Food keeps us alive. Good food makes us grateful to be so.

If you come to think of it, a beautifully made dish is quite like magic, and the first thing that defines it is the element of surprise.

Just as a magician transforms one thing to another, a chef has the ability to create a culinary masterpiece out of the most basic ingredients.

With a masterful enough dish, you can perform your own version of a rabbit hat trick and create hunger out of thin air.

And just as a magic trick can deceive your eyes, a good dish leaves you marvelling at what it was that you just tasted. What if we told you, for instance, that what you see below isn’t egg and bread but mango mousse, vanilla cream, biscuits and chocolate?

Mind you, being a chef is tricky business. That tiniest pinch of extra salt can turn your curry into a calamity and a big enough air pocket has been known to collapse entire soufflés in a matter of seconds. That said, if you manage to do it just right, you can pull off a successful vanishing act.

The art of understanding food is a beautiful one. Chefs have the power to play with palates, textures, colours and aromas; to provide a gastronomic experience that leaves the stomach full but the tongue tingling for more. And despite the illusion and the magic of it all, that happiness you feel at the end of a good meal certainly real.

It‘s time to go put on your aprons and preheat the oven.