Sick of being the only one in your relationship who knows where the kitchen is? Feel in need of a little culinary TLC? Well, there's good news: men can be prised off the sofa and persuaded to cook you a romantic meal

A delicious candle-lit dinner provided by your man, rather than the local restaurant, may sound like an impossible dream. To help your partner achieve this mystical feat, you must employ all your persuasion tactics to nudge him in the right direction. Here are eight handy tips to make sure the big night goes smoothly.

1. Introduce the idea gently. When you're eating a delicious dish in your favourite restaurant, slyly mention that you think he could cook it at home. Men's egos are big targets, and flattery never misses. Alternatively, watch romantic food film Like Water for Chocolate and talk about how sexy men look when they're cooking.

2. Remember that men are all-or-nothing creatures. Having never thought of cooking you a meal before, he will now plan it like it's the most difficult thing in the world. Stay calm, and resolve to be amused instead of being irritated by his huffing and puffing. Try and steer him away from attempting anything too ridiculously ambitious. Once he realises how easy making dinner can be, he might do it again - without the fanfare.

3. Take a sneaky look at the recipes in the advance, and ensure you have all the ingredients. Men's minds work very literally - if he's forgotten the extra virgin olive oil and you only have virgin, he won't know they're interchangeable. Instead, he'll feel like everything's ruined and will sulk for the rest of the evening.

4. Make sure he starts early. Add the preparation times for the starter and main course together. You might have the initiative to work on both simultaneously, but he'll do one and then the other.

5. Take charge of the ambiance. He won't remember to put flowers or candles on the table. He's filed this evening under 'cookery', not 'home decorating'. Don't be upset with him for this. Lead by example: do the table-setting yourself - he might notice and remember that the next time.

6. Stay out of the kitchen when he's cooking. Men aren't like women, who see preparing a meal as a bonding process - their brains can only do one thing at a time, and he'll get annoyed if you talk to him while he's concentrating on the recipe. He's not being rude - it's just his way of doing his best for you.

7. Organise aperitifs. It means you can have a drink to distract you from the rumbling in your stomach, he'll enjoy the cooking more, and you'll both come to the table feeling relaxed and romantic.

8. However mediocre the food tastes, pick out one good thing you can praise. If there's absolutely nothing you can praise, blame the recipe. You know it's the fact he tried that makes you love him, not how good the food is - but men see failure as letting you down - he'll worry that if the meal's no good, you won't love him any more.