Eating at Mr Willis is said to be just like eating at a friend’s place. In chef-owner Craig Willis’s own words, “Here, it just roars.” To learn the way of the Willis, we asked him how to host a successful dinner at home and checked his answers against the traditional wisdom, as laid out by ex-con hostess extraordinaire Martha Stewart.

1. Guests

Stewart: Six is the golden total for a dinner party. Two fewer guests and it turns into a double date; two more and the conversation divides and you miss out on half of it. Try to find an idiosyncratic mix of people who would make an interesting ensemble.

Willis: I hate calling them dinner parties – it’s not a party, it’s just dinner, you know what I mean?

My old friend Gay Bilson, my old chef, she says five people works best. She’s a single person. Part of that I guess throws away the relationship stuff of three wives and three husbands. Five is a good number for me because I’m single as well, and anyone I meet doesn’t seem to have the balls to meet other people.

2. Invitations

Stewart: Sending invitations is not necessary for informal parties. A simple telephone call several weeks in advance is sufficient.

Willis:I’m quite understated, so you know, it’s more like, I’m not doing anything special, don’t bring anything, don’t worry about it – just turn up.

3. Preparation

Stewart: Starting two weeks ahead, load up your MP3 player with plenty of dinner party-friendly albums. Two days before, clear off your counters, maximise the space in your refrigerator, and go to the grocery store. On the day, set table, create centerpiece, put out cocktail napkins, and gather serving platters and utensils. Prepare game hens.

Willis:If I cook dinner at home it would take me all day. I go to Madang Lu – one lady there has really nice produce in small quantities. You’ll go there and see some really great tomatoes and those tomatoes can just be salt and pepper and olive oil. I used to always grow rocket and basil and stuff out the window too. I always used to do a roast chicken – that’s one of the reasons the signature dish here [at Mr Willis] is roast chicken.

4. Ambiance

Stewart: Hollowed-out eggshells make naturally beautiful vases for tiny flower arrangements. Student musicians are a good source for quality and affordable entertainment.

Willis: Clean the house, buy some flowers. Throw the windows open. I’ve got a great old flat that used to be a French hotel. In the summer and the spring you just throw the windows open. Music, darkness, table lamps.

5. Table Setting

Stewart: The only pieces of china that should be part of a table setting are the bread plate and a charger, if desired. Set the silverware on the table in the order it will be used, from the outside in. Any spoons needed before dessert should be placed to the right of the knives.

Willis: I have tonnes of old stuff, tonnes of old knives and forks and nothing matches – old Chinese, old English – and I’ll stack it all up in the middle of the table.

6. Food

Stewart: Try pairing up Cornish game hens with seasonal ingredients. A modern dinner party needs a traditional twist, so serve a palate-cleansing salad after the main course.

Willis:When people start to come I just start bringing food out – so we might end up with four bowls of stuff, quite like the antipasti course here [at Mr Willis]. It might be some quail eggs and it might be red peppers, and it might be some paté or Parma ham or olives, and that’ll just go on the table with bread and people will just start eating. When a bowl’s empty I take it away and bring back another one. It just flows like that all night. It’s how we’d like this place to work.

Why Willis’s Way Works

Willis: It’s simple but people are impressed because it’s delicious, normal food – a big bowl of roast peppers, quail eggs that someone boiled and peeled. Who does that at home?

You can afford to eat in a restaurant every day here. The difference of being at home is the generosity of being in someone’s house and what they’re giving you and doing for you is not the same as buying it or paying for it.

Mr Willis. 3F, 195 Anfu Lu, near Wulumuqi Lu. Tel: 5404 0200.

Martha Stewart’s tips from www.marthastewart.com.