Orana chef Jock Zonfrillo leaves Tasting Australia festival
SA’s most celebrated chef Jock Zonfrillo has quit Tasting Australia — fuelling speculation the mastermind behind Orana could be on his way out of Adelaide after his month-long pop-up in Sydney.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Award-winning chef and restaurateur Jock Zonfrillo is cutting ties with Tasting Australia, fuelling speculation the creative force behind Orana is leaving Adelaide.
Zonfrillo has been programming director of the Adelaide-based food festival for the past three years; a role which allowed the chef to draw on his strong network of international food personalities.
He has been pivotal in securing big names to headline the festival in recent years, including Marco Pierre White in 2017 and chefs from the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
News of Zonfrillo’s departure comes as he wraps up a month-long pop-up of his Orana restaurant in Sydney, for which he flew over his Adelaide team and shut up shop in Rundle St.
It also closely follows the closure of his Mallozzi wine bar, a few doors down in Rundle St. Zonfrillo has been vocal on social media about high rent prices and low foot traffic in the restaurant strip.
The acclaimed chef said he was leaving Tasting Australia to concentrate on The Orana Foundation, which works to shine a light on, and protect, indigenous Australian ingredients and food culture.
“Moving on at this time is right for me — it creates space for a new approach for the festival, and also allows me more time to spend on new projects in The Orana Foundation,” Zonfrillo said.
“I am so proud to have been part of the Tasting Australia team for the last three years. We have attracted some of the best talent across Australia and the world to South Australia.”
Events South Australia has announced Simon Bryant would continue in his role as festival director, and would not be seeking to fill Zonfrillo’s shoes.
Instead, “guest programmers” will join Bryant, including festival patron Cheong Liew, beverage director Nick Stock and Tasting Australia event manager Ross Ganf.
Bryant said Zonfrillo’s involvement opened “the door for us to be involved in more conversations with more chefs, creating demand for their involvement”.
“Having the Jock Zonfrillo seal of approval has added great kudos and credibility to an already brilliant event,” he said, adding that his resignation would “create opportunity for others in the industry to be involved”.
Zonfrillo described working with Bryant as a “career highlight”. “I’ve never witnessed a harder and more determined worker” he said.
Zonfrillo’s departure doesn’t come a shock to Events South Australia, which runs the successful program.
Events SA executive director Hitaf Rasheed said having the opportunity to work with the chef for three years was “a real gift”.
“We thought if we had him sit at our table for one or two years that would be amazing knowing the breadth of his commitments,” she said.
Orana, which last year was crowned Australia’s best restaurant, reopens in Adelaide on October 1. Zonfrillo’s Bistro Blackwood, beneath Orana, remained open for the duration of the Sydney experiment.
Tasting Australia, a premier food and wine festival, began in 1997 as a biannual, week-long event and was taken over by Tourism SA in 2014.
It became an annual fixture in 2017, and is centred on a free-entry “Town Square” in Victoria Square and a statewide program of events.
Tasting Australia 2020 is March 27-April 5.