Jock Zonfrillo and his family moved out of their $3,000-a-week Melbourne townhouse to start a new, dream life overseas just weeks ago, it has emerged.
Zonfrillo, 46, was found dead by police at a hotel, Zagame’s House, at about 2am on Monday, just metres away from his former inner-city home in Carlton.
A listing for their four-bedroom family home shows it was put back on the rental market for $3,000 a week in April.
The chef, his wife Lauren and their two young children had left the two-storey terraced house behind and had settled in Rome three weeks ago.
Zonfrillo was just settling into their new life in Italy when he had to return to Australia to undertake promotional work for the new season of MasterChef, which was supposed to start airing on Monday morning.
But Zonfrillo’s body was found at the hotel on Monday morning. His cause of death remains unclear but is not being treated as suspicious by police.
Jock Zonfrillo was found dead on Monday morning in a hotel room just yards away from his former family home in Carlton. He is pictured with wife Lauren, son Alfie and daughter Isla
The family had moved out of the two-storey Victorian-era townhouse in inner-city Melbourne only a few weeks ago to start a new life in Italy
Lauren and their two children, Alfie, six, and Isla, two, had stayed in Rome and were expecting Zonfrillo to re-join them once his work with Channel 10 was complete.
The family are understood to have returned to Melbourne on Tuesday night.
Their former house, which has recently been listed on realestate.com, is described as a ‘contemporary family home… enviably located on the city’s edge’.
Unsurprisingly, the massive open-plan kitchen – leading to a paved courtyard with a barbeque and outdoor sink – was what first attracted Zonfrillo to the rental property.
‘We always end up in a house with a large, open and wide kitchen space because inevitably I’m in the kitchen entertaining when I’m home,’ Zonfrillo told Domain in 2021.
The kitchen (pictured) is decked out in luxury Gaggenau home appliances and includes a two dishwashers, a butlers pantry and a combi oven, which cooks food with steam. Zonfrillo installed a commercial dishwasher with a one-minute wash cycle
The property has a formal dining room (pictured) in addition to a massive open-plan kitchen and dining area, which leads to a paved courtyard with a barbeque and outdoor sink
The kitchen is decked out in luxury Gaggenau home appliances and includes a two dishwashers, a butlers pantry and a combi oven, which cooks food with steam.
Zonfrillo added some special touches, including a 10-year-old Italian Berkel meat slicer with a red flywheel, a commercial pasta machine and a vintage-style La Marcozzo coffee machine he helped design.
He also installed a commercial dishwasher with a one-minute wash cycle.
The house has two large living spaces on the ground floor, with Zonfrillo and his wife converting one room into a children’s play zone.
They transformed the second space into a Scottish-themed room featuring antique furniture and a chair made from red deer antler and woven tapestry in a nod to his Celtic heritage.
Jock Zonfrillo, who died suddenly in Melbourne on Sunday, once said it was ‘love at first sight’ when he met wife Lauren Fried for their first date on October 21, 2014. (They are pictured together with their son Alfie)
Zonfrillo said his family made him feel like he had won a ‘gold medal’
A set of bagpipes given to him by his friend rock singer Jimmy Barnes for his birthday are sat in the corner.
‘While the basic styling of the home is modern, it’s mostly filled with pieces we consider sentimental; ornaments I’ve purchased while travelling overseas and around Australia,’ he said.
‘We have a preference for furniture that will last for 100 years and not 10 – that’s why we have antiques we’ve reupholstered. They stand the test of time.’
Zonfrillo and his wife had hung Indigenous artwork on the walls and filled the home with personal items.
‘For us, it’s not home unless we have our own personal items around us; that’s why we made sure all our favourite pieces have come to Melbourne,’ he said.
‘We have a lot of art and photographs as well as books – they all help us feel like this is where we belong. It’s the small touches that make it home no matter where you are.’
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the massive open-plan kitchen (pictured) – leading to a paved courtyard with a barbeque and outdoor sink – was what first attracted Zonfrillo to the rental property
The couple also had pictures of their beloved children in many rooms.
‘The one we have in our bedroom has been next to our bed since the day we came home from hospital after having Alfie (now aged six), but without him,’ he said.
‘It’s the photos of him just born and on Loz’s chest, a tiny 1.2 kilograms. It reminds us of how lucky we are.’
The restaurateur is survived by Fried and their children, Alfie, six, and Isla, two, as well as his teenage daughters from his first two marriages, Ava and Sophie.
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EXCLUSIVE: How Jock Zonfrillo’s devastated wife ‘will decide MasterChef Australia’s future’ after the star judge’s shock death
By Amy Harris for Daily Mail Australia
The immediate future of MasterChef Australia will ultimately be decided by Jock Zonfrillo’s wife, Channel 10 sources say.
The 46-year-old star chef was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room at 2am on Monday, just hours before he was due to begin promotional duties for the show.
Filming for the 15th season of MasterChef had wrapped up several weeks ago and the show was set to launch on Monday night fresh off the success of Sunday’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here finale.
The immediate future of MasterChef Australia will ultimately be decided by Jock Zonfrillo’s wife, a Channel 10 sources say.
Network Ten in talks about whether to hold the entire series in light ofJock Zonfrillo’s tragic death
The series is now in limbo as network bosses and sponsors – including major stakeholder Coles – consider if and how to proceed in light of Zonfrillo’s death just hours before the show’s first episode.
Ten has already announced MasterChef will not air until at least Monday, May 8.
However, sources close to the production say a number of options are being considered, one of which is the show – arguably Ten’s annual centrepiece with a production price tag of $30million – be held or even shelved indefinitely.
It’s understood the call will lay with Zonfrillo’s family, specifically his wife Lauren Fried, with the network and show’s big sponsors determined to respect whatever direction they choose to go.
It’s understood the call will lay with Zonfrillo’s family, specifically his wife Lauren Fried (pictured with their two children)
‘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.’
‘It will really come down to Jock’s family and what they feel he would have wanted,’ the Ten insider tells Daily Mail Australia.
A major possibility is Ten opts to hold this current season until 2024 and air an alternative in its place.
However, network sources say there is little else that could compare to MasterChef, in terms of premium quality product, that would be available to screen.
‘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 said.
‘It is by far Ten’s biggest investment so there’s really nothing else that could run in its place.’
MasterChef is also unique in its reliance on corporate sponsorship, with a number of major brands investing heavily in the show.
MasterChef hosts Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Zonfrillo appearing at the 2022 AACTA Awards
‘(MasterChef) is by far Ten’s biggest investment so there’s really nothing else that could run in its place.’
Coles, for example, accounts for about $6million of the show’s production budget.
Harvey Norman, Somat, Bulla, L’Or Espresso, Primo Small Goods and HCF Australia are other big names who advertise heavily..
‘The network is in an awful position. This is a devastatingly unique situation and navigating it must be unthinkable for everyone involved,’ says a source.
A tribute to Zonfrillo is also in understood to be in production, with plans to air it in the coming days, however a Ten spokesperson declined to elaborate.
Zonfrillo’s shock passing is not being treated as suspicious by Melbourne police, with the Scottish-born father-of-four found alone and unresponsive in a hotel on Lygon St, Carlton.
‘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.
‘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.’
Zonfrillo’s shock passing is not being treated as suspicious by Melbourne police, with the Scottish-born father-of-four found alone and unresponsive in a hotel on Lygon St
Ten boss Beverley McGarvey said in a statement: ‘This is a terribly sad day for Jock’s family and friends, his Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia colleagues.’
They continued: ‘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.’
Ten boss Beverley McGarvey said in a statement: ‘This is a terribly sad day for Jock’s family and friends, his Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia colleagues and for MasterChef fans around Australia and the world.
‘Jock was an extraordinary man. He was a wonderful colleague and friend, and we feel very privileged to have had him play such an important and impactful role in MasterChef. Despite all his notable professional milestones, nothing brought him more joy or happiness than his family. Our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time.’
Peter Newman, Chief Executive Officer, Endemol Shine Australia, said: ‘We are shocked and extremely saddened by the news of Jock’s passing. Jock was an incredible talent, not just as a renowned chef, but as someone who could bring joy into the homes of people in Australia and around the world in his role as judge on MasterChef Australia.’