New England lobster roll

Step 1: Bring a very large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Check the 2 live lobsters are alive and moving; don't cook any that are dead. Chill them in the freezer for 20 minutes to make them drowsy.

Step 2: Plunge the lobsters head first into the boiling water, cover and cook for 9–10 minutes from when the water returns to the boil. They are done when the shells are bright red and an antenna pulls out easily.

Step 3: Lift into a bowl of iced water for 5 minutes, then twist off the claws and tails. Crack them, pull out the meat, remove the dark vein from the tail, and cut into 2 cm chunks. Chill.

Step 4: Mix the 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 celery stick, 1 tbsp chives, ¼ tsp salt and 1 pinch black pepper and fold through the lobster. A common mistake is chopping the meat small and drowning it in dressing, which makes it taste like any seafood salad.

Step 5: Spread the flat sides of the 4 split-top hot-dog buns or soft finger rolls with 1 ⅜ oz butter and toast them in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 1–2 minutes a side, until golden and crisp.

Step 6: Line each bun with 4 butter lettuce leaves if using, pile in the lobster and eat straight away, with crisps and a pickle. Keep any leftover lobster in the fridge and eat within a day.