MasterChef ratings win as chef mates toast to Jock
MasterChef’s emotional tribute to Jock Zonfrillo was a ratings winner, as celebrity chefs gathered in a touching show of solidarity for their late mate.
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The emotional first episode of MasterChef Australia on Sunday night was a ratings winner for Channel 10, with 761,000 metro viewers tuning in to see the late Jock Zonfrillo farewelled.
The audience was the show’s biggest in three years and capped off a great night for the network after The Project: A Tribute to Jock pulled in 610,000 viewers.
In contrast, 607,000 people tuned in to Farmer Wants A Wife and 567,000 people watched Lego Masters on Channel 9.
The ratings bump comes as chefs George Calombaris, Shannon Bennett, Matt Moran and Gordon Ramsay gathered together at the weekend and remembered their mate Jock Zonfrillo.
Calombaris admitted he’d shed a few tears during a tough week with Bennett posting: “That hangover was for you mate Jock Zonfrillo RIP brother.”
The four dined at Di Stasio Citta in the city.
“A great dinner with a couple of beautiful humans. Love u boys,’’ Calombaris wrote on social media.
Ramsay broke down during the MasterChef tribute on Sunday night before the show aired.
“Spending time on the floor with Jock in MasterChef was electrifying but it was always something quite encouraging about the s**t you’d — we’d gone through to get to where we’d been,” he said.
“Plus it was an incredible stage that you’re on with MasterChef Australia. It’s the most-watched MasterChef anywhere on the planet, so it’s a privilege. And being present in that room, welcoming Jock to the platform, was just one of those experiences I’ll never forget.”
Meanwhile British domestic goddess Nigella Lawson has been dining around town, visiting Calombaris’ new venture, The Hellenic House Project, in Highett and also popular Italian restaurant Al Dente Enoteca in Carlton.
Lawson met with Al Dente staff and ordered lasagne with cime di rapa. The owners Andrea Vignali and Davide Bonadiman went viral during lockdown with their at home pasta creations.
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