My Kitchen Rules’ Colin Fassnidge recalls the moment he found out about MasterChef Australia star Jock Zonfrillo’s shock death and what he did next: ‘The world just stopped’
My Kitchen Rules’ Colin Fassnidge recalls the moment he learned about the shocking death of MasterChef Australia star Jock Zonfrillo and what he did next: ‘The world just stood still’
Celebrity chef Colin Fassnidge recalls the moment he learned about the sudden death of his friend and colleague Jock Zonfrillo.
Jock died in a hotel room at Zagame’s House on Lygon Street in Carlton. He was found by the police around 2 a.m. on Monday, May 1.
The 50-year-old My Kitchen Rules judge said the first person he called was his co-star Manu Feidel.
“The world just stopped. I remember we just finished filming and we had a bad day and I was swimming and everything stopped. I called Manu right away,’ he said.
The Irish-born chef said everyone in the culinary world was leaning on each other and reflecting on how close Jock’s death had been.
Celebrity chef Colin Fassnidge remembers the moment he learned about the sudden death of his friend and colleague Jock Zonfrillo
“We were like, if something happened to us and we’re gone and you don’t see your family… Jock was younger than us and it brings everything home,” he said.
It comes after Colin recently claimed he appreciates just living after a recent cancer scare.
Speak with Stellar magazine earlier this year, Colin said he developed persistent stomach aches while filming the new season of MKR in New Zealand.
But when he went to see his doctor, the Kitchen Nightmares Australia presenter said he didn’t get quite the reassurance he expected.
Jock died in a hotel room at Zagame’s House on Lygon Street in Carlton. He was found by the police around 2 a.m. on Monday, May 1
“My doctor is as blunt as a brick and he said to me, ‘Oh, that could be colon cancer.’ I thought, “What the f*ck?”‘
The television host was candid about his medical procedures and how frightened they had left him.
“He booked me in with a surgeon for a colonoscopy and a gastroscopy. It was two frightening weeks. I didn’t tell anyone, but I was absolutely terrified,” he said.
Colin was given the signal of a cancer diagnosis, but he’s still working with his doctors to find out what caused his stomach problems.
It comes after Colin recently claimed he appreciates just living after a recent cancer scare. Speaking to Stellar magazine earlier this year, Colin said he developed persistent stomach aches while filming the new season of MKR in New Zealand.
The chef expressed his newfound appreciation for life after getting everything clear in the wake of Zonfrillo’s death.
“The next day I posted pictures of a sunrise (on Instagram) because I was running, how good is the world? I think it was also the whole Jock thing because he was younger than me. It was a wake-up call,” he said.
Colin, who had been friends with Zonfrillo for 20 years, told the Daily Mail Australia earlier this year that he was struggling to process the tragic news of his friend’s death.
Colin will return to screens in September in the new season of My Kitchen Rules.
The 50-year-old My Kitchen Rules judge said the first person he called was his co-star Manu Feildel