Chefs of savoury cuisine are frequently disdainful of pastry chefs, accusing us of being 'too precise' and formulaic. There's some truth in the latter accusation. In professional baking, recipes can be written out in percentages rather than weights. As long as the right ingredients are used, the mixing techniques are executed correctly and the dish is baked at the right temperature, the finished product should be the same time and time again.

Michael Chu, who created Cooking for Engineers (cookingforengineers.com), and the site's other contributors aren't quite as precise as pastry chefs - although they occasionally come close. No surprise, given the name of the website, and its tagline: 'Have an analytical mind? Like to cook? This is the site to read!'

In a recipe for osso buco (pictured), Chu doesn't go so far as specifying the precise weight of a clove of garlic and he sometimes leaves a little leeway in the amount of ingredients ('about 400 grams'), but he's certainly methodical. The recipes have pictures of each stage of the dish plus detailed instructions while the printable versions are written out as engineer-friendly charts, with just brief notes.