Returning MasterChef Australia contestant Brent Draper reveals he never goes anywhere without his worry beads, which were gifted to him by the late Jock Zonfrillo.
“I keep them in my car – they hang in there as a little reminder of where I have been and the people I have as support,” says Brent, 32, who shockingly quit the kitchen competition in 2021 due to his mental health. “They’ve literally helped me relax and calm down so many times.”
Jock gifted Brent his own worry beads upon his shock exit in 2021.
Jock struggled to hold back tears when Brent took him aside to tell him he couldn’t continue with the 13th season of MasterChef and that he needed to put himself first. Having spoken openly about his own struggles with anxiety, the chef commended him for his bravery and memorably gave him the stress-reducing worry beads as a parting gift.
A boilermaker from Beaudesert in Queensland, Brent spent the following year taking care of himself, seeing a therapist, then travelling around Australia in a campervan with wife Shonleigh and their son Alfie, all while never losing touch with Jock, who he says “was only a message away if I needed someone to talk to”.
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Now returning for a second chance, Brent comes armed with renewed health, self-esteem, and the backing of judges Andy Allen and Melissa Leong. But he’s mourning the loss of Jock, who passed away suddenly last month atjust 46.
“They say you meet people in life for a reason, a season or a lifetime and what I know is that Jock Zonfrillo came into my life for a reason, although I wish it could have been for a lifetime,” Brent shares. “The impact that Jock made on my life is something that I’ll never forget.”
Jock passed away suddenly in April this year
Andy’s promise to Jock’s family
Devastated by the loss of his dear friend, Andy Allen has promised himself that he’s going to be there for the chef’s wife Lauren Fried and their kids, Alfie and Isla, just as Jock was there for him.
In a heartfelt interview, Andy, 35, revealed he had cooked dinner for the family upon their return home from Rome, where Jock had relocated, when they were notified that Jock had been found unresponsive in a Melbourne hotel room.
“She’s the strongest woman I have ever known, but she’s lost her best friend,” Andy says of Lauren, while adding that the outpouring of support “is helping”.
Andy revealed Jock was his mentor and that he learned to be more “vulnerable” from the late Scottish chef. “He’s probably up there now, going, ‘I did an alright job because you’re a mess.'”
Andy and his wife Alex were close with Lauren and Jock.
