Is there anything a great meal can’t fix? We don’t think so, and we sense that the few million members of this online community definitely agree. After all, food provides us with nourishment and comfort, and even one glance at a delicious-looking plate makes us jump with excitement. So when we look at pictures shared by these talented community members, we’re presented with a visual experience of food we can almost taste.

Close-up images of juicy and delicious food instantly make us drool and want to scroll down for more. Well, we’ve long heard of the chef’s maxim that sight matters as much as taste. Even the smallest details about a dish’s appearance like the shape and the texture can even alter the way we perceive its flavor and smell. We had a chat about this topic with Ellen Manning, a freelance journalist, writer, and founder of the Eat With Ellen blog in a previous interview. "As everyone says, you eat with your eyes as well as your mouth, so how your dish looks matters as much as how it tastes," she told Bored Panda.

Serving and eating from an attractive plate seems extremely important in the cooking universe. But when we asked Ellen about how we can make our food look more appetizing, she told us that a lot of this could come down to preference. However, "arranging food in a way that's pleasing to the eye is key — think of it as the main part of the dish being the centerpiece, with other elements around it designed to help it stand out, and to complement it in terms of color."

"It's important to think of appearance in three dimensions, not just two, so consider using height (that's why you see so many dishes with elements stacked up on each other). That said, sometimes less is more, so try not to make your plate too 'busy'. You don't want people to be put off by a plate of chaos."

Putting in the effort to create a fabulous meal makes us instantly want to immortalize it by grabbing our phones and snapping a few pictures. But if you ever tried to capture an aesthetically pleasing photo, you know that it can be quite a task. Luckily for us, the food blogger was ready to lend a helping hand and offer a few pieces of advice on how we can take our food photography skills to a whole new level and make sure our pictures would stand out from the crowd.

According to Ellen, while there are many different ways to take food pictures, there are some handy rules we can keep in mind. "45 degree [angle] always works well but lots of people love a 'flat lay' — when you take a picture from above the plate," she said and added that often it's all about trial and error.

"Try different angles, or have different elements as the focus of your shot. You might think it would be the steak, but sometimes the best picture might be focused on the chips, with the steak behind them. Play around and see what works. But remember — while food photos are great, so is eating a hot meal!"

But for the people out there who feel hesitant about their cooking skills, this can appear daunting. Some individuals seem to be born already wearing their apron and have a natural talent for creating something extraordinary in the kitchen. While it’s always fun to see gourmands in their element, this can put a damper on people who wish to improve their cooking skills, yet don’t know where to start. So let’s take a few steps back, shall we?

Although Ellen told us she’s no expert, she happily shared some of the most common cooking mistakes amateurs make and offered advice on how to avoid them. "From experience, I'd say the biggest cooking mistakes amateurs make are not planning and preparing properly, and not allowing enough time," Ellen said. "Even the very best chefs make sure everything is prepared in advance, and they know how much time they need to execute certain dishes." 

"If you're less confident, it's even more important to do this and to build in a bit of extra time so you're not rushing and getting stressed. I've ruined many a meal because I tried to rush, didn't read the recipe in advance and get everything ready, then ended up trying to do too much in too little time, which inevitably causes mistakes," the blogger revealed.

Luckily, there are plenty of easy-to-follow cooking tips that can up your culinary game right away. And one easy way to avoid making a mess in the kitchen is to simply make a plan and stick to it. "Take time to read the recipe, to check you've got the right ingredients, and to plan what you need and what you'll need to do," Ellen suggested. "This is even more important if you're cooking several dishes at the same time. There's many an adage that says 'perfect planning prevents poor performance' — or words to that effect — and it's no different in the kitchen."

"If you're making a complicated dish, get everything chopped up, measured out, and weighed in advance. This will help. Also, try to clear up as you go along (or get someone else to do it). Tidy workspace, tidy mind, and all that. It will keep you organized and calm if you're not working in chaos," Ellen concluded.