MasterChef Australia’s Jock Zonfrillo put his restaurant Orana into voluntary administration before closing its doors due to the coronavirus crisis
MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo had put his restaurant Orana into voluntary administration one day before permanently closing its doors on Tuesday.
The 44-year-old appointed accountants KPMG to The Living Room Bar Pty Ltd and Blackwood Bistro Pty Ltd, which were the two companies involved in the operation of Orana, on Monday.
‘Even though we’re up to date with paying staff their leave, redundancies and super, and all our lodgements with the ATO, we decided it was in the best interests of all parties involved to appoint KPMG as voluntary administrators,’ Jock told The Advertiser.
Difficult decision: MasterChef Australia’s Jock Zonfrillo (pictured) put his restaurant Orana into voluntary administration before closing its doors due to the coronavirus crisis on Tuesday
‘KPMG have started the process and we expect that the process will be finalised over the coming months.’
KPMG partners David Kidman and Martin Lewis were appointed as voluntary administrators ‘over the entities that previously operated the Orana and Bistro Blackwood restaurants’.
Voluntary administration is the process where a restaurant or company is placed in the hands of a financial expert who accesses all possible options.
Voluntary administration: He appointed accountants KPMG to The Living Room Bar Pty Ltd and Blackwood Bistro Pty Ltd, which were the two companies involved in the operation of Orana (pictured), on Monday
On Tuesday, Jock announced he’d made the difficult decision to permanently close Orana after temporarily closing its doors in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘In our seven years, Restaurant Orana has moved through moments of despair, perseverance, and celebration. We got a lot wrong but we also got a lot right,’ he wrote on Facebook.
‘We achieved more than ever thought possible and feel privileged to have scored a few accolades along the way.’
‘COVID closed our doors’: On Tuesday, Jock announced he’d made the difficult decision to permanently close Orana after shutting the restaurant in March due to the coronavirus pandemic
He added: ‘Like all of my hospo mates around the world, COVID closed our doors. For us, with our lease ending in a couple of months and the current restrictions meaning we can’t break even, our closure has become permanent.’
‘As we packed up our little restaurant back in March, with ex-staff coming in to help out the team, we had no idea how long this thing would last for, none of us thought it would mean the end,’ Jock wrote.
‘With the uncertainty of tourism and hospitality it’s not the right time for Orana 2.0 so the plans we had started discussing have been put on ice. My journey doesn’t stop here – I’ll continue trying to make a difference through food projects outside of the restaurant.’
Jock wrote: ‘As we packed up our little restaurant back in March, with ex-staff coming in to help out the team, we had no idea how long this thing would last for, none of us thought it would mean the end’