For most of us, cooking from Jerusalem is as close as we’ll ever get to Yotam Ottolenghi. But Christina Higgins’s job as catering manager for his company in London meant she learned directly from him.

Higgins (ex-Millstone Patisserie, trained at Le Cordon Bleu) returned to Melbourne to open a cafe with childhood friend Stephen Svensen (ex-head chef at Pillar of Salt and Barry). It’s in the old Woodstock site on High Street, Armadale – a corner block with three levels that lead to a massive, open rooftop, so you can brunch in the sun.

The menu includes a lot of salads, including Pillar of Salt’s superfood salad, and a breakfast one with buckwheat, kale, avocado, basil, chilli, dukkah and a poached egg.

Ottolenghi’s Middle Eastern influence is in dishes such as the harissa beans with shanklish cheese, and the use of grains and spices.