Heston Blumenthal: Not all potatoes are right for all dishes. When I first started looking into which spud was best for chip-making, I discovered that the key was the amount of “dry matter” the potato contained — what would be left if you removed the skin and the water content. Less than 18 per cent and the potatoes won’t give you a decent chip.

Gordon Ramsay: You want to aim for a mix of about four or five parts oil to one part vinegar. To make it less cloying, I would mix 120ml extra virgin olive oil with 120ml groundnut oil, 50ml white wine vinegar, a couple of teaspoons of sherry vinegar, plus sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. If it is still too thick, you can always let it down with a splash of water.

Richard Corrigan: Boost the juices and add some lovely buttery, lemony flavour by squeezing half a lemon over the bird before roasting it, tucking the squeezed half inside the body cavity with some fresh thyme and rubbing the skin with softened butter scattered with a little more thyme. When the chicken is cooked, take it out of the roasting tin and let it rest. Skim the fat from the top of the juices and put the tin on the hob over a moderate heat. Now pour in a good glassful of white wine. Bring it to the boil, stirring to get all the bits of chicken from the bottom of the tin, then strain through a fine sieve into a pan. Bring back to the boil, season and add another squeeze of lemon juice.

Angela Hartnett: Because you’re not putting in enough arm work. Add the milk slowly, giving the sauce a really good beating with a wooden spoon after each addition. Don’t add more milk until you have got rid of any lumps.

Tom Norrington–Davies: Fan-assisted ovens distribute heat more efficiently, making them great for baking. But it’s a very dry heat — not so good for things such as roasting joints and baking bread. Add a gratin dish of water to the oven, or throw a glass of water (or wine) in the roasting pan to get some steam going.

John Torode: That’s probably because you are using too much. A little white wine vinegar helps, but you need only a capful. Also remember not to salt the water. Salt is the poached egg’s enemy — it will make the white break up and it won’t set. One of the secrets of keeping the white together and getting a nice runny yolk is to use very fresh farm eggs. When an egg is just laid, its albumen (the white of the egg) is at its most solid and thick.

Yotam Ottolenghi: A few crucial points will help with this. The pastry mustn’t be dry, as this tends to create cracks, so if it feels dry add some more water. When you make the pastry, and again when you roll it, you are stretching the gluten in the flour, so you need to let it rest, relax and shrink back to size after each stage. That way it does most of its shrinking before it goes in the oven.

Allegra McEvedy: Quite simply, you’re over-cooking them. I use a rubber spatula as it gives better control over consistency than the rounded end of a wooden spoon. Also, opt for a decently weighty pan, which will ensure even, controlled cooking. And, most importantly, get those soft, creamy-looking eggs (known as baveuse) out of the pan asap. Ideally, everything else should be ready (warm plate, toast buttered, etc) before you swirl a knob of butter into the hot pan, followed by your beaten eggs (with a splash of double cream, a fraction of Dijon mustard and seasoning). Some rapid strokes of the spatula, and that’s it — in and out in two minutes, maximum.

Sally Clarke: You are probably cooking them for too long. Simply whisk three egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until stiff, and gradually whisk in 190g sugar little by little until the meringue is thick and glossy. Finally, whisk in a dash of vanilla extract, 2tsp cornflour and 1tsp white wine vinegar. Shape on silicone wax paper, either individually or spread into a thick disc for a “pavlova”. The cooking is the next tricky part – preheat the oven to 140C/gas 1 and bake for 40 minutes, or until crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. They should hardly colour at all.

Richard Bertinet: It sounds as though you have got your oil too hot before you put them in and you are over-browning them, instead of letting them cook gently so that their sweetness comes out. I suggest you put your oil, onions and garlic into a cold pan on the hob, then they will come up to temperature very slowly. Once they start to sizzle you can just keep them ticking over gently, stirring well, until they soften.

Mary Berry: When fruit drops to the bottom it is because of one of three things: the mixture is too sloppy, the fruit is too wet or you have used the wrong fat. Usually you will have soaked your dried fruit in some sort of booze or juice, and you need to leave it until all the liquid has been taken up by the fruit. I leave mine for a couple of days, but if the fruit is old it can take longer. If you don’t have time to leave the fruit, drain off the liquid and pour it over the cake after it is baked. Whole glacé cherries are the most liable to sink, so halve or quarter them and wash and dry them before soaking.

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