Maximum impact, minimum effort is the magic formula when it comes to midweek dinners and snacks – so microwave meals, ready-made cakes and jars of pasta sauce are always handy. The only trouble is, these time-saving ingredients can often look a little lacklustre. Happily, though, there are some easy ways to make shop-bought food look homemade (we won’t tell, if you don’t). From secret ingredients to final flourishes, these simple hacks will take your dishes from zero to hero.

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover 33 easy tricks that are sure to transform your food presentation – counting down to our cleverest hack of all.