Chef's secrets..please share?!

Chef's secrets..please share?

Are you a chef or just work (ed) in a restaurant kitchen and know a few tricks?? Please share

I love to cook and always make everything from scratch but there's some things I tend to fail at time after time... for example

bake chicken/turkey with crisp skin and where breast is not totally dry while thighs are a bit too pink by the bone

Cakes don't turn out as light and spoungy as I would like

well there's lots more I wont bore you with the whole list..

Thanx a lot look forward to reading answers

To have poultry that is crisp skinned, but juicy and fully cooked inside, use an oven bag. They are no brainers, just follow the directions and the best part, clean up is easy.
The problem with your cakes sounds like the batter is not being mixed long enough at a high enough speed. You have to incorporate a lot of air into the mixture to get it to bake light. Also make sure your oven heats evenly and nobody slams the doors while you are baking.