Jock Zonfrillo: Widow of late MasterChef judge reveals how their kids keep his memory alive

The late Jock Zonfrillo’s wife has shared an emotional update on how the couple’s young children are coping with losing their father.

The MasterChef host was found dead in a hotel room in Melbourne in April ahead of the premiere of the latest season of the Australian version of the show.

Fans of the show in Australia, New Zealand and throughout the world poured out their tributes to the Scottish chef, who had become a familiar presence on their screens during his time on the series.

The 46-year-old chef had returned for a brief visit to Australia, while his wife Lauren and their children Alfie, 5, and Isla, 2, remained in Italy.

Now his widow Lauren Fried has revealed their son Alfie recently made a sweet request to remember his beloved dad.

“Alfie has asked me to do some of his Papa activities with him – making crepes and doing hours of Lego were in his requests,” she shared on Zonfrillo’s Instagram page, where she often shares updates on the family.

“I went with the easiest option of a trip to the barber, which the boys used to do together, followed by gelato.

“It put a smile on his face, which was beautiful.”

Sign up for Coast's newsletter for exclusive prizes and to keep updated with the latest.

She shared several snaps of Alfie smiling in the chair at the barber getting his hair cut, and another of the 5-year-old enjoying some gelato.

It comes after fans in Australia saw Zonfrillo appear on their screens for almost the last time, with the MasterChef finale set to screen in the country next Sunday.

The finale will screen one week later in New Zealand on TVNZ2 and TVNZ+.

The first episode of Jock Zonfrillo’s final season of MasterChef Australia finally aired in New Zealand in May, just two weeks after the celebrity chef’s tragic death.

Ratings following the episode revealed that thousands more tuned in than its last season, with the premiere gathering an audience averaging 198,900 in the five and over age bracket and a total reach of 362,000 people.

In June, Fried spoke out about how Zonfrillo’s death had affected her and revealed that she was making plans for his social media and upcoming unreleased projects.

“It’s been a month now since we lost Jock and I put a line in the sand thinking that at the one-month mark I would turn some sort of a corner, obviously that hasn’t happened,” she shared.

“There’s no time that I could allocate to say thank you to everyone. I just am overwhelmed by the messages that came in from people all over the world who knew him or didn’t know him.

“I wish he knew how loved he was and he knew the impact that he had on so many people.”

Following support from fans and followers, she has continued to post updates on Zonfrillo’s Instagram page and other social media.

This article was first published in the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.