My father is known in my family, among other things, for making the best poached eggs.

Among the other things he is known for is not telling how he makes them.

His recipe was passed down by his father and remains a closely guarded secret: the kitchen door is closed whenever he’s at work: whirlpooling, or adding vinegar, or whatever his mysterious technique involves.

My father is not alone in the culinary world in keeping recipes close to his chest.

In the late 1930s, Colonel Sanders developed the ‘Original Recipe’ for his Kentucky Fried Chicken – a coating of 11 herbs and spices, and a pressure fryer to cook the chicken.

To keep the recipe a secret, stores were sent the herb and spice concoction already mixed, rather than putting it together themselves.

Similarly secretive are Coca Cola, whose formula was invented by John Pemberton in 1891.

Legend has it that only two employees know the complete formula and are banned from travelling together, in case Pepsi saw it as too good an opportunity to miss.

But not every cook is so secretive.

This week sees the release of Supper with Charlie Bigham, a collection of recipes by the popular ready meal chef.

Bigham first went into business back in the mid-1990s, offering a more upmarket alternative to the convenience food of the day.

The pitch was comfort food – classics like lasagne, fish pie or moussaka that you could slam in the oven after a hard day at work.

Today, Charlie Bigham is the fastest growing Grocery brand in the UK, with annual sales of £120 million and over a million people eating his meals every week.

With all that success, why publish a cookbook containing the recipes that made the company so profitable?

Firstly, what Bigham offers up are variations of cookery classics: it’s not like he invented meatballs or chicken korma, just his own version of them.

And secondly, I think he’s calculating that people will be intrigued to see how his meals are put together. This reinforces the sense that his concoctions are made up of real rather than processed ingredients.

And also, when people attempt to make the recipes, they’ll realise how much work is involved and reach for his ready-made version instead.

At the weekend, with the weather turning to autumn. I had a go at making his beef bourguignon.

The recipe contained just the 21 ingredients, and took a good 45 minutes to chop and put together, and another 2½ hours in the oven to cook.

The end result was extremely tasty, but on a weekday, I only have time for his pre-made version. Or my father’s poached eggs, if only I knew the recipe.