Nine food lovers have thrown open their doors to cook for strangers as part of Brighton’s very first Open House Dining experiment.

They have prepared menus which have been posted online so diners can sign up and pay them a visit.

The evenings offer the opportunity not only to feast on fine food and to snoop around someone’s home but also to meet new friends.

Depending on the size of the host’s house, there can be between four and ten places round the table – but the £10 tickets are selling fast.

One of the chefs is self-employed marketing consultant Ruth Ratner.

The 41-year-old says she has been taught to cook well and it is now one of her favourite pastimes.

She said the size of her flat in Stanford Road, Seven Dials, will make it a “cheek by jowl” occasion but her menu will more than make up for the lack of space.

She will whip up a chicken liver parfait for starters, roast lamb with nut and apricot stuffing, then brownies for dessert.

Despite having limited space she feels confident after single-handedly cooking for 32 at her recent birthday party at Blanch House in Atlingworth Street, Brighton.

She said: “I feel confident about the cooking – I’m more concerned about where they can sit.

I think I can manage a table and chairs, it will just be very cosy.

“It’s exciting to meet four new people – It’s nice to know that whoever they are, they’ll be interested in food and there will be lots for everyone to learn.”

Ruth admitted that one of her main motivations for entering the competition was to have the chance to “show off ” in the kitchen.

She said: “Food makes me happy and I’d love it if people enjoyed my meal and thought I was a brilliant cook, of course I would – anyone who cooks is looking for a bit of praise.”

She grew up with her grandparents where exotic dining wasn’t the bread and butter of life.

She said: “I grew up having 1940s style meat and veg – garlic was unknown and mayonnaise was positively exciting.

“But my grandma cooked well and I think I’ve always had a sense of her high standards.”

The Open House Dining challenge has been set up by Pretty Clever Events based in Church Road, Hove.

Organiser Sam Harrington- Lowe said Brighton and Hove’s natural vibrancy and sociability made it the perfect city for the project and she has high hopes all sorts of budding friendships would come out of the experience.

She said: “Brighton already has the Open House art movement, which is a reflection of great sociability and this is an extension of that.”

Another entrant, publisher Laura Lockington, who wrote cooking book Cupboard Love last year, is going to be both a chef and a diner.

She said: “People love seeing inside people’s houses and having a good nose around.

“With my chef hat on I’ll be having six strangers round to my flat in Adelaide Crescent and cooking up a broad bean salad as well as coq au vin and more.

“I'm passionate about local, organic food so the game will be from the area as will my platter of Sussex cheeses.

“The evening will be as much about social lubrication and being good fun as the food.

“I have a French flatmate who will be in charge of entertaining the guests for the moment that I am swinging round the kitchen with a large glass of wine in my hand.”

A tasty meal isn’t the only prize in the project.

Each diner will be asked to judge the dinner and fill in a Food Critics’ Card – the host with the highest score and the diner with the most creative and insightful review will win plus-one tickets for a five-course dinner at the Food and Drinks Awards at Mannings Heath Golf Club in Horsham later in the year.

Three of the menus have already sold out so make sure you put your name down before it’s too late.

Another chef, 35-year-old Jasper Aykroyd, is giving his night an agricultural theme in recognition of growing up on a farm on the Downs.

His dinner party for ten sold out within days of being advertised as his menu of crayfish on toast to start and home cured bacon chops as a main proved a favourite.

He said: “I love food.

I make bacon as a job so the night will have a rural theme with hedgerow fruits, wild herbs and very high quality local meat.

“Brighton has such a massive variety of people, it’s the perfect place to invite ten strangers into your home and know it’s going to be interesting.

“I watch a lot of Come Dine With Me and I think we’ve all learnt that getting the champagne cracked open as soon as possible is the recipe for success.”

Jasper and his girlfriend regularly host dinner parties at their home in Dean Vale, Brighton.

He added: “I can say I’m a good cook but I think the proof will be there on the critics’ cards.”

There’s a £10 registration fee for wannabe hosts, who must submit a three-course menu beforehand.

If the menu is approved each chef will receive £5 for each guest to cover the cost of ingredients – although it is up to you how much you spend.

You can throw as many dinner parties as you like.

Budding food critics pick the menu they fancy and then pay £10.

Wine is not guaranteed to be supplied by the chef but Italian wine specialists Tengreenbottles have sponsored the event and are giving one bottle for every starter and main course.

To apply, visit www.prettyclever.co.uk