Australian-based Scottish chef and TV host Jock Zonfrillo hailed from Melbourne. He co-founded the Orana Foundation with Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, and he was a judge on MasterChef Australia.
He attended Belmont Academy in Ayr, Scotland, not far from his birthplace of Glasgow. His Italian father’s family is from Scauri, and his Scottish mother’s family is from Dalmellington, Ayrshire.
Three times through his life, Jock Zonfrillo tied the knot. On January 1, 2017, he wed Lauren Fried, his third wife. The two people had their first online encounter in October of 2014. Fried and Zonfrillo’s son was born two months early and weighed only 1.2 kilograms in February of 2018.
When Zonfrillo decided to close his restaurants, he and his family packed up and headed for Melbourne, Australia, in about March of that year. They were Carlton residents until Zonfrillo’s untimely death on April 30, 2023, at the age of 46.
The police were not treating his death as suspicious and were instead compiling a report for the coroner. In October of 2020, shortly before moving to Melbourne, Fried and Zonfrillo welcomed a daughter.
Jock Zonfrillo net worth: How rich was he?
As a chef and TV host, Jock Zonfrillo has amassed a fortune that is estimated to be around $5 million. He reportedly made $500,000 a year for his work as a judge on MasterChef Australia alongside Melissa Leong and Andy Allen.
Jock launched two eateries in Adelaide in 2013. These were Restaurant Orana and Street ADL. Orana received this honor from Gourmet Traveler in 2010, four years after it first opened. Jock’s new cafe, Nonna Mallozzi, lost $140,000 in its first year of business and had to close its doors in 2019.
Jock’s participation in MasterChef Australia was the most successful period of his career, which was marked by both highs and lows. Since the premiere, the show’s ratings have been consistently high for Channel Ten, prompting rumors that Jock and the other judges might try to renegotiate their contracts in exchange for better pay and perks. In 2022, Jock was awarded the €100,000 ($162,000) Basque Culinary Prize for his efforts to popularize Indigenous Australian cuisine.