MasterChef Australia judge and chef Jock Zonfrillo dies aged 46

Jock Zonfrillo, judge on MasterChef Australia, chef and author, has died at the age of 46.

His family confirmed his death on Monday, saying “our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend” died on Sunday in Melbourne.

No cause of death was given. A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed that the death was not being treated as suspicious. A report will be prepared for the coroner.

MasterChef Australia’s new season was due to premiere on Monday night, but Network 10 confirmed that it will not air this week.

“With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,” Zonfrillo’s family said in a statement.

“So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we’re too overwhelmed to put them into words. For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.”

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who was a guest on the first episode of the upcoming season of MasterChef Australia, wrote on Instagram that he was “in total shock”.

“We had the best time working together for this year’s MasterChef, I can’t tell how good it was to work with him!” Oliver wrote. “Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show and for that I was really grateful … Jock will be so very missed … I can’t believe I’m writing this…….”

Several former MasterChef contestants including Laura Sharrad, Sarah Tiong, Depinder Chhibber, Minoli De Silva and Reynold Poernomo paid tribute to the chef on social media, with Poernomo saying he was “shocked” by the news.

“... rest in peace chef, my heart and condolences to loved ones,” he wrote on Zonfrillo’s Instagram.

Chefs Colin Fassnidge, Rosheen Kaul and Dan Hong also shared their sadness.

“This is devastating,” wrote Hong, while former food critic Pat Nourse described Zonfrillo’s death as “incredibly sad news”.

“We’re the poorer for his passing. Truly heartbreaking,” he wrote on Instagram.

Network 10 and MasterChef Australia production company Endemol Shine Australia said in a statement that they were “deeply shocked and saddened at the sudden loss”.

Peter Newman, chief executive officer at Endemol Shine Australia, said: “On set he was loved by the team and his passion for food and the show was infectious. He was also a brilliant champion for the contestants on MasterChef, always wanting the very best for them. He will be deeply missed by the entire MasterChef team. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

Born Barry Zonfrillo in Glasgow in 1976, Zonfrillo began working in kitchens as a dishwasher at the age of 13. He left school at 15 and started an apprenticeship at the Turnberry hotel, becoming one of its youngest-ever apprentices.

Zonfrillo began working for celebrated British chef Marco Pierre White at 17, writing in his 2021 memoir Last Shot that he was homeless and addicted to heroin at the time. He was appointed head chef at Cornwall’s Tresanton hotel when he was just 22.

Zonfrillo became head chef at Sydney’s Forty One in 2000, but was fired in 2002 after he set fire to an apprentice’s pants for working too slowly. Zonfrillo said it was a practical joke gone wrong. The 18-year-old apprentice, Martin Krammer, sued Zonfrillo and won $75,000 in damages in 2007. The same year, Zonfrillo declared bankruptcy.

He then opened several restaurants in Adelaide, including Restaurant Orana, Street ADL, Bistro Blackwood and Nonna Mallozzi. Restaurant Orana was named Australia’s restaurant of the year by Gourmet Traveller magazine in 2018, and the following year in the Good Food Guide. It was awarded three hats in 2019 and 2020, but closed in March 2020.

In 2019, he became a judge on MasterChef Australia – alongside Melissa Leong and Andy Allen – replacing the show’s original hosts Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan.

Some of the stories in his memoir Last Shot were controversially disputed, with White saying that “almost everything he has written about me is untrue” in the chapters about Zonfrillo’s time in London in the 1990s. Zonfrillo’s claim that he had visited “hundreds of Indigenous communities” was also questioned.

But Zonfrillo denied embellishing his life story, saying: “This is the story of my life. I’ve lived every minute of it, the highs and lows, and I stand by it.”

“There’s no question that some of my book makes me look pretty unsavoury at the best of times. I carry the shame from those years, not pride, and it was a big obstacle for me to overcome when writing this book.”

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children.  (The Guardian)