Jock Zonfrillo’s Wife Lauren Speaks On Emotional ‘MasterChef Australia’ Finale
MasterChef Australia Season 15 wrapped up on Sunday night, but the finale was bittersweet. While Brent Draper was declared this year’s winner and walked away with a $250,000 prize, it also marked the final time Jock Zonfrillo will appear on the cooking show.
The much-loved chef, 46, passed away on May 1, leaving his wife Lauren Fried and four children devastated. Before the finale aired on Sunday, she addressed fans in an emotional video on Jock’s Instagram account.
Lauren admitted that it’s been too difficult to tune in and watch MasterChef Australia this year, but revealed that she was planning to watch the finale.
“As a family, we’re going to try to watch [the finale]. We haven’t been able to watch this season just yet, [it’s] something we will do, but we felt that tonight was an important one to watch,” she said.
“There’s moments across the year that are special [for families], and we used to really enjoy watching the finale together. It was something Jock was really proud of, it was a job he really loved doing, and so we’ve decided that we’re going to honour that.”
Lauren then thanked fans for the messages that had been flooding in, before starting to tear up.
“I got so many messages today… and they all seem to be really sad. And so I just wanted to get on here and say yes, it is sad… but this is something he loved doing. And this is not the end of the line for Jock at all.”
She added that she’s planning on sharing photos and videos of Jock with his family, travelling, and having fun, in the future.
“Thank you everyone. I’ve loved the messages I’ve received today, of course its made me sad, but from that comes a lot of happiness and pride for Jock, so enjoy the finale.”
MasterChef Australia’s final tribute to Jock Zonfrillo
At the end of the MasterChef Australia finale, there was a tribute dedicated to Jock’s time as a judge on the show.
It began with footage of Gordon Ramsay revealing that Jock was a new judge in 2019, before a montage of Jock’s time on the show played out.
“Food’s been my entire life… the most important thing to me is giving back in the kitchen,” Jock’s voice said over the footage.
After seeing Jock’s playful side in some behind-the-scenes clips, the last shot of Jock was touching, as he said: “For the last time, go home, make yourselves a cup of tea, put your feet up and be kind to each other. We’ll see you back here tomorrow.”
The tribute finished with a photo of the crew, and text on top saying, “Give it up for Jock Zonfrillo”, before fading to black.
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Image credits: Channel 10, MasterChef, Instagram/@zonfrillo