MasterChef's Melissa Leong reveals Jock's 'frustrating' on-set habit

MasterChef's Melissa Leong has revealed the thing that annoys her most about her fellow judge Jock Zonfrillo, and it's understandable.

The 39-year-old shared her frustrations over Jock's 'freakish' metabolism, saying the 44-year-old will often order takeaway after tasting all of the contestant's dishes for the day.

masterchef judges Melissa Leong Jock Zonfrillo and andy allen
Melissa has called Jock's 'freakish habit' on set. Photo: Channel Ten

"His ability to consume food on a constant rapid pace, it just frustrates the hell out of everybody... If he doesn't eat he loses weight rapidly. He's a freak," she told news.com.au.

"He's a freak in the best possible way," she added. "His metabolism should be studied, because he can do a full tasting of 18 different courses throughout the day but still eat an entire bucket of fried chicken and a box or two of chips or several containers worth of dumplings on a lunch break. It's quite a thing to behold."

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Contestants have also shared this frustration with Katrina Dunnett telling Yahoo Lifestyle, "I read that Jock still eats his normal meals, so breakfast, lunch and dinner, so he must have a pretty good metabolism."

masterchef judge jock
It seems Jock is always hungry. Photo: Channel Ten

"Jock sometimes eats a full lunch before a challenge and tastings… Even with 24 people in the competition. How can someone fit that much food in their stomach?" Tessa Boersma told news.com.au last year.

However, it seems Jock does have one weakness: shellfish.

The judge recently suffered an allergic reaction while on set filming a challenge during this season.

"We were doing a challenge with crayfish the other day and I had to get [medical] treatment because of the shellfish overload," he told New Idea.

People who have a shellfish allergy develop symptoms soon after being exposed. Symptoms range from hives, swelling of the lip, tongue or throat and trouble breathing. As with other allergies, a shellfish allergy can be life-threatening and emergency medical treatment must be sought right away.

It's not clear how severe Jock's reaction was or how long it took him to recover.

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