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Scots MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo says celeb chef Marco Pierre White saved his life by offering him job at 17

SCOTS MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo has told how being given a job by celebrity chef Marco Pierre White saved his life.

The Glasgow-born cook claimed he would have been in a “pine box” if he hadn’t been taken on as a 17-year-old trainee at the food legend’s flagship restaurant.

Zonfrillo, 43, told how he was at rock bottom after being sacked from a kitchen job due to a drug problem.

But he was given a chance after knocking on the door of Pierre White’s eatery in London’s Hyde Park Hotel.

He said: “The last person I expected to open the door was him, but there he was.

"I was spluttering and stammering like a bloody idiot but managed to say I was there for a job and he said, ‘Well, you’d better come in’.”

Zonfrillo revealed he broke down in tears as he came clean about his demons and started in the kitchen the next day.

But he had nowhere to stay so spent three months sleeping in the hotel changing rooms before being caught by a co-worker.

He said: “I got hauled into the office and Marco was like, ‘What are you doing?’

“I explained my situation and didn’t get fired.

"Marco came back later and had arranged a bed at a youth hostel. It was amazing.”

Zonfrillo became head chef at Sydney’s Restaurant 41 in 2000 and was named Australia’s Hottest Chef in 2018. He now hosts MasterChef Australia.