Jock Zonfrillo’s secret cancer battle before death

MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo was secretly dealing with recurrent bowel cancer in the years before his death, it’s been reported.

MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo was secretly dealing with recurrent bowel cancer in the years before his death, it’s been reported today.

The Daily Mail reports that Zonfrillo, who was found dead by police making a welfare check at 2am on Monday in a property on Lygon St, Carlton, kept his cancer battle a secret and received treatment when MasterChef was not filming.

Police said Zonfrillo’s death was not being treated as suspicious and a report will be made for the coroner.

While there is no suggestion Zonfrillo died of cancer, the Mail reports that the much-loved TV chef was first treated for bowel cancer with chemotherapy and radiotherapy some years ago, before going into remission in 2016.

Zonfrillo on-stage in late 2020. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty

Zonfrillo and fellow TV chef Jamie Oliver. Picture: Facebook

The cancer was then reportedly detected again in May 2021, with Zonfrillo entering new rounds of chemotherapy the following month – which the outlet quotes an unnamed friend as saying he was “coping poorly” with.

Zonfrillo made no mention of ever having had cancer in his 2021 memoir Long Shot. The Mail claims that he was receiving cancer treatment as recently as September last year, while on a sailing holiday in Italy.

“I was told the reason why he hasn’t disclosed his medical condition was because he didn’t want people feeling sorry for him, or treating him any different,” a source told the outlet in 2021, a quote that went unpublished until today.

Zonfrillo (left) with MasterChef judges Melissa Leong and Andy Allen at Melbourne Cup Day 2021, months after his bowel cancer had reportedly returned. Picture: Alex Coppel

The Mail reports that, at that time, Network Ten denied off the record that Zonfrillo had cancer. News.com.au has today contacted Ten for comment.

News of Zonfrillo’s death has sent shockwaves around the Australian media and food industries, with the TV chef – whose fame skyrocketed after he joined the all-new MasterChef judging panel in 2020 – leaving behind a wife, Lauren, and four children Ava, Sophie, Alfie and Isla.

Jock Zonfrillo with wife Lauren and kids Isla and Alfie. Picture: jockzonfrillo/facebook

Also shocking was the fact news of his death broke just hours before the new, much-publicised season of MasterChef was set to premiere on Monday night.

Throughout Monday morning – hours after Zonfrillo’s body had been discovered by police, but seemingly before word had reached his colleagues – fellow MasterChef stars including Melissa Leong and Jamie Oliver were excitedly spruiking the season premiere on social media.

Later on Monday afternoon, UK-based Oliver posted a tribute to his fellow TV chef as he woke to the news.

“I’m in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo,” he wrote on social media. “We had the best time working together for this year’s MasterChef; I can’t tell how good it was to work with him!”

Zonfrillo’s fellow judges Leong and Andy Allen are yet to publicly comment on news of their colleague’s passing – but Ten entertainment reporter Angela Bishop revealed on The Project last night that both are “broken” by the news.

Ten yesterday bumped last night’s planned MasterChef Australia premiere from the TV schedule out of respect for Zonfrillo’s passing, replacing it this week with the Paramount Plus reality series The Bridge.

The season, which Bishop reported has been filmed in its entirety, is now scheduled to begin at the same time next Monday night.