So you’ve got it in your head that you’re going to cook for your next date. You’re imagining yourself relaxed and confident, smiling, taking care of everything with ease and grace, maybe wearing a smart apron to give you an air of professionalism, or a crisp tea towel thrown over your shoulder. Your date will sit nearby, drink in hand, smiling and chatting and obviously very impressed by your culinary prowess (among other things). Their face will look like the heart eyes emoji brought to life.

But if you’re not careful, it might look like this instead: You, panicked and running around a hot kitchen; your date, ignored and drinking on an empty stomach as dinner preparations spiral out of control. You, doing a mountain of dishes while your now-drunk date passes out on the couch. Not exactly sexy.

Don’t let things get out of hand. Let’s set some ground rules for date night cooking that will keep you in scenario one, shall we?

Keep the Recipe Simple

The biggest mistake you can make when cooking for a date is trying too hard. If you make something too complicated or elaborate, you’ll spend more time swearing over your pots and pans than flirting. So keep it relatively chill: make something you’ve made before. A pasta. Steak. Your famous tacos. Something you can cook blindfolded (do not cook blindfolded, save the blindfolds for later).

Impress With Ingredients

You still want to add a touch of luxury to the meal, though—you are trying to wow someone with this dinner, after all. So make up for the relative simplicity of the food with a few deluxe flourishes: splurge on the good aged steak, or buy a tiny truffle to shave over pasta. Kick things off with a nice cheese, or end them with a couple insanely rich chocolates. Bonus points for things you know your date is into: maybe get a bottle of wine from the region of Italy where she studied abroad, or pick up some charcuterie from the restaurant he mentioned he loves.

Be Smart About the Menu

This should go without saying, but keep the food somewhat inconsequential. This is not the time to break out your infamous so-spicy-it-hurts recipes, or anything that is super greasy. If you’re hoping for some, uh, after-dinner festivities, you want to make sure everyone is feeling up for it. It’s also a good idea to check on allergies or food preferences if you haven’t been dating for that long. Trying to serve pork shoulder to a vegetarian will not get you that prized fourth date.

Prep Like a Fiend

Every single thing that can be chopped, washed, or measured should be chopped, washed, or measured before your date shows up. And when you’re done with all of it, clean the kitchen. Not only does this buy you time, it also keeps after-dinner cleaning to a minimum—and gives you a little bit of that cooking show flair.

Let Them Bring Something

This is a personal call. You might be tempted to say no when your date asks if they can bring anything, but there are a lot of people in this world who will feel like jerks showing up empty-handed. Do these people a favor and suggest something specific: obviously a bottle of wine works, or something to eat for dessert. Ask them to make a playlist themed to the menu you’re preparing. Or be cheeky and suggest they bring their favorite coffee—for the next morning. Wink!

Dress The Part

The apron thing wasn’t a joke. Get a crisp, clean, professional-style cooking apron from just about any kitchen supply store. It’ll look supremely legit when you answer the door, and it’ll keep your nice shirt from getting stained while you cook. Now go get ‘em, tiger.

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