Packing up the contents of his kitchen for a recent house move, former MasterChef winner Dhruv Baker found that his spice collection needed a cull.

"It was ridiculous. Like any person's spice cupboard, there were about four jars of cumin, because you go to the supermarket and think, 'Do I have any cumin? I'll just buy some more'. And probably five jars of coriander for the same reason," the chef confesses.

Like the rest of us, Dhruv was also guilty of harbouring "ancient spices" at the back of his shelves.

"It's usually mums who are the worst - I've seen stuff from the 1980s," he adds. "They don't taste of anything. You may as well add dust to your cooking."

Spices matter a lot to Dhruv , who was born in Mexico and has also lived in India, Spain and Tanzania.

He was described as having 'the palate of an angel' when he picked up the MasterChef trophy in 2010, and has now published a book called Spice: Layers Of Flavour.

"The word spicy seems to have morphed into meaning something hot. It's doing food an injustice - to me, it means so much more," says the chef, who lives in Surrey with Glaswegian wife Aileen and their two sons, aged six and three.

Among the spices Baker recommends we all have in our kitchen are star anise, whole coriander, fennel seed, chilli powder and turmeric.

"Hopefully the book will go some way to showing that spices are much more versatile, and to look on them as ingredients in their own right," he adds.

It was MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace who Dhruv has to thank for his 'palate of an angel' moniker.

"Good old Gregg," he says with a smile. "That was completely overwhelming and very flattering; I should probably have had it put on a business card."

Fancy giving Dhruv's Spice recipes a go? Here are three to get you started...

BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH RED ONION, FETA & CORIANDER

(Serves six as a starter or four for lunch)

1tsp coriander seeds

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 4cm cubes

3tbsp vegetable oil

2 sprigs fresh thyme

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 red onion, finely sliced

150g feta, cubed

Juice of 1 lemon

50ml olive oil

Small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here's how you do it

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.

In a small pan, dry roast the coriander seeds, over a low heat, until they release their aromas. Allow to cool and then grind to a powder using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder.

Put the cubed butternut squash in a roasting tray with the vegetable oil and salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add the thyme sprigs and garlic cloves and cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir through the ground coriander seeds - don't add them right at the start as they can burn and become bitter. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs and set half the garlic aside.

Mix together the red onion and cooked butternut squash, then carefully stir in the feta cubes, taking care not to break up the cheese too much.

To make the dressing, squeeze half of the now softened garlic from the skins into a bowl and add the lemon juice and olive oil; whisk together. Pour the dressing over the butternut squash and scatter with the chopped coriander.

Teriyaki-glazed sirloin

(Serves 4)

500g sirloin, in one piece

2tbsp vegetable oil

1tsp sea salt

2 spring onions, very thinly sliced

4tsp sesame seeds

For the teriyaki glaze:

500ml beef stock

1 star anise

1tsp Sichuan peppercorns

4tbsp dark brown sugar

5tbsp mirin

5tbsp sake

5tbsp dark soy sauce

Here's how you do it

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6.

Pour the stock into a pan and add the star anise and Sichuan peppercorns. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the liquid has reduced considerably. You should end up with about 50-100ml concentrated beef stock. Strain and discard the spices.

Mix the stock with the remaining glaze ingredients and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from the heat.

Place a griddle or frying pan over a high heat until it is smoking hot. Meanwhile rub the sirloin with the vegetable oil and season with sea salt. When the pan is really hot, place the beef, fat side down, in the pan and leave for two to three minutes. Turn and sear for two minutes on all other sides.

Place the beef in a roasting tin and cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes, then remove and allow to rest. After 15 minutes, add the resting juices to the teriyaki glaze.

Slice the beef into thin slices, arrange on a plate and pour over the teriyaki glaze. Scatter over the sliced spring onions and sesame seeds and serve.

GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE & CINNAMON TORTE

(Serves 6-8)

150g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids, broken into small pieces

125g unsalted butter

170g light brown sugar

175g ground almonds

5 eggs, separated

200ml amaretto

Pinch ground cinnamon

200ml double cream

Icing sugar, for dusting

Raspberries (optional), to serve

Here's how you do it

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas mark 2. Lightly butter a 23cm loose-bottomed round cake tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper.

Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of just simmering water. Once melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Add the sugar and ground almonds to the chocolate mixture and then stir in the egg yolks, 150ml of the amaretto and the cinnamon.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold into the chocolate mixture with a metal spoon.

Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out.

Whip the cream into soft peaks and stir in the remaining amaretto.

To serve, place a slice of torte on a plate with a spoonful or two of the cream. Dust with icing sugar and serve with a few raspberries scattered over, if using.

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Spice: Layers Of Flavour by Dhruv Baker is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, priced £25 (e-book, £12.99)