Jock Zonfrillo explains why he carries around beads on MasterChef

Fans were left puzzled after they noticed that Jock Zonfrillo was carrying beads while on MasterChef Australia.

And the Scottish-born judge has revealed why he carries them around on set, after getting ‘a billion’ questions from viewers.

In a video shared to Instagram on Monday, the 43-year-old chef explained they were worry beads to help him cope with ‘anxiety’ and ‘stress’.

‘These are worry beads; I’ve got lots of different types of worry beads,’ he said. 

‘When I am feeling anxious or a little bit stressed, I flick through them… the more anxious, the more worried I get the faster I do it.’ 

Jock then showed his followers a set of worry beads featuring tan and black beads, and demonstrated how to use them.

He then went on to explain that that this particular set of beads had belonged to the late A. A. Gill, who was a celebrated British restaurant critic. 

‘These are very special to me. They were given to me by Nicola, who is the wife of the late Adrian Gill,’ he says.

‘I love them. You’ll often see they are always in my pocket.’  

This isn’t the first time the MasterChef host has revealed that he suffers from anxiety. 

Shortly after the season premiere, Jock told The Sunday Telegraph that he’d felt ‘wound up’ with anxiety before the ratings came in.

‘It was a tough lead-up and the pressure was on, but we were all super relieved,’ he said of the overwhelming support from viewers. 

MasterChef: Back to Win continues Tuesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10