Need to feed a large group at a lower cost? Trust a traybake | Kitchen Aid

What's a special but inexpensive summer meal for eight friends and family?Andy, London E9

When it comes to feeding the masses (or eight friends and family), Meliz Berg, author of Meliz's Kitchen, is all about platters, or "all you can cook slowly baking but still has a summery Mediterranean vibe". It also relieves the pressure: "I want to hang out with my guests, not stand in front of the stove."

While lamb and roast potatoes with garlic, onions, and berry is always a winner around Berg (especially when eaten with salsa verde), chicken thighs are the most economical choice. To that, she would add Aleppo pepper flakes, paprika, dried oregano, tomatoes, broth, and that all-important bay leaf ("reminds me of being on vacation"), then serve it in the roasting dish sprinkled with parsley for more freshness. You'll probably want a little something on the side, and Berg recommends a "nice fresh salad" plus some meze dishes, which can easily be made the night before. "You can't go wrong with a thick and succulent salad of cacik [yogurt, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, dried mint, lemon, salt], hummus and beetroot with lots of garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh coriander and mint, red wine vinegar and salt."

Yohei Furuhashi, meanwhile, suggests that you reproduce a dish vegetarian on the menu at Toklas in London, where he is head chef. Take eggplants (preferably round) and cut them horizontally into 2 cm thick pieces ("like hamburgers"). Season with "olive oil, a little seasoning, spices (dried chilli, dried oregano, coriander seeds) and garlic, and roast in a hot oven until tender. be golden on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside". Meanwhile, cut large juicy tomatoes into large chunks and roast them with garlic and plenty of olive oil. Then, build your dish: "A little tomato, eggplant, then add vegetables of your choice, maybe green beans (we use yellow ones in the restaurant) or peas, and basil". Repeat this process then add a 'texture element', such as crushed almonds, raisins/raisins or pesto - 'this combination is delicious'. As is often the case, some bread on the side would be a great thing.

"Nothing says summer quite like grilled whole tilapia," adds Akwasi Brenya- Mensa, chef-owner of the recently opened pan-African restaurant Tatale in south London. “It's a reasonably priced white fish; collect a whole one from your local fishmonger, where they will descale and gut it for you. The secure fish, Brenya-Mensa marinates it in green shito (a hot Ghanaian sauce made with green peppers, scotch bonnet, ginger, garlic, onion and herbs ) as her Aunt Maud taught her: "Pat the fish dry with a paper towel, then take a pastry brush, and salt and [brush] green shito all over the fish, including the inside of the cavities Stuff a few slices of lemon inside the fish, then "place on your barbecue and grill for 10-15 minutes on each side, depending on its size".

Aunt also knows when it comes to dessert. Berg recalls hers pouring melted white chocolate over frozen mixed berries - "I always love it." can't get much simpler than that.