Cooking up a storm

We do an aperitif at Racine called Pousse Rapierre which is incredibly popular. You make it with cr?me d'Armagnac, champagne and a small twist of lemon zest.

Price: £3,000 upwards per dinner party.

Atul Kochhar Trained by the Oberoi Hotel Group in India, Atul holds a Michelin star for his cooking at Tamarind in Mayfair.

'I've been doing dinner parties for four or five years. The business comes through the restaurant, but it's very exclusive: I choose on the basis of price, location and concept. Elaborate menus cost more because I have to hire more people: if I have 20 to cater for, I need at least four or five chefs, plus waiting staff.

'The most memorable thing I've done was a wedding anniversary for an Indian couple at a very big house in Surrey, where I cooked Awadhi food. It was very hard work, but a fantastic location. They hired an Indian interior decorator to dress the room and we had a tandoor there with tables set around it; it was all open-plan, so you couldn't hide anything. I needed two days' leave after it. For Prince Charles we did a polo lunch with Indian summer food - it was straightforward, but my entire back ached afterwards.

'There are problems, inevitably, because you're not in your own domain. You have to adapt and compromise, but you're still expected to produce your best. It's not a game for the faint-hearted: you have to bend over backwards to do it, and with the problems you go through organising equipment and managing money, you end up being paid relatively little.

'Chefs can get tired and panicky and forget things in the oven. If the main dish burns, there's nothing you can do - except pack up and leave before they kill you.'

Tips It's very important to choose the right area of the house for a dinner. The garden is the most impressive place, weather permitting.

The freshness of ingredients is vital; you should also go for plenty of colour.

Choose the wine carefully to complement the food and don't stint on it.

Price: from £300 a head.

Leigh Diggins Although his name suggests a bluesman from the Mississippi Delta, Leigh Diggins is a through-and-through Londoner who trained with Philip Britain at the Capital Hotel, and has been head chef at Sonny's in Barnes for five years. Tim and Lucy Henman, Richard E Grant and Nigel Havers are among his regular private customers, while his occasionals include Bjork, Vanessa Redgrave and Glenn Close.

'People very rarely have an idea of what they want: the menu really depends on how much they're prepared to spend and what's in season. They say, "I loved that halibut I had at the restaurant last week - can you do that?" But some dishes are impossible to recreate in a house, so I do a simpler version. I cook as much as possible in the kitchen at Sonny's, then finish it on site. It doesn't work out that much dearer for the customer than going to a restaurant: the food costs the same, and they usually supply their own wine.

'I always try to check out the customer's kitchen beforehand. At most people's houses you arrive on the night and they're flapping. They say, "Here's the kitchen" and just go off, and you're wondering, "Where's the salt? Where are the cups?"

'I've never done a job where there hasn't been a problem to start with but we're professional enough that if we have disasters, we can hide them. The worst thing is having to do the washing-up, but most people are very good and say, "Just leave it".'

Tips Crab salad is an ideal dish to serve in warm weather.

Try to use fresh English produce, such as halibut (grill it and serve with broad beans and a dandelion-leaf salad) or wild sea trout.

To drink, a ros? such as Vin Ruspo Capezzana is particularly delicious if you're eating outside, or, if you want something a bit more unusual, try a chilled red.

Price: from £25 a head; waiters cost extra.

Pete Gottgens Pete opened the first South African restaurant in London, the Springbok Caf? (now called Dumelas) which he still runs, along with the new Fish Hoek in Chiswick. He has cooked for Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.

'To be asked to cook for a dinner party is the greatest compliment a chef can get; it's also the best PR. The jobs I do are very much for special occasions - people's 40th or 50th birthdays, or anniversaries.

'It's at Mr and Mrs Normal's house that you have the most fun. With high-profile people, you're just there to do a job, while they're busy with their guests. Nelson Mandela is the exception: he always takes time to greet the staff and thank you personally.

'At dinner parties we like to get people to try food they wouldn't normally order. One of the weirdest experiences was with a woman who wanted macaroni cheese. We got three different cheeses - a blue, a goat's cheese and mascarpone - and piped them into each tube of macaroni. It was incredibly labour-intensive.

'The main problem for the chef is that the kitchens don't have the equipment you need - though I've been in some kitchens that are better equipped than my own. Recently I asked one woman, "When did you last use this oven?" It turned out she'd had it for five years and it had never been used - it still had the plastic on the inside. She said, "It was designed to look good, not to cook with." Knives are a nightmare - they're usually blunt as hell - and so are extraction systems. You get children running through your legs while you're working, and then at 6 o'clock you'll be asked, "Can you cook for the kids, too?" It's not a job for the young, I-want-to-be-a-star guys - it's for the experienced chef who's on top of his or her game.'

Tips Try game meats from Central and Southern Africa: not farmed, but real wild game. (Try Kingsland Master Butcher, 140 Portobello Road, W11 020 7727 6067 for ostrich, kangaroo, crocodile and buffalo.)

Prawns always look good as a starter, especially the giant Mozambique ones.

A great summer drink is champagne with mango pur?e. The champagne doesn't have to be expensive - supermarket stuff is fine.

Price: a dinner party costs from £250.