By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) – Jock Zonfrillo, a celebrated chef and MasterChef Australia judge, died at the age of 46, his family confirmed on Monday.
“Our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend” died on Sunday in Melbourne, local broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported, citing Zonfrillo's family as saying.
"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,” the family said in a statement.
No cause of death was given by the family or doctors.
The police have confirmed that the death is not being investigated as suspicious.
Zonfrillo, who was born in Glasgow in 1976 to an Italian father and a Scottish mother, began working in kitchens as a dishwasher at the age of 13.
He became head chef at Sydney’s Forty One in 2000 but was fired in 2002 after he set fire to an apprentice’s pants for working too slowly.
In 2019, he was selected as a judge on MasterChef Australia, alongside Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, replacing the show’s original hosts Matt Preston, George Calombaris, and Gary Mehigan.
In addition to his success in entertainment, Zonfrillo was known for highlighting Australian native ingredients in his restaurants, sourcing ingredients from remote Aboriginal communities as a way to celebrate Indigenous culture, the channel reported.