This week marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Nigella Lawson’s first cook book, How To Eat.
But what should be a happy occasion has instead been marred by sadness with the TV chef longing for her late husband John Diamond, who was by her side at the launch two decades ago.
"This time 20 years ago, I was at the launch party for my first book, How To Eat. Looking at this photo makes me happy, but also very sad. I wish I could be in John’s arms now," wrote Nigella, who met John in 1986 when they were both writing for The Sunday Times.
He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1997 – the year before Nigella, 58, released How To Eat – before tragically dying in March 2001.
Paying tribute to her husband and father of their children Cosima and Bruno, she shared a recipe for her apple and walnut crumble – one of John’s favourites.
"I’ve chosen this in particular as it was a real favourite of my husband John’s," she tweeted.
"And How To Eat would never have existed without his urging and encouragement in the first place."
John has often been credited with helping Nigella develop her brand and transform into the domestic goddess we know today.
Speaking about her rise to fame, she explained to BBC Radio 2, "I was a journalist – not a food journalist, but I did do quite a bit of cooking. As a consequence I cooked for editors quite a bit."
"John, my late husband, said to me, ‘You always talk about food in this really confident way. You should write about it!’ So I did.
"I did this one-off book in 1998, so then I was asked to do TV and I said no, then I said, ‘look, if I can do it in my own kitchen and I can be totally unscripted, I will do it’! I don’t do it in my own kitchen anymore but I won’t ever be scripted!"
Sadly, John died whilst she was working on TV show Nigella Bites, with the star taking just two weeks off to grieve.
One of the last things he’s believed to have said to have told her was, "How proud I am of you and what you have become. The great thing about us is that we have made us who we are."
She went on to marry art collector Charles Saatchi in 2003, but they divorced 10 years later when he was pictured grabbing her throat at Scott’s restaurant in Mayfair.
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