The Project viewers were left “sobbing” over the show’s emotional tribute to MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo.
The 46-year-old was found dead around 2 am on May 1 at an address on Melbourne’s Lygon Street after authorities were called to perform a welfare check.
The heartwrenching special, which aired before the delayed premiere of MasterChef Season 15, featured celebrities and chefs paying tribute to Jock, and safe to say there was not a dry eye around Australia.
Media personalities such as Tommy Little, Nigella Lawson, Curtis Stone and Gordon Ramsay discussed their favourite memories of the father-of-four.
Rebecca Gibney, who competed in Celebrity MasterChef Australia in 2021, was teary as she remembered Jock.
“He brought so much joy to so many people. I think that’s hard. But I also know if he could see me tearing up he’d go, “Stop it”‘, she said.
Activist Grace Tame said Jock “lived for his passion, for food, for his kids”.
“He was a legend, he was. He always will be.”
Meanwhile, fellow Scotsman Jimmy Barnes said his “fondest memories” was sharing a whiskey with Jock.
“I never met a Scottish Italian before you,’ the rockstar said.
“We hit it off in so many bloody ways. In fact, one of my fondest memories is having the odd whisky and singing Scottish songs with you.”
Andy Allen opens up about co-star Jock Zonfrillo’s death on The Project
Jock’s co-star and fellow judge, Andy Allen, opened up about the loss of Jock, admitting he’s “struggling” with the chef’s death.
“He’s just always been there for me, and I’m just struggling to realise that he’s actually gone,” he said.
Andy, 35, also revealed he’d dined with Jock the Saturday before he passed away.
“It was a usual lunch. We went to lunch. He ordered the whole menu,” he recalled. “We hadn’t seen each other for a while, it was a good old catch up about what we’ve been doing, what we were excited about.”
He added: “It was so normal, he was in such good spirits. He was so excited about the show launching.”
Andy, who won the cooking show in 2012, said he had recently seen Jock’s wife, Lauren, and their children. He told The Project host Sarah Harris they wanted Australia to know they “feel the support for Jock and themselves”.
“They’re hurting but it does help. They’ve been overwhelmed with how much support there has been for him and the family,” he said.
“It’s been unreal to see how much support and where it’s come from and who it’s come from. So, yeah, they just wanted to – for me to say that they feel it. They feel it. It’s tough. But they feel it.”
Viewers react to The Project‘s tribute to MasterChef‘s Jock Zonfrillo
Taking to social media, countless viewers expressed their distraught over The Project‘s special.
“Ok… I’m already sobbing,” one user wrote just five minutes into the episode.
“I bawled my eyes out through that entire tribute to Jock on The Project,” a second penned. “That was beautiful! MasterChef is going to be so hard to watch this season.”
Another expressed: “May Jock find eternal peace.”
However, users noted that a significant person was missing from the tribute episode: Jock’s co-judge Melissa Leong.
“Is it weird that Melissa isn’t part of this?” one Twitter user asked.
While one said that it was “a bit” strange she didn’t speak to The Project, others empathised with the foodie.
“Everyone grieves differently. It might be still too soon for her to speak/open up. I hope she’s okay,” one fan wrote.
“She was his ‘work wife’ Would have been so hard,” another penned.
A third expressed: “Not at all [weird]. If you’re not in the space to do it, you cannot do it.”
Jock is survived by his wife Lauren, and four children, Ava, Sophia, Alfie and Isla.
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