Ana Jovancicevic

Entrepreneur and celebrated dinner party hostess
Brooklyn, New York

In New York City, a place with so many talented chefs, it’s

pretty rare for a home cook to stand out. Ana Jovancicevic

(pronounced yo-van-chich-ev-ich) is the exception. An invitation

to one of her famous dinner parties is sought after by chefs and

food critics (Village Voice food critic Robert Sietsema is a frequent

guest). James Beard Award–winning food writer Rachel Wharton

says of Jovancicevic, “She is an amazing thrower of parties—she

goes all the way: whole lambs, trays of stuffed peppers, and big

bowls of couscous.”

At her home in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, Jovancicevic describes

the party she threw the previous Christmas. “I had seventy-five

people,” she says. “I roasted a baby lamb and a baby pig—I had

to cut them in half to make them fit in my oven—and piled every

surface in my apartment with food.” Tables were covered with

twenty-foot-long pizza biancas, assorted meats and cheeses, and

five kinds of punch.

How did she pull it off?

“I’m very organized. I start planning three weeks ahead; I call

the meat guy and order the pig and the lamb. Whatever I don’t

make, I buy.”