Banoffee pie with bourbon-spiked dulce de leche. Biscuit base, bourbon caramel, banana, whipped cream. The adult version of a classic.

French onion soup with a proper cheese-and-bread crust. Caramelised onions cooked low and slow for an hour, deep beef broth, melted Gruyere on top. Done right.

Slow-cooked beef cheeks in red wine. Three hours, falls apart at the touch, served on creamy mash. The Aussie winter dinner-party showstopper.

Aussie pub-classic sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce. Soft, dark, generously sticky. The dessert that closes the deal.

Roasted pumpkin and crispy sage soup. Australian winter in a bowl: bright orange, slightly sweet, finished with a swirl of cream and crackling sage leaves.

Slow-cooker lamb stew with rosemary, red wine, and root vegetables. Brown the lamb, throw it in, walk away. Dinner in seven hours.

Creamy chicken and sweet corn soup, slow-simmered with the aromatic depth of ginger and white pepper. The Aussie pub-classic warm-up bowl.