If there is one thing we’ve done as chefs is we’ve united and have been talking about the good times,” he added, before breaking down. “The ripples have been devastating, no one is going to get over this quickly. “He was a lad that refused to get old, he refused to toe the line. Ramsay, who worked with Zonfrillo in the 1990s in the UK, was emotional as he remembered his fellow Scot, saying his death was “a massive shock”. It has been unreal to see how much support there has been.” They have been overwhelmed with how much support there has been for him and the whole family. He passed on a message from Zonfrillo’s family, who have returned to Australia: “They just wanted me to say they can feel the support for Jock and themselves. I’d give anything to swap positions,” he said. “Part of me just feels guilty that it wasn’t them, I just wish it was them having lunch with Jock. No cause of death has yet been revealed, but Victoria police are not treating the death as suspicious.įellow MasterChef judge Andy Allen said he had lunch with Zonfrillo the day before his death and said the chef was in “such good spirits”.Īllen said he felt guilty that he had had that opportunity with Zonfrillo instead of his family, who were in Italy at the time. The 46-year-old had flown back to Australia to promote the new season when his body was found in Melbourne on 1 May. Network 10 also aired a one-hour episode of the Sunday Project dedicated to Zonfrillo beforehand, which revealed that the Scotland-born chef and his family had permanently relocated to Rome just three weeks before he died.

Project Gert by Will O'Reagan