After being postponed following the death of Jock Zonfrillo, MasterChef Australia will air at 7.30pm on Sunday, May 7. The move comes with the full support of Zonfrillo’s family.
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A statement from Channel 10 says that “MasterChef Australia Judge Jock Zonfrillo took great pride in challenging and coaching the contestants and of course inspiring a nation of home cooks.
“It is with Jock in our hearts that we cherish this season and remember the charismatic and big-hearted Judge and Chef who we knew and loved. Jock will be remembered in the MasterChef Australia kitchen for years to come.
“With contributions from friends, he held closely, the show will honour Jock by reflecting on his personal and professional life in a celebration of his incredible achievements.”
Ahead of the premiere, a special edition of The Sunday Project will pay tribute to Zonfrillo from 6.30pm.
Zonfrillo passed away in Melbourne early Monday morning. He was 46.
With tributes coming in from all over the entertainment and cooking worlds, his two MasterChef Australia co-stars, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen have remembered Zonfrillo on their respective social media accounts.
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Leong wrote that “you showed me what true excellence looks like both in the kitchen and outside of it; your kindness and generosity, the many lives you’ve lived, the way you carried far more on your shoulders than most could ever know.
“This all feels too raw to process still, I suspect it will for some time. Such is the impact of a life lived so large, with so much levity and entirely on your own terms.”
Allen also reflected on his friendship with Zonfrillo, saying that “I’ll miss the way you mentored me and every contestant that walked into the MasterChef kitchen, I’ll miss you ordering the entire menu no matter how many dishes deep and making me eat every last bite, I’ll miss your morning on-set coffees that made me shake from the amount of caffeine you were able to extract out of every individual bean, I’ll miss the morning FaceTimes with Loz, Alfie and Isla, but overall I’ll miss you looking out for me every single day.”