So you want to treat the love of your life to a romantic home cooked dinner for two? Or you’ve got a hot date and you want to impress. If you’re like 95.7% of the male population you are shit scared about having to cook.

I’ll give you a tip. If you make an effort in the kitchen and an effort in your presentation, the outcome won’t be effected if your meal turns out to be worse than a dogs dinner. Us women just like you men to make an effort. We like to see you’ve sweated over a hot stove, cut your finger and got chilli in your eye all as means to impress us.

So, follow one of the recipes paying attention to the presentation and follow the tips below to set the mood with food.

Setting the mood with the table
Before she arrives make sure the table is set, the television is off and something slow is on the stereo. The following might sound really obvious, walking into a house where the table is set gives the evening a sense of occasion.

Get as creative as you can with:

• a tablecloth
• candles
• wine and water glasses
• plates
• cutlery
• flowers - whatever is in season in your neighbours garden

Step by step:

1. Place the tablecloth over the dining table, if you don’t have a coffee table improvise with your coffee table using some cushions or pillows to sit on.
2. Lay the table with the cutlery. It’s generally more romantic sitting opposite each other. This wa you can stare into each others eyes and play footsies at the same time. Don’t forget if you’re setting for main and entree work from the outside in, so as you are going to eat the entree first, the entree cutlery sits on the outside of the main meal cutlery. If you are serving dessert put the cutlery for this on top of where the plate would sit. Look at the picture if you still don’t get it…
3. Put out wine glasses and a glass each for water. If you are going over the top (and I hope you are), then you’ll need a red wine glass, white wine glass and water glass. Position these glasses around the top of the knive.
4. Right now are you starting to get in the mood? Oh, I forgot- if you’re having bread place the bread plate on the left hand side of the forks.
5. Now add some pizaz. Get your candles and your flowers (which are hopefully in a vase or jar now with some water) and arrange them in the middle of the table. Not so it obscures the view of your woman, you don’t want to be looking at her through a large bunch of lillies all night. Now, arrange. Move the candles around to see what looks best, move the flowers around, find something that looks good.