Jock Zonfrillo death: Chef was subject of repeated welfare checks in year before he died in Carlton

Multiple welfare checks were performed by emergency services on celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo in the year leading up to his shock death, it has been reported.

Emergency medical services were called “a number of times” to check on 46-year-old Zonfrillo, a former heroin addict, a source told the The Herald Sun.

The welfare checks were a result of ongoing concerns about the late chief’s health before he was found dead by police at Zagame’s House hotel at 2am on Monday, May 1.

Police were alerted that something could be wrong with him after receiving an anonymous tip, believed to have come from his concerned wife Lauren Zonfrillo, wEl-placed sources have told Daily Mail Australia.

Zonfrillo would star in the final season of Australia’s Masterchef, which would begin the day he became unresponsive.

Lauren Zonfrillo (pictured) called police from Rome early Monday morning after becoming concerned when her husband failed to keep to their usual daily schedule of phone calls

Lauren called the police from Rome early Monday morning when Zonfrillo went unanswered several calls from his wife.

Officers who visited Zagame’s House in Carlton around 2 a.m. found Zonfrillo dead in his bed and saw no signs of anything suspicious or unusual.

No drug paraphernalia had been found, no one else in the hotel room, and police believed the father of four had died of natural causes.

Ms Zonfrillo must now look after the couple’s two young children and the chief’s adult daughters from his former relationship, who reportedly arrived in Australia from Italy on Tuesday evening.

Daily Mail Australia previously revealed that the 46-year-old was diagnosed with bowel cancer around May 2021, following a previous bout with the disease.

It is not suggested that the cancer killed Zonfrillo, only that he had told friends that the recurrence was discovered after a routine colonoscopy.

A close friend and former neighbor of Zonfrillo told Daily Mail Australia that the chef would sometimes open up to him about his ‘demons’ over a glass of whisky.

Stuart Ayer said he and his wife had developed a close relationship with the TV star’s family over the three years they were neighbors in Carlton.

Speaking of Zonfrillo’s relationship with his wife, Mr Ayer said ‘they were a really close couple’.

“The kids were the light of his life,” he said. “They’re wonderful kids and it’s such a tragedy.”

Daily Mail Australia has been told Zonfrillo was being treated for bowel cancer from at least June 2021, a month after being discovered on a colonoscopy.

A source said at the time: “No one in his circle knows what he is going through. Neither colleagues nor friends.’

“He doesn’t want anyone to know as he goes through this arduous journey. He doesn’t deal well with chemotherapy and its effects.’

In the months that followed, Zonfrillo was an outpatient at Kinghorn Cancer Center in Sydney and Epworth Oncology in Melbourne, as well as seeking treatment in Queensland, the source said.

Zonfrillo’s body was discovered by police early Monday morning in a Zagame’s House hotel room in Melbourne (photo, stock of a Zagame’s House room)

The Zonfrillo’s neighbour, Stuart Ayer, told Daily Mail Australia the chef would talk about his ‘demons’ over a glass of whiskey

Zonfrillo underwent chemotherapy while filming his second series of Celebrity MasterChef in 2021.

Daily Mail Australia, which has seen evidence of Zonfrillo discussing the diagnosis with a close friend, contacted the chef and his relatives in August 2021 but received no response.

Another source said Zonfrillo had avoided the hospital and was instead attended by a doctor flown in to treat him.

“He claimed that every time he received medical treatment, a barrage of nurses would come into his room, and he didn’t mean to be rude by asking to be left alone,” the source said.

Zonfrillo was getting used to Italian life when he had to return to Melbourne from Monday morning to do promotional work for the final season of MasterChef.

Ms Zonfrillo is said to have arrived in Australia with the couple’s children on Tuesday evening

Zonfrillo was back in Australia to kick off the promotional tours for Channel Ten’s final season of Masterchef, along with MasterChef judge Melissa Leong (pictured along with Zonfrillo, Jamie Oliver and Andy Allen)

A source said Zonfrillo hid his health problems from most friends and colleagues, who usually received treatment, including chemotherapy, when the popular cooking show was not taped.

MasterChef co-host Andy Allen reportedly met with Channel Ten executives on Thursday morning, along with third MasterChef judge Melissa Leong, to discuss how publicity for the program would be handled.

Zonfrillo, who recently moved to Rome with his family, left his wife and two young children Alfie and Isla in Italy to return for the launch of MasterChef’s 15th season.

Network Ten announced that the series, which was set to begin Monday, would now premiere Sunday with the full support of Zonfrillo’s grieving family.

In his 2021 memoir Last Shot, he did not mention suffering from cancer, but did discuss his years of heroin addiction as a young man in Glasgow.

An autopsy will now be performed to determine the celebrity chef’s cause of death.