Frankfurt, Germany  - The hungry guests are gathered around the table, eagerly awaiting their evening meal but over in the kitchen it is simply chaos.

Preparing a three-course meal is a potentially stressful experience. Indeed a simple invitation to friends, relatives or colleagues to spend a few happy hours dining can easily degenerate into a fiasco with a burnt casserole in the oven and red faces all around.

Of course, even people who only cook now and again can manage to come up with a perfect, three-course evening meal that would do justice to any restaurant. Required are judicious planning, a minimum of manual dexterity and sufficient time to prepare.

"The main thing is to pick a menu which is not too ambitious," explained Claudia Lenz from Essen in Germany. She has written a successful book about entertaining guests at home.

"That means avoiding anything too technical." After all, it does not have to be a sophisticated, multi-layered terrine. "It is better to go for something straightforward which you can make a really good job of."

The components of the meal should be chosen to complement each other. "The idea is to build up towards the main course," said Bobby Braeuer who heads a federation of chefs in the city of Frankfurt.

"The classic way to begin is with a salad, a soup or a fish starter before switching to a meat dish for the main course and finishing off with a dessert."

The expert recommends varying the ingredients depending on what is in season - for instance pumpkins are a great idea for an autumn meal. "Obviously the composition of a dinner depends to a large extent on the experience of whoever is preparing it and how daring they are when it comes to cooking," he added.

"Buying the right ingredients is the first step to creating a perfect meal. "After checking to see what you have got in stock you should draw up a list of items which have something in common in order to reduce the time spent the trawling around the supermarket shelves," advises Dirk Raddatz, a chef from Berlin.

For the meal itself, Lenz recommends a detailed plan. "You can draw up a chronological list of "to do's" and decide what can be prepared in advance."

Even the amateur chef needs to take all sorts of things into account such as how long it takes for ingredients to thaw before use or whether they need to stand or set before being served and what needs taking care of before the guests arrive. Ingredients should be measured out, washed, chopped and placed in individual bowls so that the cook does not have to keep stopping and assembling items.

"You can pin up the timetable in your kitchen and refer to it at any time during the preparation procedure," said Lenz

"Adhering to the discipline of what the French call "mise en place" or "everything in place" is a key factor in cooking a successful three-course meal, said Raddatz. He is a personal chef from Berlin who is available for hire to shop, prepare meals and to demonstrate cooking techniques.

"There is no need to be chopping the parsley just before you serve the meal," said the cook. "That is just a recipe for stress." All the tasks which do not have to be completed immediately before serving, such as peeling vegetables, washing salad or braising meat should be done in good time.

It can also be helpful to choose dishes which can be prepared several days in advance. "A spicy vegetable or clear soup as a starter are easy to make beforehand," said Lenz. "Another ideal starter is a salad combination using blanched ingredients which can also be readied with a day in hand."

For the main course, a roasted joint is ideal since it can be cooked earlier on and re-heated in its sauce with the slices portioned just in time for serving.

"When it comes to fish, the filleted variety is the least trouble especially if it can be roasted in the oven on a bed of vegetables," advises Lenz.

Whole fish is easy to grill in the oven or in a roasting bag. Cream desserts are simple to make too, with endless varieties available using fruit and toppings in different flavours. (dpa)