As MasterChef Australia celebrates yet another win at the 64th TV WEEK Logie Awards, judge Andy Allen has paid tribute to Jock Zonfillo, his former co-judge and dear friend.
Sharing a heartfelt video message to commemorate their Best Competition Reality Programme win, Andy started by thanking the audience for their support, sharing, “Your support for this show has been massive. Thank you so much to each and every one of you for reaching out.”
“To my mate Jock, it is a tough one because it is the last one we did together. I know he’ll be up there having a whiskey for us. You all have one as well,” Andy concluded.
Andy’s latest tribute comes just over one month since the former MasterChef contestant concluded the latest series of the beloved cooking shoe with a heartwarming tribute, as the remaining contestants were asked to nominate their food heroes. While everyone chose a family member, Andy took a moment to remember his “late, great mate, Jock.”
The emotional moment saw the 36-year-old well up as he shared what the late chef had instilled in him, telling the cast; “The time that we spent cooking in this kitchen and creating an energy where people like you could just reach for the stars and succeed in everything you do.
“I learned so much about that from Jock and he taught me so much about being a good husband and being a good son, and one day hopefully being a good dad. So I miss him a lot.”
Jock passed away in Melbourne in April 2023, he was 46 at the time. His passing was announced on the eve of the launch of the 15th season of MasterChef.
Andy had previously revealed that he was continuing his role on MasterChef in memory of his late friend.
“It’s nearly a year. Sometimes it feels like yesterday and other times it feels like it was a long, long time ago,” he told the Carrie and Tommy Show.
“It was hard. It was really hard. I didn’t actually know if I was going to do [MasterChef] again…It just felt so wrong to do it without him, because we just loved it so much together and walking back into that kitchen was huge.
“My only fear was that I couldn’t do it and I couldn’t be what it needed me to be,” he continued. “There was just this weight of grief over me, I just didn’t know if I’d be able to get through it. I just didn’t know if I’d be able to do it justice, to give the show what it needed because there was so much grief attached to that kitchen.”
