1. Get organised before you turn on the stove
Professional cooks call it mise en place — "everything in its place". Read the whole recipe once, then measure and chop everything before you start cooking. It feels slower, but it prevents burnt garlic while you're hunting for the cumin, and it's the single easiest way to make cooking feel calmer.
2. Season as you go, then taste
A small pinch of salt at each stage — onions, sauce, final dish — builds rounder flavour than one big dose at the end. Always taste before serving. If a dish tastes flat, it usually needs salt; if it tastes heavy, it often needs acid such as lemon juice or vinegar.
3. Understand your heat
- High heat is for searing and stir-frying, where you want browning quickly.
- Medium heat is the everyday setting for sautéing onions and cooking most sauces.
- Low heat is for gentle simmering, melting chocolate and cooking garlic without colouring it.
Preheat pans properly. Food added to a cold pan sticks and steams instead of browning. Oven temperatures also vary, so an inexpensive oven thermometer is one of the best tools you can buy.
4. Knife skills worth learning
A sharp knife is safer than a dull one because it needs less force and is less likely to slip. Curl the fingertips of your guiding hand under so your knuckles guide the blade. Cut ingredients to an even size so they cook at the same rate.
5. A pantry that makes weeknights easier
With a few staples you can always make a meal: canned tomatoes and chickpeas, dried pasta and rice, onions and garlic, a good olive oil and a neutral oil, soy sauce, vinegar, stock cubes, and a core set of spices — cumin, coriander, paprika, chilli and garam masala.
6. Food safety essentials
- Wash hands before cooking and after handling raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs.
- Use separate chopping boards for raw meat and ready-to-eat foods.
- Cook poultry to an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F) and minced meat to 71°C (160°F).
- Keep cold food cold (below 5°C / 40°F) and hot food hot (above 60°C / 140°F).
7. Storing leftovers
Cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate within about two hours of cooking (one hour for rice). Most cooked dishes keep for 3–4 days in the fridge. Label containers with the date, and reheat food until it's steaming hot all the way through.
8. Smart substitutions
- Buttermilk: 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice, rested for 5 minutes.
- Fresh herbs: use about one third the amount of dried herbs.
- Cream in sauces: blended soaked cashews or full-fat coconut milk.
- One egg (in baking): 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water, rested for 10 minutes.
Ready to put this into practice? Browse our recipes.