What is the best way to do a Sunday roast at home? 

Paul McLoughlin says: The best way to cook any roasted meat (except chicken, turkey and pork) is ‘low and slow', which means the temperature of the oven should be as low as possible around 80C and cook for a long time depending on the size of the piece of meat for a minimum of 12 hours, but this may not be practical for the home cook. Cooking times and temperatures vary according to the type of meat (lamb, beef, chicken, pork, bone in or bone out etc) you are cooking and the doneness you wish to achieve (rare, medium-rare, medium, well done?). But all chicken and pork should always be cooked well-done.

To be safe always use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat you are cooking and refer to the temperature index on the instrument to achieve proper results. Meat with bone in will take longer. Generally cooking at 160C for roasts is a safe bet, the time will vary according to the weight of the meat. 

What do you think is the best way to kill live lobster, I heard that it is cruel to just to put them straight in the pot of boiling water?

Florian Trento says: Bring a large pot of water to the boil, when boiling; place the lobster in - head first! This will kill the lobster instantly, plus it's the cleanest method. Sticking a sharp knife into its head, right behind the eyes and then cutting down forward, between the eyes will also kill it instantly, but it might involve some wrestling and it can be messy if not done properly. Research indicates the lobster has no central nervous system or cerebral cortex to register stimuli, thus the creature mostly likely can feel no pain.

I want to create my own authentic five-spice powder but recipes I read vary on the ingredients, do you make your own five-spice powder and can you share a recipe? If you buy your five spice powder what is in it?

Paul Lau says: I usually buy the five-spice powder as it is more convenient. The five-spice powder in Chinese cuisine consists of star aniseed, bay leaf, black cardamom pod, Chinese cinnamon and clove.

A recipe that I recommend which uses the five-spice powder is: Fried chicken with pepper and salt.

Step 1: Fry salt and the five-spice powder together in a wok

Step 2: Rub a whole chicken with the fried spices and marinate it for 30 minutes

Step 3: Rinse off the spices with boiling water only until the skin is cooked

Step 4: Mix Maltose sugar, water and vinegar together and colour the chicken with the mixture

Step 5: Hang the chicken to dry until the surface is no longer sticky for approximately 30 minutes

Step 6: Slowly cook the chicken in oil for 10 minutes

Step 7: Hang the chicken to dry until water is drained out of the chicken for around 30 minutes

Step 8: Deep fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes until the surface is crispy with a golden brown colour

Step 9: Slice the chicken if desired and serve.