At only 46, Jock Zonfrillo, judge, and chef of Masterchef Australia sadly passed away. He was born in Scotland and worked for Marco Pierre White. His has been a life of genius and rollercoasters, narrated in his autobiography One Shot in 2021.
The news
The tragic event was announced on Monday by the family in a statement: “Irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son, and friend; “With our hearts completely shattered we cannot stop thinking how we will carry on without him, we painfully inform you that Jock passed away yesterday. Many words could describe him, and many stories could be told, but at this moment, we are overwhelmed by the pain to be able to say any more. For the ones that met him along the way, became his companions, or have been so lucky to be part of his family, keep the Scottish pride in your heart when you sip on your next whisky.” The police informed us that it had been a natural cause and that there will not be any investigation.
Born in Glasgow in 1976, Zonfrillo (registered as Barry) started working in kitchens at only thirteen as a dishwasher. After leaving his studies at fifteen, he followed an internship at the Turnberry Hotel. Later on, at seventeen, the meeting with Marco Pierre White, and at twenty-two his first role as a chef at Cornwall’s Tresanton Hotel. Kicked out by the Forty One in Sidney in 2002 because he set on fire pants of an apprentice that was being too slow (a prank that didn’t end well) sentenced to pay $75.000. He was then left no choice but to declare bankruptcy, to then later open various restaurants in Adelaide where he gained the critic’s favor.
A troublesome working life, narrated point by point in Last Shot, an autobiography at the time contested by Marco Pierre White, that declared: “Almost everything he wrote about me is false.” He does not skimp on his London period, during which, Zonfrillo declares to have been a homeless devoted to heroin. “This is the true story of my life. I lived every moment of it, high and low, and I am loyal to it. There is no doubt that a part of my book makes me look like an unpleasant person. I regret those years, no pride, it was an obstacle to overcome, while writing.”
But Zonfrillo has made himself known and loved by the Australian public, especially as judge of Masterchef, where he was a regular since 2019. And soon the memories of his colleagues and of all the ones that stood with him on the program started to pop up, like Jamie Oliver, that on an Instagram post declared to be “completely shocked.” The new season, which was supposed to start on Monday, has been put on pause for a week. “We are deeply shocked and sad about this sudden loss,” declared both the broadcaster and producer.
Source: The Guardian
