MasterChef Jock Zonfrillo’s Mallozzi business failure, Orana Foundation payments leave sour taste
MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo’s management of finances related to his multiple entities, including an SA-based charity, remains in the spotlight.
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A failed Adelaide eatery owned by MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo may have traded while insolvent, a liquidator’s report reveals, as the management of finances related to his multiple entities, including an SA-based charity, remains in the spotlight.
The liquidator’s report into the closure of the Italian Rundle Street eatery and wine bar Mallozzi in July 2019, months after its December 2018 opening, shows it may have traded while being insolvent in the months leading to its closure.
“According to investigations into the failure of the company, it appears the company may have traded whilst insolvent from on or around 1 April 2019,” liquidator David Ross, of Hall Chadwick, said in the report. While Zonfrillo attributed the failure to “trading losses, poor economic conditions and competition”, the liquidator said it could be due to “inadequate cash flow or high cash use”. The report said continuous monthly trading losses from March saw the total loss at more than $97,000 by July.
At the time Mallozzi went under, Zonfrillo was also running his Orana restaurant and the Bistro Blackwood, which closed last December. Orana was shut during the COVID-19 crisis. The list of unsecured creditors, who were owed more than $128,000, included landlord, Maras Group and the ATO. Zonfrillo’s The Living Room Bar – the parent company of Orana restaurant – and his wife Lauren Fried’s PR company Pulse Collective were also listed as creditors.
The Australian on Monday revealed Zonfrillo’s SA charity The Orana Foundation had paid almost $500,000 since 2016 to companies associated with Zonfrillo and Ms Fried, including Zonfrillo Consulting.
The Orana Foundation received $1.25 million from the State Government in 2016 to set up an indigenous food database. Following a soured partnership with the University of Adelaide, the timeline on the delivery of the database has been extended to September this year and is being reviewed by Dr Terri Janke.
When asked by The Advertiserif Zonfrillo was concerned about the doubts being raised, a spokeswoman referred to the decision by corporate regulator Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the liquidator not to take any further action related to the failure of Mallozzi.
“The Orana Foundation stands by the timing of the Indigenous Food Database delivery and the use of all funds to date,” a statement said. “We are also audited annually by an independent auditor with reports lodged with the Australian Charity and Not-For-Profits Commission.”