New MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo, spells out the future of his Adelaide restaurants
Adelaide food innovator Jock Zonfrillo was announced as one of three new judges on the popular reality TV show MasterChef on Thursday morning. So what does it mean for his restaurants?
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He’s just landed the tastiest gig in Australian reality TV as a judge on the new-look MasterChef – but Jock Zonfrillo insists he will be serving up “business as usual” at his much-loved Adelaide restaurants.
Swatting off rumours about the future of Orana – arguably Australia’s best restaurant – and Bistro Blackwood, the Scottish-born chef yesterday said nothing would change and he would not be moving interstate.
“It’s going to be business as usual,” he told The Advertiser.
“You’ll see me probably just as often, to be honest. We’re only filming four days a week.
“It’s a 50-minute flight from Melbourne and the restaurant is only a 15-minute drive from the airport so I can be standing in Orana very quickly.”
On Thursday, Channel 10 lifted the lid on its spicy new MasterChef line-up, with former winner Andy Allen and food writer Melissa Leong joining Zonfrillo on the judging panel.
They will replace George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston, who were dumped by Channel 10 earlier this year.
The MasterChef announcement follows news that Zonfrillo is cutting ties with South Australia’s Tasting Australia festival after three years as its programming director.
But Zonfrillo says that departure is unconnected to his new TV role.
“At the point of leaving Tasting Australia, we hadn’t even spoken to MasterChef, in fact, so it was completely unrelated,” he said.
Zonfrillo is no stranger to the MasterChef kitchen.
This year, he appeared as a guest judge, challenging contestants to use indigenous ingredients in a mystery-box challenge.
He has also played reality TV host before, heading up Channel 7’s short-lived cooking competition Restaurant Revolution in 2015.
“This journey is new for me and it’s very different from being a guest judge on MasterChef,” he says.
“It (MasterChef) is a juggernaut. It’s a huge thing. It’s the one everyone watches and it’s a privilege to be able to do it.”
Former South Australian MasterChef Australia alumni were quick to praise Ten’s choice of the charismatic and, at times, intimidating chef.
“I was very happy to see the line-up – all of them are very experienced chefs and presenters and … they are going to make good TV,” said Sashi Cheliah, who won MasterChef Australia 2018.
The 12th season will also feature international chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Curtis Stone and Heston Blumenthal.