Jock Zonfrillo wins Basque Culinary World Prize 2018

Jock Zonfrillo, who works with indigenous communities to develop unique cuisine has won the Basque Culinary World Prize.

Jock Zonfrillo (R) with chefs Simon Bryant at Orana Restaurant in Adelaide.

An Australian chef who has dedicated his career to working with indigenous communities to develop a unique cuisine and improve the lot of communities from whom he sources native ingredients has won a major international prize.

Jock Zonfrillo has won the Basque Culinary World Prize 2018 — an award for chefs improving society through gastronomy, in areas ranging from innovation to education, health, research, sustainability, social entrepreneurship and economic development.

Zonfrillo will be awarded €100,000 to devote to a project or institution of his choice that demonstrates the wider role of gastronomy in society.

The Scottish-born Adelaide chef, renowned for his restaurant Orana was recognised for championing the culture of the native peoples of Australia and for his work safeguarding Aboriginal culinary tradition. Since making Australia his home in 2000, Zonfrillo has visited hundreds of remote communities to understand the origins of ingredients and their cultural significance. At Orana, he has given them a platform on the menus of his restaurant; according to the Basque Culinary Prize judges, Zonfrillo has brought aboriginal cultural traditions to wider audiences.

Paperbark ice cream with native honey and Ferrero lavazza by Jock Zonfrillo at Orana, Adelaide.

Zonfrillo was named Australia’s Hottest Chef in 2017 by The Weekend Australian Magazine’s Hot 50 Awards.

The prize was judged by a who’s who of the culinary world.

The jury was chaired by Joan Roca, (Spain) and included celebrated chefs Gastón Acurio (Peru), Massimo Bottura (Italy), Manu Buffara (Brazil), Mauro Colagreco (France), Dominique Crenn (USA), Andoni Luis Aduriz (Spain), Yoshihiro Narisawa (Japan), Enrique Olvera (Mexico), Leonor Espinosa, winner of the Basque Culinary World Prize 2017, together with experts in other disciplines such as food writer Ruth Reichl.

“One of the fundamental lessons I’ve learned from working with indigenous communities is to give back more than you take,” Zonfrillo said on his prize. “My motivation comes from acknowledging a culture who farmed and thrived from the land they have lived on for over 60,000 years. The First Australians are the true cooks and ‘food inventors’ of these lands and their exclusion from our history, and specifically our food culture, it is unacceptable.”

Jury chair Joan Roca, from Gerona, Spain, said: “For over than 15 years Jock has dedicated himself to understanding and promoting one of the oldest cultures on the planet, that of the native peoples of Australia.

“Through the identification of ingredients and traditions and his commitment to transforming the knowledge of these people into development opportunities, Zonfrillo sows the seeds for a better future. His work is inspiring and has a multiplier effect. That is why the jury has unanimously chosen him.”