Have you ever cooked a dish and accidentally added too much of something, making your food inedible? Instead of starting over, we asked four chefs at some of South Africa’s top hotels for their cooking fixes.

Here are their tips for fixing a dish when you’ve been heavy handed with the salt, the sour, the chilli or bitter tastes.

How do you fix a dish that is too salty?

Nthabiseng Phiri, Demi Chef de Partie at Medeo at The Palazzo: Depending on what it is, either cream or milk normally does it for me.

How do you fix a dish that is too sour?

Beverley Bogatsu, Pastry Chef at San Deck & Restaurant: Depending on what the mixture is, I'd use a bit of cream and drop of vanilla essence to cut down the sour taste. Also some good quality thick cream cheese can help to tone it down.

How do you fix a dish that is too spicy?

Gouwah Kafoor, Head Chef at Sandton Convention Centre: Add coconut milk/ fresh cream and lime to cut through the chilli.

How do you fix a dish that is too bitter?

Precious Malebye, Sous Chef at Level 4 at 54 on Bath: I would add something sweet (like a pinch of sugar or honey)  or something sour like a little bit of lemon juice or vinegar to try and neutralise the flavour and make sure that it won’t affect the consistency of the dish. The ‘fix’ will depend on the dish.