Chef and television personality Jock Zonfrillo has died, aged 46. Video / Sky News Australia
Jock Zonfrillo’s wife will reportedly be deciding the immediate fate of MasterChef Australia.
Just hours before he was scheduled to perform promotional duties for the due, the 46-year-old star chef was found dead in a Melbourne Hotel room in the early hours of Monday morning.
The filming of the show’s 15th season wrapped up several weeks ago, with the premiere date set for Monday night, just hours after the star’s death.
The mystery now surrounds what will happen with the series as network bosses and sponsors - including major stakeholder Coles - consider if and how to proceed in light of Zonfrillo’s death.
It was previously revealed the premiere has been pushed back until at least Monday, May 8.
A source close to the production has reportedly told Daily Mail numerous options are on the table, including scrapping the season entirely or at least holding it for a longer period.
MasterChef Australia Judges: Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen.
Daily Mail understands the decision lies in the hands of Zonfrillo’s family, specifically his wife Lauren Fried, and with whatever direction they decide to go with, the network and major sponsors are determined to be respectful of it.
“It will really come down to Jock’s family and what they feel he would have wanted,” the Ten insider told Daily Mail Australia.
“Commercially, and in terms of timing, this is a disaster. It is simply diabolical.”
“But not even a major TV network would be ghoulish enough to put anything other than the wishes of Jock’s family first and foremost.
“Ultimately, it will be about whether or not they think he would have wanted the show to go on and if it’s too soon, it’s too soon. There will be a contingency plan whatever decision is made.”
Daily Mail understands that if Ten decides to shelve the series indefinitely or hold it, it could cause major repercussions as nothing could compare to MasterChef that would fit in its place.
“MasterChef is Ten’s tentpole. In terms of costings, it’s the same as Married At First Sight for Nine or A Farmer Wants A Wife for Seven,” the source told Daily Mail.
“It is by far Ten’s biggest investment so there’s really nothing else that could run in its place.”
The source said the network is in an “awful position” with its reliance on big sponsors such as Coles, Harvey Norman, Somat, Bulla, L’Or Espresso, Primo Small Goods and HCF Australia.
“This is a devastatingly unique situation and navigating it must be unthinkable for everyone involved,” a source told Daily Mail.
A tribute to Zonfrillo is also reportedly being made, which may air in the near future.
According to news.com.au, the reason Zonfrillo was alone at a Melbourne hotel when he died was because he’d left a family holiday in Italy early to return to Australia for promotion of his show, MasterChef Australia: Secrets and Surprises.
Along with his wife, Lauren, and their two children, Alfie, 5, and Isla, 2, the Scottish-Italian chef had been enjoying a European break after wrapping filming for what was to be the 15th season of MasterChef.
But he’d returned home early to appear in a string of media interviews ahead of and following the first episode that had been due to air in Australia.
The acclaimed chef had shared a post to Instagram the night before his death: “The time has come for @masterchefau to kick off a new season filled with Secrets & Surprises! And @jamieoliver of course!”
Instead, the programme’s entertainment editor Angela Bishop found herself fronting the harrowing news of Zonfrillo’s death, something she said his colleagues were trying to process.
TVNZ is yet to announce any changes to next Monday night’s screening but shared the news and a message of condolence to social media.
And a statement from Channel 10 and Endemol Shine Australia said: “Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia are deeply shocked and saddened at the sudden loss of Jock Zonfrillo, a beloved member of the MasterChef Australia family.
“Jock was known to Australians as a chef, best-selling author, philanthropist and MasterChef judge, but he will be best remembered as a loving father, husband, brother and son.”
Survived by his wife, Lauren and four children Ava, Sophie, Alfie and Isla, who have released a family statement, Zonfrillo had moved his brood from Adelaide to Melbourne due to the demands of the show.
And while his celebrity continued to rise from humble beginnings as a 14-year-old washing dishes to a position at Marco Pierre White’s three-star restaurant to opening his own award-winning restaurants in Australia and lastly, television fame, his final interview revealed what he really wanted: a simple life beyond the spotlight.
In an interview with News Corp Australia’s national entertainment writer, Lisa Woolford, understood to be the last article published before Zonfrillo’s death, he said he dreamed of “A small house in the middle of nowhere with kids, pets. Just a really simple, uncomplicated life away from everyone. But still part of a community in that remoteness I guess.
“But not the flashy extravagant lifestyle you’d expect from a TV person.”
In fact, he told Woolford, he’d be quite happy with “a cup of tea and a teacake”.
