If further proof of Australia's lifestyle clout is needed, just venture into a bookshop in London and see how many homegrown chefs and interior designers are offering coffee-book-table advice on how to replicate the Australian way of life.

BBC: Australia: The Consequential Country

With many of the city's finest table, like Man Wah and Summer Palace, housed in five-star hotels, Chinese chefs regularly rub shoulders with top toques from Europe and America.

ECONOMIST: Chinese food

Basically the chefs were interviewed documentary style, filmed and taped, but the result was converted into these two coffee table editions rather than a film, and in most cases, the chef goes from home to restaurant to, in some cases, a workout session, in order to fully capture what makes them and their dishes tick.

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