How Jock Zonfrillo’s public battle with anxiety helped the nation

When late celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo first appeared on MasterChef, one image of him went viral. Here’s the “special” story behind it.

As the culinary world mourns the shock death of beloved celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo, humble details have resurfaced about how the father-of-four freely dealt with his crippling anxiety.

The late restaurateur was an open book in regards to his mental health battles, previously revealing he had struggled with drug addiction prior to migrating to Australia in 2000.

At the age of 15, he was battling an intense dependency to heroin and spent some time living on the streets, before a trip to London helped him get his life back on track.

Celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo has always been open about his battle with mental health. Picture: Channel 10

Three-Michelin star chef Marco Pierre White brought the young kitchenhand back to reality after offering Zonfrillo a job at the prestigious Hyde Park Hotel.

It was from this moment, Zonfrillo’s passion for cooking was born.

The 46-year-old parted ways with his heroin addiction in 1999, prior to his life-changing move to Sydney where he would later become head chef at restaurant Forty One.

He also established several restaurants in Adelaide, including Gourmet Traveller magazine’s 2018 restaurant of the year Restaurant Orana and Bistro Blackwood.

But his success in Australia didn’t come without two divorces and a string of unsteady friendships, which he admitted in a 2014 interview with the Adelaide Advertiser was a result of his drug use.

In the two decades following his last run-in with heroin, Zonfrillo continued to experience anxiety which he openly explained to his fans in 2021.

Fans first noticed the beads when Zonfrillo debuted as a MasterChef judge. Picture: Channel 10

His admission was prompted by his appearance as a judge on Channel 10’s hit cooking competition series MasterChef, after viewers started asking questions about an unusual accessory he always had on hand while in the show.

Screen grabs of Zonfrillo holding a beady bracelet went viral as viewers desperately tried to find answers on why the judge always held the accessory.

Zonfrillo also became a trending topic on Google in his first season on the show in relation to the matter.

The interest in addition to “billions of messages” regarding the tool prompted Zonfrillo to address his beads via a video on Instagram.

“These are worry beads,” Zonfrillo explained while holding a set.

“I’ve got lots of different types of worry beads, and when I’m feeling anxious or a little bit stressed, basically, I flick through them like that and the more anxious and more worried you get, the faster I do it.”

Jock Zonfrillo used worry beads to deal with his anxiety. Picture: Instagram / @caimworrybeads

The set he was holding in the clip originally belonged to late British food critic Adrian Anthony Gill - also known as A.A Gill.

Zonfrillo explained he had received them as a gift from Mr Gill’s wife Nicola Formby.

“These are very special to me... I love them. They are always in my pocket.”

In July 2021, Zonfrillo launched his own range of the accessory called Caim Worry Beads, with $5 from every set sold donated to mental health and wellbeing service Beyond Blue.

The celebrity chef later shared an Instagram Reel in December 2021, showing the three ways he uses his worry beads as an anxiety support system.

“I use them like this, they’re not a bracelet so they generally go on my hand,” he said, before explaining how he “thumbed” the beads backwards and forwards between his fingers.

Zonfrillo’s worry beads have become their own statement, with the late chef sporting several sets in a series of posts on Instagram.

The beads were most recently featured in a social media post on Zonfrillo’s Instagram account in partnership with MasterChef Australia. The judge was filmed walking while holding the beads as he promoted the show.

Zonfrillo made his own beads, with proceeds from sales going towards Beyond Blue. Picture: Instagram / @caimworrybeads

Zonfrillo’s life was tragically cut short on Monday, after police officers conducting a welfare check found his body in a Melbourne hotel on Lygon Street.

He had just recently arrived in the city for the debut of MasterChef’s 15th season, and was scheduled to partake in a number of interviews both prior and after the show aired.

Channel 10 has since postponed the show’s broadcast, which was supposed to commence on Monday night.

Zonfrillo spent the last weeks of his life on a family holiday in Italy with his wife Lauren and two young children Alfie, 5, and Isla, 2.

The father also has two other adult children from previous marriages, Ava and Sophia, although it’s not suggested they were on the trip with Zonfrillo’s young family.

The 15th season of MasterChef was due to air on Monday. Picture: Channel 10

“With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,” Jock’s family said in a statement on Monday.

“So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we’re too overwhelmed to put them into words.

“For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.

“We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.”

Investigations into Zonfrillo’s cause of death are still ongoing, however police are not treating the incident as suspicious.