Former MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo has left his mark on Laura Sharrad and the audience.

MasterChef's Laura Sharrad and Andy Allen hug

MasterChef’s Laura Sharrad paid tribute to Jock Zonfrillo on Sunday night’s episode. Photo: Ten

Sunday night’s episode of MasterChef called for the contestants to watch an emotional video of their journey on the show and cook a dish that represents them now. Fan favourite Laura Sharrad make emotional while standing in front of the judges, sharing that she wasn’t sure she wanted to return to the show without former judge Jock Zonfrillo there.

Jock died suddenly on April 30, 2023, just one day before his final season of MasterChef was set to premiere. His loss has been felt deeply in the MasterChef kitchen ever since.

Laura plated up a dish of a leek and lobster pasta with a watercress and shellfish sauce, and the judges loved the dish, but speaking about her inspiration, she revealed there was a lot of Jock in it.

“I feel like I have grown up on this show, and it’s led to so many different chapters of my life,” she told the judges, sharing that she went into restaurants after her first time on the show and tried to learn anything she could from anyone who would take her.

“And the one and only Jock did teach me quite a lot, and… God, I’m getting emotional.”

MasterChef's Jock Zonfrillo

Jock died suddenly on April 30, 2023, just one day before his final season of MasterChef was set to premiere. Photo: Ten
Through tears, she continued, “Yeah, he taught me a lot. I’ve come back and I didn’t know if it was the right decision or not. Obviously, Jock was standing here the last time I was here, and [it] was really hard to come back. This place has, like I said, the best memories, but it’s just, it’s difficult.”

Andy Allen, who was good friends with Jock and worked with him for several years on the show, gave her a hug and told her she “made the right decision”.

“Thank you, I’m so excited to be back,” she told him.

After tasting the dish, Andy told her, “Yeah, you can definitely tell that you’ve learnt from our good buddy. There’s so much of him in there. Like, it’s crazy, even just looking at it, like, it’s you and him, just in a dish.”

With her beautiful dish, Laura was safe from elimination.

MasterChef fans shared support for Laura, and their heartbreak over the moment, with one Instagram user writing, “Oh my heart. I still missed Jock, he would be proud of you. Well done & well deserved Laura.”

“We all miss Jock but love his name is always mentioned,” another said.

“Absolutely the right decision keep cooking with your heart just like tonight,” a third said.

“Jock is feeling like a proud dad of what you have become today Loz,” someone else wrote. “He is showering his love in every dish you present in the Masterchef @laurasharrad well done.”

“That was literally on of the most beautiful moments on MasterChef @laurasharrad hearing you speak about Jock,” another added. “You definitely made the right decision.”

“You had me in tears 😢 well done Laura,” one fan wrote.

“I can see the genuine heartbreak and pain in Andy and your faces 💔 you so made the right decision Laura,” yet another said.

Many others said they missed seeing Jock on their screens, and others pointed out it was recently the second anniversary of his passing.

“My tears were flowing he would be proud of you most definitely,” one person said.

“I am so glad you mentioned Jock… it isn’t the same without him,” another added. “He absolutely would be with you and Andy, pushing you guys. Beautiful words. Made me teary.”

Jock and his wife Lauren, the day they got engaged. Photo: Instagram/zonfrillo

Jock and his wife Lauren, the day they got engaged. Photo: Instagram/zonfrillo
In her first sit-down interview, Lauren Zonfrillo, Jock’s wife, spoke about losing her husband with journalist Liz Hayes for Spotlight, which aired on Sunday night.

While she acknowledged that fans wanted to know how Jock died, she promised this would be something she would not reveal, in a bid to respect his privacy.

Lauren described Jock as a “beautifully flawed man”, who had publicly spoken about his past battles with drug abuse.

She added that the reports of those who found Jock said it appeared he had died peacefully in his sleep.

Liz brought up the fact that the coroner didn’t publicly release the details of his passing, and Lauren told her that she “respected” the coroner’s findings, but wanted to give Jock and the rest of her family “privacy” and “peace”.

While she understands the public curiosity, she explained, “I now don’t want to make those decisions of what he does and doesn’t want to talk about, if it wasn’t in the public domain in any way, or comments about anything that he hasn’t brought up before.”

Liz asked her if knowing how Jock died had “helped” in any way with the loss, and Lauren said, “Umm … I wouldn’t say helped. Nothing’s unanswered, nothing’s not understood. I have an answer … but it doesn’t make a difference.”

Jock was just 46 when he died. His body was discovered at Zagame’s House, a hotel in Melbourne.