Celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo was honoured by his colleagues and friends in a beautiful hour-long TV special ahead of the new MasterChef season on Sunday night. Grab your tissues, because this stuff is heart-wrenching.
The new season was supposed to premiere on last Monday, but hours before it was meant to air, Zonfrillo was tragically found dead by police who were conducting a welfare check.
The season was delayed by a week out of respect for him and with permission from his family. Before it aired on Sunday, The Project hosted a special episode as a tribute to the 46-year-old.
Andy Allen, fellow MasterChef judge and close friend to Zonfrillo and his family, held back tears as he recalled the last time he saw Zonfrillo — a three hour lunch the day before his passing.
“We just talked each other’s ear off for three hours. It was so … It was so normal. He was in such good spirits,” he said.
“He was so excited about the show launching.”
From the moment they signed on as MasterChef judges, Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen became close friends. Returning to the MasterChef kitchen is hard for Andy, who is struggling to realise Jock is gone. pic.twitter.com/7bN8IPLegq
— The Project (@theprojecttv) May 7, 2023
Allen said he felt guilty to have been able to spend so much time with Zonfrillo when his wife Lauren and their children couldn’t — his family was holidaying in Rome at the time of his death.
“Part of me … just feels guilty that it wasn’t them … I just wish that it was them sitting there having lunch with Jock. I’d give anything to swap positions,” he said.
“[Lauren’s] lost her best friend. You know … Jock’s got three daughters, and it’s things like never being able to walk them down the aisle … They’re the things that are hurting her the most.”
He said Zonfrillo was a mentor to him, and despite the fact that he was a “Scottish bloke” who “drinks whisky” and is “hard as nails”, he taught Allen to be vulnerable.
“Being 10 years younger than him, I still have so many things to learn. That was one of the things that he taught me, was to be vulnerable and show your emotions,” he said.
“And he’d probably be up there now going ‘I did an all right job ‘cause you’re a mess’.
“He’s just always been there for me, and … I’m just struggling to realise that he’s actually — he’s gone.”
Andy Allen said Jock Zonfrillo was a Scot who drank whisky and was hard as nails but could be such a vulnerable person. pic.twitter.com/953mSQBVNU
— The Project (@theprojecttv) May 7, 2023
As if our hearts couldn’t ache more, Allen said he can’t stop thinking about Zonfrillo’s children.
“The hardest thing is … I can’t get [Zonfrillo’s son Alfie’s] little voice and face out of my head saying, ‘You’re my best friend, poppa’. He said it every day,” he said.
“I am gonna miss everything that this guy has brought into my life. He couldn’t wait … for [my wife] Alex and I to have kids as well. Yeah, he couldn’t wait for that. He always said I was gonna be a great dad. And I just wish he was around to see that.”
Melissa Leong, who completes the trio of MasterChef judges, was notably absent from the episode. She also pulled out of a panel earlier this week, citing her grief over Zonfrillo’s death. It looks like she’s really taking this hard, and who could blame her?
Gordon Ramsay also appeared in the episode and spoke highly of Zonfrillo.
“The ripples have been devastating,” he said.
“No one’s going to get over this quickly. If there’s one thing that we’ve done as chefs, it’s we’ve united and we’re talking about the good times. So … Yikes.”
Ramsay then broke down into tears as he remembered his friend.
“Sorry,” he apologised tearfully. “It’s just so painful.”
Gordon Ramsay and Jock Zonfrillo shared the MasterChef kitchen numerous times, and Gordon shares what Jock was like off-camera. pic.twitter.com/h3qAdH1EDj
— The Project (@theprojecttv) May 7, 2023
Celebrity chefs Maggie Beer, Curtis Stone, Jamie Oliver, Matt Moran and Shannon Bennett also shared their memories of Zonfrillo, with common themes emerging of his approachableness and appreciation of his mates.
“Jock had time for everyone,” Stone said.
“It doesn’t matter who it was, on a set or in his kitchen, he genuinely had a love of people. He would speak to the person that would make coffee on set the same way he’d speak to the director.”
Jamie Oliver remembers meeting a 22-year-old Jock Zonfrillo, who had just earned his first head chef position. pic.twitter.com/n8uBcblK7w
— The Project (@theprojecttv) May 7, 2023
Marco Pierre-White said when Zonfrillo first approached him as a 17-year-old, what stood out to him was his enthusiasm.
“It was that enthusiasm which drove him,” he said.
“Maybe fuelled by his fears of failure, by his insecurities, which I could relate to.”
He said Zonfrillo’s talent was “rare” and that the Scot was one of the greatest chefs of the 21st century.
Jock Zonfrillo was best known for his role on MasterChef, but he’s also been celebrated for his passion for Indigenous ingredients. He is survived by his wife and four children.
