Jock Zonfrillo fires back at critics, stands by his memoir

MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo says he stands by his memoir and hit back at critics after cooking legend Marco Pierre White queried his recollections.

Celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo has stood by his memoir Last Shot after international food icon Marco Pierre White and others questioned his recollection of parts of his life.

And he has been backed by his publisher Simon & Schuster which said the book “should be read by anyone interested in food and food culture in Australia”.

“This is the story of my life. I’ve lived every minute of it, the highs and lows, and I stand by it,” Zonfrillo said in a statement.

“There’s no question that some of my book makes me look pretty unsavoury at the best of times.

“I carry the shame from those years, not pride, and it was a big obstacle for me to overcome when writing this book.”

Celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo.

Zonfrillo was profiled in a Good Weekend article last weekend for the launch of his book, which charts his experiences as a trouble-prone kid in Scotland, his heroin addiction, being homeless, learning his craft in high-profile kitchens in London, his close relationship with White, whom he worked for, moving to Australia, developing a passion for Indigenous ingredients, owning the celebrated, but now closed, restaurant Orana in Adelaide, becoming a worry bead maker, and his gig as host of MasterChef Australia.

However White, in the article, questioned Zonfrillo’s recall about his time working at White’s Hyde Park restaurant, including that the young chef was homeless and slept in the establishment’s changing room, and that White found him accommodation and loaned him money.

His publisher defended Zonfrillo.

“S&S stands by Jock Zonfrillo’s book Last Shot as the personal recollections of one of Australia’s pre-eminent chefs, that should be read by anyone interested in food and food culture in Australia,” a statement from the publishing house read.

“We take issue with a number of statements mentioned in the article written by Tim Elliot for the Good Weekend. There are factual errors in the piece which we are collating and will be sending to the Editor Katrina Strickland.

MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo. Picture: Tira Smigielski

“We are concerned that in their efforts to ‘fact check’ Jock’s own story, they have not applied the same rigour to statements from their own sources. For example, Marco Pierre White’s first meeting with Zonfrillo, helping him find accommodation when he was homeless and being aware of his drug addiction are all recounted by Zonfrillo and published in Marco Pierre White’s own memoir, White Heat (page 137 of the 25th anniversary edition published in 2015).

“Last Shot is a memoir, which, by its very definition, is a historical account written from the personal knowledge of the subject writing it. Jock Zonfrillo stands by the historical account he has given in his book.”