MasterChef: Jock Zonfrillo uses a tool from his SHED to create the perfect fish curry

MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo has revealed the unusual device he uses to make the perfect fish curry.

On Thursday’s episode, the Scottish-born chef, 43, demonstrated how to use a paint gun to improve his hibachi cooking, a Japanese technique in which meat and vegetables are grilled on a metal cooking plate over burning charcoal.

‘I’m going to give you a little tip for hibachi cooking because I love a good hack,’ Jock told the contestants during a masterclass segment.

Jock turned on the paint gun, which emitted high-pressure air, before turning it towards the hibachi fire grill.  

‘When you put it on the hibachi, what it does is get the hibachi 150 degrees hotter,’ he explained.

‘For me, King George whiting is awesome, but it’s only awesome when it’s cooked beautifully,’ he added, encouraging his students to use the technique.

Jock debuted alongside fellow judges Melissa Leong and Andy Allen on the twelfth season of MasterChef Australia earlier this month.

While Channel 10 took a major gamble in hiring three lesser-known chefs, it appears to have paid off because viewers just can’t get enough of the trio.

One fan wrote on Facebook this week that the show was ‘much better to watch’ without the original judges, Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris. 

Another said the new judges were ‘the freshness the show needed’.

A third fan commented: ‘We had 10 awesome years with them and now a fresh new approach and faces. New team are outstanding.’

Other viewers said they were loving how the new judges ‘interact with contestants’ and remarked that the trio ‘mix and meld so [well] together’.