MasterChef Australia Judge Jock Zonfrillo Dies at 46
Jock Zonfrillo, a judge on MasterChef Australia and a chef with multiple awards, passed away at the age of 46. Family members of Mr. Zonfrillo issued a statement Monday confirming his death, calling him “our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son, and friend,” as reported by The Guardian. The Victoria Police have stated that the death is not being investigated as suspicious, but no official cause of death has been released. The police also reported that the coroner’s office will write up a report on Mr. Zonfrillo’s death.
Network 10 confirmed to The Guardian that the upcoming season of MasterChef Australia would not air due to Mr. Zonfrillo’s passing.
The family of the deceased chef released a statement in which they wrote, “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,”
“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,” the message continued.
The wife and four children of Mr. Zonfrillo survive him.
According to the BBC, he was born in Glasgow in 1976 and began working as a dishwasher at the tender age of twelve. Mr. Zonfrillo, at age 15, became the hotel’s youngest-ever apprentice when he checked into The Turnberry Hotel, a five-star establishment in Scotland.
Two years later, he began working for British chef Marco Pierre White, who had just received three Michelin stars.
Mr. Zonfrillo got addicted to heroin as his career progressed, and he detailed his struggles with the drug in his memoir The Last Shot, published in 2021. In the 1990s, Mr. Zonfrillo relocated to Australia, where he developed several restaurants, the most successful of which being Orana, which first opened to the public in 2013.