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How did Jock Zonfrillo die? 'MasterChef Australia' new season canceled after celeb judge dies at 46

The Scottish-Australian restaurateur was found dead when police were sent to a hotel on Melbourne’s Lygon Street to perform a welfare check

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: Jock Zonfrillo, award-winning chef and a judge on ‘MasterChef Australia’, has tragically died at the age of 46 in Melbourne on Sunday, April 30. The Scottish-Australian restaurateur was found dead when police were sent to a hotel on Melbourne’s Lygon Street to perform a welfare check.

No cause of death has been revealed yet but Victoria State police are not treating the death as suspicious, as of now. The officials said they are currently preparing a report for the coroner. "Police attended a Lygon Street address for a welfare check and located a man deceased at about 2 am on May 1. The 46-year-old man's death is not being treated as suspicious," a Victoria Police spokesperson noted, according to Daily Mail. Zonfrillo, who joined the popular cooking competition in 2019, is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children — Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Fried. On Monday, May 1, Network 10 announced that the new season of 'MasterChef Australia' has been canceled after Zonfrillo’s death, according to The Guardian.

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‘So many words can describe him’

Zonfrillo’s sudden death was announced by his family in a statement on Monday afternoon on May 1. “With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,” his family said in a statement, adding “So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we’re too overwhelmed to put them into words. 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. We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son, and friend.”

The Glasgow-born chef, who struggled with heroin addiction and paralyzing anxiety, began working in kitchens at the age of 13 before training under Marco Pierre White and moving to Australia in 2000. Before rising to fame, Zonfrillo was declared bankrupt in 2007, five years after setting a trainee chef on fire for working too slowly. Then he worked back and established a number of more successful restaurants in Adelaide, one was named Australia's best four years ago. While he started working on MasterChef Australia, one of his acclaimed Restaurants Orana closed in 2020 with a debt of millions of Australian dollars.

'For me, I've done that my entire life’

In 2021, Zonfrillo opened up about his battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and addiction. "It's a real working-class problem to arrive somewhere and think that you're not good enough," he confessed, as per Daily Mail, adding "For me, I've done that my entire life. Every job I've got, I've felt like I wasn't good enough to be there." The star also stated that he carried a set of worry beads to help him deal with his mental illness. "When I'm nervous or anxious, my brain would just start racing, like I'm thinking irrationally, so by using the worry beads, it calms that noise in my brain," he said, adding "I've got a set of worry beads on me all the time, so if they're not in my hand, they're in my pocket. I've made so many types, they're kind of weirdly an accessory."

‘Jock was very generous to me’

Tributes from the celebrity and culinary worlds have been flooding in following Zonfrillo’s death. TV chef and restaurateur Oliver remembered Zonfrillo by sharing a photo of himself with the chef and fellow 'MasterChef Australia' judges. "I'm in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo," he wrote in the caption "We had the best time working together for this year's MasterChef, I can't tell how good it was to work with him! Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show, and for that, I was grateful."

Star chef Gordon Ramsay also mourned his death, tweeting: "Saddened by the devastating news of Jock Zonfrillo's passing. I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia. Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time." Indian chef and restaurateur, Kunal Kapur, known for judging MasterChef India, expressed his "deepest condolences" on Twitter. "His sudden departure from this world has left us all in shock and disbelief, Kapur wrote.