MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo has passed away, aged 46. Zonfrillo's passing was announced on May 1st, with a statement to his Instagram confirming that the beloved MasterChef judge had sadly passed away on April 30, 2023.
According to Daily Mail Australia, police believe that Zonfrillo died of natural causes and nothing unusual or suspicious was discovered in the hotel room where he was found.
Jock Zonfrillo's wife, Lauren Fried, broke down in tears on Sunday night as she prepared to watch the late MasterChef judge's final episode on the show following his shock death in May.
Zonfrillo was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room on April 30 at age 46 in unsuspicious circumstances following a welfare check. Lauren Fried revealed Jock Zonfrillo completed multiple projects before his death. Picture: Instagram. Zonfrillo and his family were living in Italy shortly before he died.
Jock married his wife on New Year's Day 2017. They share two children together, five-year-old Alfie, and two-year-old daughter Isla. Jock is also survived by two teenage daughters, Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages.
MasterChef Australia's Brent reveals his heartfelt parting gift from judge Jock Zonfrillo. ''The impact that Jock made on my life... is something I'll never forget. '' Returning MasterChef contestant Brent Draper reveals he never goes anywhere without his worry beads, which were gifted to him by the late Jock Zonfrillo ...
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In total, Zonfrillo launched three restaurants in Australia. None are still open today. Orana was the first to bring Indigenous ingredients into the fine dining scene and won international acclaim. Downstairs, beneath the restaurant, he launched Bistro Blackwood, a more casual eatery.
Ramsay, who worked with Zonfrillo in the 1990s in the UK, was emotional as he remembered his fellow Scot, saying his death was “a massive shock”. “He was a lad that refused to get old, he refused to toe the line. He just wanted to have fun,” he said.
Jock Zonfrillo passed away a few days before the premiere of MasterChef Australia Season 15 and watching the show with the knowledge that he isn't around anymore is a bittersweet experience.
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But on Monday, the 46-year-old was found dead in a hotel adjacent to his old home. The rest of his family were in Rome when they learned the devastating news that their “irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend” had died.
On May 1, Zonfrillo was found dead at an address on Lygon Street in Melbourne. This was later revealed to be Zagame's House, a luxury boutique hotel where he was staying ahead of his publicity engagements for MasterChef, which was scheduled to screen the next day.
But his pain and torment evaporated on October 21, 2014, when he first met Lauren Fried in the bar of a waterfront hotel in Adelaide. Zonfrillo, who died on Sunday aged 46, later described their meeting as 'love at first sight'.
It was such a dramatic turn when Brent, who many people follow, spoke to one of the judges, Jock Zonfrillo, that he would no longer take part in the show. According to Brent, he was dropping out to sort out his health issues as it affected his cooking, sleep and everything directly related to the competition.
"These are worry beads," Jock explained in the clip, which you can watch above. "I've got lots of different types of worry beads, and when I'm feeling anxious or a little bit stressed, basically, I flick through them like that and the more anxious and more worried you get, the the faster I do it."
Brent has worked in various leadership positions culminating with being a Co-Founder & Director of Vitrafy Life Sciences. Brent is a genuine biotechnology inventor owning 9 registered patents. With a passion for lifelong learning Brent is currently studying a graduate degree in Life Science at Harvard University.
Jock Zonfrillo's wife Lauren and two kids flying back to Australia from Italian holiday after MasterChef judge's shock death. Jock Zonfrillo's family is returning home following his death, as it can be revealed how Network Ten scrambled to ensure the story did not leak and announce the tragic news on their own terms.
The family made the trip to Italy once the filming of MasterChef had concluded roughly a month ago. On Tuesday evening, entertainment writer Peter Ford revealed on social media that Zonfrillo “had actually moved to Rome to live” for what “was to have been an exciting new chapter for the family”.
According to news.com.au, the reason Zonfrillo was alone at a Melbourne hotel when he died was because he'd left a family holiday in Italy early to return to Australia for promotion of his show, MasterChef Australia: Secrets and Surprises.