Never have I felt more sympathy for my parents than I did on my return from my first self-catering holiday as an adult. As the self-elected cook for the holiday I was in charge of planning, preparing and (more often than I’d like) tidying up after all the meals we ate for the week. Self-catered holidays can be great - often cheaper, and a wonderful opportunity for leisurely experiments in the kitchen - but if you go in without a plan you can often be left feeling even more in need of a holiday at the end than the start.