pony up a "fair" amount to his former employees, but it's unclear how much.

If you recall ... Elliot was sued by 14 former waiters from his self-titled Chicago restaurant who claimed he violated federal law by pooling their tips and then redistributing them unfairly to bussers, bartenders, and food runners.

"MasterChef" Graham Elliot is FED UP with the lawsuit recently filed against him and insists everything he did in his Chicago restaurant was legally within his rights ... this according to new docs.

If you recall ... the culinary God is being sued by former Graham Elliot Restaurant employee Gregory Curtis, who alleges that Elliot was skimming tips from waiters and giving it to the kitchen staff ... which Curtis claims would be a violation of federal law.

But in a response filed earlier this month, Elliot claims the suit is BS. While he does admit he DID take tip money and pool it for other staff members -- bartenders, bussers, and food runners -- he is adamant ... under federal labor laws, it was totally legit. 

Elliot now wants the judge to throw out the suit completely and force Curtis to cover his legal fees as well.

If only there was a tip pool for that.

Chef Graham Elliot -- a world-class culinary god who starred as a judge on "MasterChef" -- is being sued by an extremely bitter ex-waiter at his famous Chicago restaurant ... who claims Graham conspired to cheat certain staff members out of their tips.

According to a lawsuit filed in Illinois, Gregory Curtis claims he was a waiter for Graham Elliot at a place called Graham Elliot (yes, he named the restaurant after himself).

Curtis claims the restaurant forced him to partake in a tip pool -- where all tips are pooled and then distributed out to various staffers ... including bartenders, bussers, food runners and cooks.

But Curtis is pissed -- claiming the food runners and cooks had NO RIGHT to his tip money ... because they "do not customarily and regularly receive tips."

According to the suit, Curtis claims his hourly pay should have been higher as a result of the B.S.  tip pool ... so he's suing for the lost wages for himself and anyone else who was affected.

Calls to Graham Elliot (the chef) and Graham Elliot (the restaurant) have not been returned.