Jock Zonfrillo’s widow Lauren Fried shares sweet video of her late husband to mark his MasterChef co-star Andy Allen’s birthday – one year on from his tragic death
Jock Zonfrillo’s widow Lauren Fried has shared a sweet video of her late husband to mark his MasterChef co-star Andy Allen’s birthday.
Much-loved celebrity chef Jock was tragically found dead at a hotel in Carlton, near Melbourne’s CBD, on April 30, 2023, making Tuesday the one-year anniversary of his death.
His widow Lauren recently told fans how she plans to share unseen videos of Jock on his social media to honor his legacy, and has now shared the first such posts.
To mark Andy’s 36th birthday, which is also the one-year anniversary of Jock’s death, Lauren shared a video of a funny moment between close friends Jock and Andy.
The fun throwback video showed Jock cavorting with his fellow MasterChef judge as they celebrated one of Andy’s past birthdays together.
Jock Zonfrillo’s widow Lauren Fried has shared a sweet video of her late husband (pictured) to mark his MasterChef co-star Andy Allen’s birthday
The footage shows Andy trying to catch a cork as it flies out of a bottle of champagne, while Jock is in charge of launching the cork towards him.
As he prepared to open the bottle, Jock could be heard saying from behind the camera: βI have to be focused, I have to keep my head in the game.β
Birthday boy Andy then urged him to remove the ‘metal bit’ from the end of the cork first, prompting him to joke: ‘F**k that, you’re so amazing, f**k sake!’
Jock then said to his friend, “Are you ready?” You have to catch it.β
When Jock released the cork, it flew at high speed and hit Andy right in the face in the thwarted attempt, causing him to fall back to the ground in shock.
She posted a fun throwback video of Jock cavorting with fellow MasterChef judge Andy (pictured) as they celebrated one of his past birthdays together
In the footage, Jock tried to launch a cork from a bottle of champagne for his friend Andy to catch, but instead fell to the ground (pictured) when the cork hit him in the face.
Laughing, Andy exclaimed, “That hit me in my sleep!” as his friends flocked to make sure he was okay.
Lauren shared a birthday message alongside the video and captioned the post: ‘Happy birthday @andyallencooks! Strong language warning. No one was (permanently) injured. Do not try this at home.’
Jock tragically died exactly a year ago on April 30, which hit Andy particularly hard as it was also his 35th birthday.
Commenting on Lauren’s video, Andy said it will always be an ’emotional birthday’ for him, but looked back on his fond memories with Jock.
Jock (left) was tragically found dead in a hotel in Carlton, near Melbourne’s CBD, exactly a year ago on April 30, which hit Andy (right) particularly hard as it was also his 35th birthday
He said: ‘It will always be an emotional birthday, but I will always find happiness in the many memories like this.’
Jock is survived by his wife Lauren, their two children Alfie, seven, and Isla, three, as well as his two adult daughters Ava and Sophia from his first two marriages.
Last week, Lauren took to social media to share an emotional video in which she discussed her grief and her plans to share Jock’s legacy.
Just days before the first anniversary of his death, Lauren spoke about “finding her feet” as a “solo parent” and how her two children have adjusted after their tragic loss.
He is survived by his wife Lauren, their two children Alfie, seven, and Isla, three, (all pictured), as well as his two adult daughters Ava and Sophia from his first two marriages.
She said: ‘Next week will be a year since we lost Jock. I have no idea where that time went.
βI really had plans to release more of his projects, but somewhere between trying to find my way as a solo parent β ββand going through long periods where I found it really difficult to watch videos and photos of Jock β the plan did not go according to plan.
βJock’s legacy is in his children and his work, both of which have given me great meaning this past year.
βI’ve been focusing on the kids and they’re doing really well, they’re actually thriving and have found their new normal. I think we created two special little people there.β
Lauren further explained how she plans to share Jock’s legacy with his fans, saying she wants to focus on posting previously unseen content from the chef.
Last week, Lauren shared an emotional video on social media discussing her grief and her plans to share Jock’s legacy.
She continued, βSo now I just want to focus on work.
‘I have hundreds and hundreds of hours of Jock cooking his favorite recipes, explaining what vinegar or oil he used in different things, things he discovered on our travels, fun behind the scenes stuff, interviews, and it’s part of my life that I want to share with everyone again.
‘I’ll start posting again as soon as possible. Please try to treat them as normal. If you have any questions about the recipe or method, feel free to ask, put them in the comments, and if I can’t answer them, I’ll ask one of his chefs.
“The purpose of putting it up is for us to enjoy it, Jock, so I hope you do too.”
Jock was found dead at the Zagame house hotel in Carlton, close to Melbourne’s CBD, on April 30 last year around 2 a.m.
Just days before the first anniversary of his death, Lauren spoke in a video about “finding her feet” as a “solo parent” and how her two children have adapted after their tragic loss
Lauren was in Italy at the time with their two children and had called Victoria Police to request a welfare check as he had stopped answering her calls.
His sudden death was still under investigation in March, almost a year after his tragic passing, the Victoria Coroner confirmed at the time.
Jock’s death came just one day before the 2023 season of MasterChef was set to premiere, and the broadcast was postponed for a week ‘out of respect’.
Network 10 dedicated the fifteenth season to Jock and his family as they aired his scenes posthumously, acknowledging his “sudden and tragic passing.”