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MasterChef judges Andy Allen and Melissa Leong have posted tributes to their co-host and close friend Jock Zonfrillo after his sudden death, with Allen saying "life will never be the same".
Zonfrillo, 46, a renowned chef and TV personality, was found dead by police in Melbourne following a 2am welfare check on Monday.
His death, which is not being treated as suspicious, sent shockwaves around the world and prompted an outpouring of tributes.
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Allen, co-owner and chef of Three Blue Ducks, today penned an emotional message on Instagram, revealing Zonfrillo acted as a mentor for him.
"When I met you five years ago I knew our lives were about to change forever," he said.
"Sure, you've taught me so much about food, but it's the lessons I learnt about what it means to be a great father, husband and friend that I'll take away from our time together and will last forever.
"I'll miss the way you mentored me and every contestant that walked into the MasterChef kitchen, I'll miss you ordering the entire menu no matter how many dishes deep and making me eat every last bite, I'll miss your morning on-set coffees that made me shake from the amount of caffeine you were able to extract out of every individual bean, I'll miss the morning FaceTimes with Loz, Alfie and Isla, but overall I'll miss you looking out for me every single day.
"Thanks for making me constantly laugh and being there when I needed to cry.
"You really were the complete package mate and life will never be the same without you."
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Zonfrillo joined Allen and Leong as co-hosts of MasterChef in 2019.
Leong, an acclaimed food writer and critic, said Zonfrillo was "supposed to be the bulletproof one who outlived us all".
"In that time, you showed me what true excellence looks like both in the kitchen and outside of it; your kindness and generosity, the many lives you've lived, the way you carried far more on your shoulders than most could ever know," she wrote on Instagram.
"Thank you for challenging me daily, for making me better, my work buddy and friend, purveyor of excellent morning coffees, hater of pears, okra and nasturtiums.
"This all feels too raw to process still, I suspect it will for some time. Such is the impact of a life lived so large, with so much levity and entirely on your own terms.
"My heart goes out to your family, who were and are your life.
"A wee dram for you today, and always."
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Network 10 has delayed the release of the reality cooking show's 15th season out of respect for the chef and his family.
The show's premiere was scheduled to air on Monday.
9News understands filming had wrapped for the latest season.
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A statement released by Zonfrillo's family described him as a "proud Scot" and an "irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend".
Celebrities and colleagues Zonfrillo crossed paths with have led tributes to the late star.
Darren Robertson, who co-owns Three Blue Ducks alongside Allen, said it had been a "heavy 24 hours".
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"Im gonna miss you, me old mate," Robertson wrote, revealing he first cooked with Zonfrillo in Adelaide.
"He was always so generous with his time and knowledge whenever we caught up, and not afraid to give me shit about my questionable dress sense.
"I'm gonna miss the cheeky bugger."
Zonfrillo is survived by his wife Lauren Fried and his four children.
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