No matter how much the likes of Anna Jones, Tessa Ward, and the Hemsley sisters make their culinary skills look so effortless and beautiful, we all know cooking in a kitchen is no mean feat.

From Nigella Lawson once admitting she is a 'bit of a kitchen klutz' to Jackson & Levine recently revealing it once took 12 attempts to make a successful lemon tart for a supper club, it's refreshing to hear mistakes are part and parcel in creating wholesome grub for friends. Especially when faced with an electric oven, a stack of knives and a wonky set of scales you bought from Wilko during your first year of university.

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And, while we'd love nothing more than to spend hours each night pouring over the pages of the year's most talked-about cookery books, testing out our skills (and patience) with a mille-feuille and cheese soufflé recipe, more often than not we find ourselves wacking a salmon fillet in the oven while we quickly take a shower and get into our pyjamas.

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However, that doesn't mean our weekday culinary eats have to be boring, especially when there are so many expert chefs in the world willing to provide info on how to drastically transform our kitchen skills.

Earlier this week, a Reddit thread put a handful of chefs to the test with the simple question: 'What do us amateurs keep doing wrong?'

Here's what they had to say:

Stop stirring everything all. the. time.

Sometimes you need to leave it alone. That steak. That piece of fish. That stock. Just because you're constantly moving doesn't mean you're improving your food.

Cook vegetables before adding sauce

The veggies in your sauces and stuff- cook that sh*t first. Do not add raw onions to already simmering tomato sauce and expect it to taste good. Also, huge amounts of random spices make food taste bad. Learn what they are and where to use them.

Stabilise your cutting board

Put a damp napkin or towel underneath your cutting board to keep it stable. You can wail on whatever you want however hard you want with the peace of mind that your cutting board won't go flying off the counter along with your food and *sharp knife.

Knuckles first

Keep your fingertips behind your knuckles, your knife in front of your knuckles, and keep your blade on the cutting board. Your fingers will thank you.

Back off the salt

Things would be so much better if people added salt during the cooking process and not at the very beginning or at the very end.

Don't religiously follow a recipe

Don't be afraid to experiment and adjust recipes to your liking. Taste things as you go to adjust seasoning, salt, sugar, and acidity levels. Don't just be a robot following a recipe. Food is an art.

Happy cooking!

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Katie O'Malley
Site Director

Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.