MasterChef co-judge Andy Allen says 'life will never be the same ...
MasterChef Australia winner and judge Andy Allen has remembered Jock Zonfrillo as “the complete package” and said “life will never be the same” following Zonfrillo’s death on Monday.
Allen, who won the fourth season of the series in 2012 and went on to judge alongside Zonfrillo from 2020, posted a tribute on Instagram on Tuesday.
He said he and Zonfrillo and their families had become close friends.
“You've become such an inspirational and important part of our lives,” he wrote.
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“Sure, you've taught me so much about food, but it's the lessons I learnt about what it means to be a great father, husband and friend that I'll take away from our time together and will last forever.”
Allen went on: “I'll miss the way you mentored me and every contestant that walked into the MasterChef kitchen, I'll miss you ordering the entire menu no matter how many dishes deep and making me eat every last bite, I'll miss your morning on-set coffees that made me shake from the amount of caffeine you were able to extract out of every individual bean, I'll miss the morning FaceTimes with (Zonfrillo’s wife and children) Loz, Alfie and Isla, but overall I'll miss you looking out for me every single day.”
Andy Allen/Instagram
Andy Allen, right, has paid tribute to his friend and mentor Jock Zonfrillo.
He thanked Zonfrillo “for making me constantly laugh and being there when I needed to cry” and said: “You really were the complete package mate and life will never be the same without you.”
Zonfrillo, 46, who had spoken openly about his struggles with anxiety and addiction, was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room early on Monday morning, hours after he had returned early from a family holiday to Italy without his wife and two youngest children.
The new series of MasterChef Australia, Secrets and Surprises, was due to premiere on Channel 10 on Monday night, but the network postponed its launch after news of Zonfrillo’s death broke.
The show’s Kiwi carrier, TVNZ, has also postponed its launch, which was set for Sunday, May 7.
MasterChef NZ judges Michael P Dearth and Vaughan Mabee have also paid tribute to Zonfrillo.
Dearth, who owns Auckland restaurants Baduzzi and The Grove, said he had always admired Zonfrillo.
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MasterChef NZ judge Michael P. Dearth said Zonfrillo had “an openness about his anxiety”.
“I loved his worry beads. He had this openness about his anxiety. I loved how he mentored those young guys,” he said.
Dearth’s co-judge Vaughan Mabee, executive chef at lauded Queenstown restaurant Amisfield, said he was also stunned by the news.
“I was very shocked. He was inspirational to many chefs because a lot of us when we’re young, tend to go down a bit of a dark alley, and a lot of chefs I’ve known in my career never got out of that.
“But I liked how he seemed to have gone through a lot and rose back to being a great person who found a lot of success after going through bad times.”
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