Lauren Zonfrillo has revealed that she will be releasing a cookbook that her late husband Jock Zonfrillo had been working on prior to his death.
The celebrity chef passed away unexpectedly in April 2023, leaving behind an indelible legacy that his family is determined to honour.
In an Instagram post shared on June 3, Jock’s widow shared that the family had been working hard behind the scenes to finish the project in the two years since his passing, and were overjoyed to now be able to share it.
Called Recipes to Remember, the cookbook will be released on July 29.
“This one’s from us – the little crew who sat on the kitchen stools, learning, chatting and eating with Dad,” the post from Jock’s account read, which was accompanied by a reel of his moments cooking and with his family.
“He’d started his cookbook when we lost him, so we finished it. Recipes to Remember is filled with the meals he made for us, photos from our family albums, and – in his own words – what he loved about food and life.”
In a voiceover, his oldest daughter, Ava, reminisced about memories of cooking with her father.
“Cooking and food were part of our daily life at home, and as the first-born, I also went to work with Dad,” she explained.
“The kitchen was really the heart of our home. Dad loved cooking, and he loved having fun with it,” she continued.
Along with recipes loved by Jock’s family, his favourite recipes from his famous friends will also be included.
You will also find recipes from Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson, Marco Pierre White, Rick Stein, Maggie Beer, Christian Puglisi, MasterChef judge Andy Allen, and Jimmy and Jane Barnes.
After his passing, chefs from across the world shared their condolences and paid tribute to him.
“He taught me so many things about being a legendary Dad. Wish he were here to see it one day. Thinking of you and the fam as always,” Andy said at the time.
Jamie, who also wrote the foreword for this upcoming book, also shared his shock.
“I’m in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo. We had the best time working together for this year’s MasterChef, I can’t tell how good it was to work with him !” he wrote on Instagram in 2023.
“Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show and for that, I was really grateful…Melissa, Andy & Jock work as the most inspiring judges and mentors and each have their very own unique view and style…”
“The ripples have been devastating. No one is going to get over this quickly,” Gordon Ramsay said on The Project shortly after his passing. “If there is one thing we’ve done as chefs, it is that we’ve united and have been talking about the good times. It’s just too painful.”
Lauren also wrote about her whirlwind romance with Jock and her family’s grief losing him in her emotional book Till Death Do Us Part: Life without Jock and learning to live with intention.
