8 best cookbooks by Michelin-starred chefs like Jack Zonfrillo

Arushi Sakhuja  

If you have an unapologetic love for food and wish to push the boundaries, then challenge yourself with a recipe by a Michelin-starred chef. Stock up on these cookbooks written by top Michelin-starred chefs. Brace yourself for one of the toughest yet flavour-packed recipes that are worth the try! 

Last Shot by Jock Zonfrillo

Last week we got devasting news about MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo passing away at the young age of 46.The internet is exploding with tributes to the chef who has been at the core of redeeming many Michelin-starred kitchens. The Scottish-born chef started his career at the age of 12 before moving to Australia. Zonfrillo’s culinary fascination with Australian native ingredients earned him accolades – and criticism. He opened the fine-dining restaurant Orana in Adelaide in 2013 with an innovative menu featuring kakadu plums, bunya nuts and native sea succulents. But it was his 2019 casting as a judge on MasterChef that catapulted Zonfrillo from a food industry figure to a mainstream Australian celebrity. In 2021, Zonfrillo published his memoir Last Shot, which chronicled his time in kitchens as he battled addiction and mental health issues.

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The Fat Duck Cookbook by Heston Blumenthal 

One of the most renowned chefs in the world. What if we told you, that you can get an insight into Heston’s recipe and process? The Fat Duck by Heston Blumenthal is one of the cookbooks that should be on your shelf. The book compromises a complete list of intricate recipes that offer a glimpse into the weird and wonderful experiments that take place in The Fat Duck kitchen. The most vital section of all is science. Here, readers are given detailed explanations of all of the innovative techniques that Blumenthal uses to produce his menu. He also explains the science behind his culinary masterpieces, the technology and implements that make his alchemical dishes come to life. 

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Alinea by Grant Achatz  

Chef Grant Achatz represents the best of the molecular gastronomy movement — brilliant fundamentals and exquisite taste paired with a groundbreaking approach to new techniques and equipment. Known for his famous restaurant ALINEA the cookbook showcases Achatz’s cuisine with more than 100 dishes and 600 photographs. The pioneering chef takes readers on a journey of discovery, detailing the meticulous processes behind his spectacular molecular gastronomy with this cookbook. Recreating some of Achatz’s signature dishes would be a challenge for most professional chefs, but failing that you can still admire the spectacular photography. 

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Gordon Ramsay Quick and Delicious by Gordon Ramsay 

Yet another famous MasterChef name, Gordon Ramsay is one of UK’s most celebrated chefs, with Restaurant Gordon Ramsay proudly boasting an impressive three Michelin stars. Chef Ramsay has unveiled a bunch of cookbooks and the most recent one is, Quick and Delicious. The book calls upon the culinary experience gained throughout his illustrious career to develop 100 recipes that take 30 minutes or less to cook, without compromising on flavour. In true Gordon Ramsay style, Quick and Delicious use straightforward ingredients that are transformed into something special. 

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A New Napa Cuisine by Christopher Kostow 

This is the debut cookbook from Christopher Kostow, the man behind three-Michelin-starred The Restaurant at Meadowood. A New Napa Cuisine traces Kostow’s journey to becoming one of the best chefs in North America. Kostow speaks passionately about Napa Valley and how it changed his perception of cooking and craft. It also celebrates the local producers that play a central role in creating Kostow’s menu. Through 100  recipes and stunning photography, Kostow details the transformative effect this small American valley has had on his life and work. He shares stories of discovering wild plums and radishes growing along the creek behind his home. 

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Never trust a skinny Italian chef by Massimo Bottura 

A tribute to three-Michelin star restaurant, Osteria Francescana, and the man behind the success. The book contains 50 of Bottura’s recipes, each accompanied by the inspiration, ingredients and techniques behind them. Divided into four chapters, each one dealing with a different period by the leading figure in modern Italian gastronomy. Through his dishes, chef Massimo Bottura takes inspiration from contemporary art to create highly innovative dishes that play with Italian culinary traditions.

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Taste: 7 Michelin Star and Celebrity Chefs by Anand Kapoor

Taste: 7 Michelin Star and Celebrity Chefs takes the reader on an unforgettable gastronomic tour across India, Australia, the UK and the US under the guidance of acclaimed masters of the art. Michelin Star chefs Vineet Bhatia, Vikas Khanna, Marcello Tully, Frances Atkins and Laurie Gear feature in this masterclass of a cookbook, along with renowned celebrity chefs Anjum Ana Taste: 7 Michelin Star is one of the few cookbooks with a wide-ranging use of the finest ingredients and techniques from all over the globe, there is something here for every kind of palate. The chefs share their secret recipes and the aim of the book is to bring home a taste of the world.

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Eleven Madison Park: The Next Chapter by Daniel Humm 

New York’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant Eleven Madison Park, comes with more than 80 recipes to reflect Daniel Humm’s ever-changing Michelin-star menus. More than a cookbook, this version also contains a number of stories discussing the restaurant’s extraordinary success and other topics such as its recent renovation. Humm also reflects on his top successes, such as earning three Michelin stars, four stars from the New York Times and No 1 at the World’s Top 50.

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