Why is my bread dense? Hollandaise split? Rice gluggy? Send a dish and a symptom; get the likely cause and head chef Cristopher's verified fix. Answered: bread or pizza dough dense, hollandaise or bearnaise split, rice mushy, mash gluey, roast veg soggy, seared meat grey, caramel grainy, pastry shrinking, muffins tough, chicken breast dry, garlic bitter. Refused, never guessed: allergens, storage, leftovers, reheating, safe temperatures. Only a 200 answer is charged; refusals and 404s are free.

How much to buy: e.g. how much brisket for 120 people at 180 g cooked each. Send ingredient, portions and portion size (g, kg, lb, oz); get the weight to buy (best/mid/worst, rounded up) from head chef Cristopher's verified trim and cook-loss ranges. Add price per kg/lb and menu price ex GST/VAT for total cost, cost per portion and that ingredient's food cost %, with workings. Refused, never guessed: allergen, curing and preserving terms. Only a 200 answer is charged; refusals and 404s are free.

Scale a recipe from 4 to 50 servings (serves), double or halve it, with head chef Cristopher's verified rules. Each line says why: straight maths, fixed ratio (garlic, onion, ginger, thickeners) or start low and taste up (salt in a soup), plus scaling-up tips: roasting, frying, stir-fry, braises, cakes, bread. Units: g, kg, ml, l, tsp, tbsp, lb, oz, cups. Refused, never guessed: allergen-free, curing, pickling, preserving and fermenting recipes. Only a 200 answer is charged; refusals are free.

What can I use instead of buttermilk, self-raising flour, creme fraiche or sour cream? Get head chef Cristopher's verified swaps: yes, no or depends (and on what), with amount and context where given, including swaps not to make. Also fresh herbs, butter, oil, sugar, flour, fresh tomatoes, fresh stock, whole spices; others get a 404 listing them. Refused, never guessed: allergens and dairy-, egg- or gluten-free swaps, storage, preserving. Only a 200 answer is charged; refusals and 404s are free.

Raw vs cooked weight and cost per portion: what brisket yields after trim and cook loss, from head chef Cristopher's verified ranges. Send ingredient, weight bought, price paid, optional portions; get usable and cooked weight (best/mid/worst), cost per kg and per portion, with workings. Also whole salmon, pumpkin, onion, soft herbs (trim only); others 404 with suggestions. Refused, never guessed: allergen, curing and preserving terms. Only a 200 answer is charged; refusals and 404s are free.