Jock Zonfrillo was a television presenter and a Scottish Chef. He also owned a restaurant in Melbourne, Australia. Apart from these, he was also a judge in Masterchef Australia and got popular throughout the world. He started cooking when he was 12 years old but started his career by washing dish vessels.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Jock Zonfrillo |
| Occupation | Chef and TV personality |
| Date of Birth | 4th November 1976 |
| Place of Birth | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Education | Degree in Professional Cookery from the prestigious City of Glasgow College |
| Notable Restaurants | Orana, Street ADL, Bistro Blackwood |
| TV Appearances | MasterChef Australia, Chef Exchange, Chef’s Table |
| Awards and Honours | Winner of Australia’s Hottest Chef, Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year, and other awards |
| Philanthropy | Founder of The Orana Foundation, which aims to preserve and celebrate the food and culture of Indigenous Australians |
| Personal Life | Married to Lauren Fried and has three children |
Jock started working in kitchens at 12 and began cooking after a chef’s injury. He left school at 15 and began an apprenticeship, working in the one-Michelin-starred Arkle Restaurant before being fired for mismanagement. He then worked for Marco Pierre White and travelled to Australia to work at Restaurant 41 in Sydney. He was later appointed head chef at The Tresanton Hotel in Cornwall. After immigrating to Australia, he became head chef of Restaurant 41, where he was fired for setting an apprentice’s pants on fire. In 2011, he was named head chef at Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant.
In 2013, Jock established Street ADL and Restaurant Orana. In 2017, he opened Bistro Blackwood. Gourmet Traveller recognised Orana Australia’s Restaurant of the Year in 2018 and The Good Food Guide in 2019. Nonna Mallozzi launched in 2018 but shuttered in 2019 and 2020 together with Bistro Blackwood and Orana due to severe losses. There are continuing investigations into possible violations of director responsibilities and related party loans, and the businesses that own the restaurants entered voluntary administration in October 2020. They also had significant debts. After Orana closed, Zonfrillo was forced to sell his home.
He founded The Orana Foundation in 2016 to preserve Indigenous Australian cooking techniques and ingredients, earning a Good Food Guide Food for Good Award. The foundation’s projects include a database of 1,443 Aboriginal food plants in partnership with the University of Adelaide, launched in September 2020. In 2020, Zonfrillo was named as a judge for both MasterChef Australia and Junior MasterChef Australia. He also faced controversy when his management of The Orana Foundation was questioned, and his memoir Last Shot was criticized for inaccurate stories and claims.
Zonfrillo, born in Glasgow, Scotland, grew up in Ayr. He attended Belmont Academy in Ayr. Zonfrillo married his third wife, Lauren Fried, on January 1, 2017. They have a son born prematurely in February 2018 and a daughter in October 2020. Zonfrillo had two daughters from his previous marriages. The family relocated to Melbourne around March 2020 after the closure of his restaurants. Before his death, they were living in Carlton.
As of 2023, Jock had a net worth of about $5 million. He worked as a television host and also owns a restaurant in Melbourne. Hope, his wife will take care of his belongings and increase the revenue.
It has been revealed that MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo had been secretly fighting colon cancer for nearly two years prior to his untimely passing. He had treated himself while he wasn’t filming and had kept his condition a secret from his coworkers and friends. There is no indication that cancer played a role in his demise.
He was found dead in a hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton in the morning. The police are investigating the reason for his death and how he died.
His family has issued a statement requesting space to mourn. As recently as September 2022, Zonfrillo was having therapy in Italy. The chef replaced the original judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan, and Matt Preston when he joined MasterChef in 2019 together with Melissa Leong and Andy Allen.
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