Award-winning chef and MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo has died suddenly, aged 46.
The Scotsman worked with world-famous chefs in renowned restaurants around the globe before opening his own in Australia.
His death was confirmed by Network 10, on the day it was due to air the 2023 season premiere of MasterChef.
Zonfrillo is survived by his wife and four children, who in a statement said their hearts were “shattered”.
“So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told… 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,” it said.
Zonfrillo was found dead at a house in Melbourne when police conducted a welfare check in the early hours of Monday morning. Victoria Police said the death is not being treated as suspicious.
Gordon Ramsay, Australian singer Jimmy Barnes, and fellow chef Colin Fassnidge have led the tributes to Zonfrillo.
“Saddened by the devastating news… I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia,” Ramsay wrote on Twitter.
“Jock was like a brother to me and we made each other laugh and cry,” Barnes said.
Network 10 also paid tribute to the star, saying Zonfrillo’s charisma, passion and wicked sense of humour had inspired a nation of home cooks.
MasterChef – which is pre-recorded – will not air this week as planned, it said.
Born in Glasgow in 1976, Zonfrillo began working in kitchens at 12, and at 15 became one of the youngest-ever apprentices to work at luxury Scottish resort, The Turnberry Hotel.
Two years later he started working for Michelin-starred British chef Marco Pierre White at his famous Hyde Park Hotel.
But despite his burgeoning career, Zonfrillo said he became broke, homeless and addicted to heroin in his teenage years. He wrote at length about his struggles with drug addiction in his 2021 memoir, Last Shot.
He said he turned a new leaf with a move to Australia in 2000, and went on to open several restaurants, his most successful – Adelaide’s award-winning Restaurant Orana – opening in 2013.
In 2019, the presenter was announced as part of an all new host line-up for MasterChef Australia.
But Zonfrillo’s career was not without controversy. Orana closed in 2020 with debts of millions of dollars, and Last Shot was criticised as inaccurate by former colleagues, including Marco Pierre White.
