Tell me about a time a meal you were cooking went completely wrong.

A natural way to answer

I remember trying to bake a cake for my sister's birthday. I forgot to set a timer and it came out completely burnt. I had no time to start again, so I covered it in icing and hoped no one would notice. They did, of course.

Key phrases to use

• overdo it — to do too much of something“I overdid it with the salt and ruined the soup.”
• take your eye off the ball — to stop paying attention to something important“I took my eye off the ball and the deal fell through.”