The science behind what happens in space has been made simple by a Brisbane scientist-turned-cook via the world's first gastrophysics cookbook.

Queensland University of Technology's (QUT) Dr Stephen Hughes wants to teach the public about the science of astrophysics through food.

Dr Hughes spent the past three years experimenting and documenting simple kitchen cooking techniques to explain cosmological concepts.

The e-cookbook, titled Gastrophysics, contains only recipes relating to astrophysics including black hole pizzas, South Pole cake and olive oil flares.

"It's astrophysics with a G in front of it, for gastronomy, which is about delicate and fine eating," he said.

"The name is the essence of the book in a single word."

Dr Hughes said he had been trialling his kitchen experiments on students at QUT's Science and Engineering Faculty for the past 10 years.

He said his book encouraged people to look at astrophysics differently.

Dr Hughes adds chilli to a saucepan filled with baked beans to show how a supernova explosion can occur. ( 612 ABC Brisbane: Jessica Hinchliffe )

"I wanted to teach people about the basics of astrophysics ... a lot of people put it in the too-hard basket," he said.

"I wanted to see if I could use what people knew about cooking as a foundation to improve people's understanding about the basics of astrophysics.

"Also physics, which is relevant to everyday life like energy and things to do with climate change and that's the idea."

Dr Hughes said he considered many titles for the book before deciding on Gastrophysics.

"I did consider other titles like Cooking With The Stars and 2015: A Taste Odyssey," he said.

"I knew nothing about cooking before this."

Experimenting to create the perfect recipe

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Dr Hughes said putting the book together was not entirely smooth, with some experiments being more challenging than others.

"We had a supernova explosion in our kitchen with a tin of condensed milk on the stove boiling," he said.

"The tin exploded and it was completely empty and everything was on the ceiling.

"From a physics sense it was a pretty high-speed explosion with plenty of heat ... and I spent several hours cleaning it off the ceiling."

The energetic cook filmed many of the experiments and the videos are included as part of his e-book.

Inspired by Heston Blumenthal

Dr Hughes believes people who are interested in celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal will enjoy learning more about gastrophysics.

"Some of the dishes developed in the book are along the lines of Heston's dishes," he said.

"He's the chief scientific chef, I think, and he's come up with so many interesting things."

Dr Hughes's favourite dish which uses Blumenthal's style is the black hole pizza.

"We developed this pizza with mild chillies on the outside, medium chillies in the middle and hot chillies right close to the centre," he said.

"You don't eat it pointy end first as you normally would, you start at the thick end of the wedge and work your way in."

The Brisbane scientist is hopeful a cooking program or series might be in the pipeline in the near future.