MasterChef Australia’s Wednesday night episode was certainly a tear-jerker, but nothing prepared me for Andy Allen’s emotional speech about the late Jock Zonfrillo.
At the beginning of the episode, contestants were asked to share who their food heroes were. Considering the connection between food, family and culture, each contestant picked a family member.
When it came to the judges nominating their own food heroes, Andy started to tear up as he remembered his “late, great mate, Jock”.
Poh comforted Andy as he spoke about Jock on MasterChef Australia. (Image: 10)
The other judges showed their support as he started to talk about why he missed the former MasterChef Australia judge so much.
“The time that we spent cooking in this kitchen and creating an energy where people like you could just reach for the stars and succeed in everything you do – I learnt so much about that from Jock,” he said, as Poh Ling-Yeow reached out to comfort him.
“I learned so much about that from Jock and he taught me so much about being a good husband and being a good son, and one day hopefully being a good dad. So I miss him a lot.”
This is the first season of MasterChef Australia to be filmed after Jock’s tragic death on April 30, 2023. He was just 46, and Daily Mail reported his body was found after a welfare check. Police were called to an address in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton in the early hours of the morning.
Jock and Andy were extremely close friends. (Image: 10)
Andy previously opened up about returning to the show without his “great mate”, and revealed Jock’s widow Lauren Zonfrillo encouraged him to take the gig.
“I didn’t actually know if I was going to do [MasterChef Australia] again. It just felt so wrong to do it without him, because we just loved it so much together and walking back into that kitchen was huge. It was… there was just this weight of grief over me,” he told Carrie and Tommy.
“I spoke to Loz [Lauren], Jock’s wife. The people around me as well, my parents. They said it’s what he would have wanted. My only fear was that I couldn’t do it and I couldn’t be what they needed me to be.”
It’s nice to be reminded of Jock’s legacy on a TV show he loved so dearly, though it’s gonna take me a few days to recover from this emotional moment.
Feature image: Network 10, Instagram @andyallencooks
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