MasterChef's Jock Zonfrillo's wild life- addiction to setting apprentice on fire
MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo's death shocked fans when it was announced on Monday.
Proud Scot Jock was 46 when he died and Jock's family confirmed the sad news in a statement on social media.
He was a renowned chef as well as a judge on the popular cooking competition. His restaurant, Orana in South Australia, was highly popular before it closed down in 2020.
His death comes just as MasterChef Australia's 15th season is due to begin on Monday night. However, the show will not air in light of the judge's death.
The star lived a full and wild life and previously opened up about his childhood as well his struggles with heroin.
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Jock even claimed he lost his virginity poolside in Yugoslavia at the young age of 12.
Heroin Addiction
Jock's addiction started in his teens
He last did heroin in 2000 when he was travelling to Australia (Daily Record)The chef, who was born and raised in Scotland, struggled with addiction since he was 14 years old.
He once said being a teenager in Scotland in the 1980s was the reason behind him becoming a junkie.
It started off with cocaine and pills before he searched for a different high, and eventually started using heroin.
"Drugs were everywhere — we were surrounded. A lot of kids got into trouble and I was one of them," he said.
Jock explained that if he wasn't shooting up "at least twice a day", he would immediately get sick with the symptoms of withdrawal.
He was fired from his job at Michelin Star restaurant in The Turnberry Hotel in South Ayrshire when he was a teenager and he made the decision to travel to London and found himself at Marco Pierre White's restaurant.
He moved to London and worked for Marco Pierre White (Daily Record)Thankfully, Marco gave him a job at his world-famous Hyde Park Hotel and his life turned around.
"I've always said, 'If it wasn't for food, I would've died.' When you're an addict, there's very little that's more compelling than doing that drug. Luckily for me, I somehow fluked upon cooking," Jock once said.
He moved to Australia in January 2000 in hopes of a fresh start and injected his last hit of heroin before getting on the aeroplane.
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It wasn't until 2014 that his heroin addiction was exposed to the world.
A journalist called him to reveal he was about run an exclusive story about it and Jock said he "couldn't blame him."
"I had to respect somebody who was good at their job, even if that meant blowing my life into little pieces," Jock explained.
Homelessness
He slept in the restaurant's changing room for some time (Daily Record)
Marco helped him find shelter (Getty Images for AFI)When he travelled to London in search of a job with Marco Pierre White, he had no place to go.
After Marco hired him, he secretly slept in the changing rooms of the restaurant before he was caught out.
The TV chef was terrified he would get fired but, instead, Marco went out of his way to help him.
"He didn't fire me. Instead, he picked up the phone, put in a call to the hostel and asked them to fast-track me on the waiting list and find a bed for me," Jock recalled.
"In the meantime, he put me in touch with a couple of boys from Canteen, the other restaurant he owned, and arranged for me to sleep on their sofa until I could get my shit together. He even advanced me some cash to tide me over."
Setting Fire To Apprentice
In 2002, he set fire to a young apprenticeIn 2002, Jock took 'full responsibility' when he set fire to an 18-year-old apprentice during a shocking moment in the kitchen.
He claimed it was simply a practical joke that went horribly wrong.
Jock swabbed a flammable gel used for keeping plates warm on the teenager's lap and set fire to his pants.
However, in an attempt to rip them off, the apprentice suffered extensive burns to his hand and was unable to work for three-and-a-half months.
"There was no malicious intent to deliberately set the poor lad on fire," Jock once said.
The apprentice, Martin Krammer, sued and Jock was told to pay $75,000 in damages.
He declared bankruptcy and the apprentice claimed he was "never paid a cent."
Rise To TV Fame
By 2019, he landed a role in MasterChef (Instagram)After getting sober in 2000, Jock focused all of his energy on cooking and working.
He spent a long time in local Indigenous communities and learned about native ingredients.
Jock worked at Sydney restaurant Forty One before finally opening up Restaurant Orana in Adelaide in 2013.
The first year of opening the restaurant was a disaster for the chef as the business lost $700,000.
After several years of determination, his restaurant was bringing in money and in 2017, 2018 and 2019 it was named Restaurant of the Year.
He was named Australia's Hottest Chef by The Australian in 2018 and later won the Basque Culinary World Prize.
By 2019, he joined the judging panel on Australian MasterChef and the rest was history.
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