“We’re so lucky in Australia because some of the best flavours of the world seem to be at our doorstep,” says Chris Smith.

And one cuisine gaining momentum is Australia is Middle Eastern food.

“I’m not talking about your kebab at 2 o’clock in the morning.

“I mean proper delicious, flavoursome dishes that hail from the area.”

Yotam Ottolenghi is responsible for a lot of the world’s fascination and interest in Middle Eastern, making it accessible and showing how diverse it really is.

He tells Chris chefs are changing the way people look at, and eat their food.

“Chefs as people who actually influence the way people eat and think… The conversations that we’re having about food are really fascinating.”

His latest book, Ottolenghi SIMPLE was inspired by his sister.

A busy woman with three children, she told him she doesn’t have the time to buy an exhaustive list of ingredients each time she cooks.

“I’ve heard this criticism thrown at me at different occasions…” says Ottolenghi.

All of the book’s recipes are coded with a letter from the title, S, I, M, P, L or E.

Click PLAY below to hear what they stand for