Max and Eli Sussman have one burning ambition – to make people cook. Here, while enjoying a onefinestay at Prospect Place II, Brooklyn, the chef brothers get busy in the kitchen, invite some friends and explain what makes eating at home so special – even if that home isn’t necessarily your own

‘We have always cooked, we helped out a lot at home as kids and then started working in kitchens pretty much from high school. We even took over the kitchen at summer camp. It was a Jewish kibbutz-style camp, but it served up the usual chicken nuggets etc. We threw all of that out and started from scratch, making our own pizza, cooking with vegetables from the garden. That was a long time before it became cool.’

‘We don’t waste time running around to loads of different stores looking for various spices and ingredients. Our type of cooking is for those who don’t want to spend days of prepping but still want to make good food and impress their guests.’

‘As private chefs who cater to parties, we have often cooked in other people’s houses, so hitting the kitchen at Prospect Place II was just fine. What people all seem to have in common is where they store cutlery and bowls, they’re always easy to find. As to pots and pans, they could be hiding in the basement, or hanging up from the ceiling somewhere. The trick is to have a 10-minute walkthrough before you start cooking, and locate everything you’ll need before you turn on the hob.’

‘We like to make middle-zone food that can still impress, taking familiar recipes but then adding something elaborate.’

‘Cooking for friends at home rather than going out for a meal makes for a much more intimate experience – you spend time together making the meal happen, which is much more enjoyable than having a chef do it for you.’

‘At a dinner party it is definitely not the food that is most important. You can serve up the finest dishes ever and still feel deeply uncomfortable. Creating a warm atmosphere with good friends and loads of wine is what matters.’

‘For big groups of friends we like dishes that can sit around on the counter for a long time – big salads, cooked vegetables dressed in light dressings, pasta. Another trick to impress easily is to serve up handmade pasta — linguini, orecchiette, whatever — and people’s jaws drop.’

‘The difference between eating at home and in a restaurant with friends is that at home, the food is secondary and your friends the centre of attention. If you all go out to a fancy restaurant and pay $100 a head, and the food’s not right, you’re all just going to be pissed off.’

‘Sure there are dirty dishes and all that afterwards, but the feeling you get, sitting with friends to eat what you have cooked… all together in the same experience. It’s comforting.’

Max and Eli Sussman live in Brooklyn and work as chefs, Max at The Cleveland and Eli at the Mile End Deli. Their latest book, The Best Cookbook Ever, is published by Olive Press. Photographs are courtesy of Olive Press.