Learning to cook

With some nervousness I turned up for the first cookery lesson of my life at an expensive Paris hotel off the Champs Elysées. 1.G I had cooked for twenty years, but never professionally, and here I was, on a course run by the well-known French chef, Guy Dupois. Would I be the only middle-aged housewife on the course, surrounded by keen young professionals, all eager to learn from the new guru of French cooking?

I found myself in a group of twenty-five people, and their ages ranged from their early twenties through to their late fifties. 2.F I was by no means the oldest, and, as I was to discover, by no means the least experienced. Perhaps the only two characteristics we all had in common were our ability to understand French (though not all of us could speak it well) and our ability to pay the 10,000 francs for a weekend's cookery course.

Guy Dupois is a flamboyant personality. He dresses in extravagantly colourful clothes with none of those typical white chef's hats and aprons, and he speaks French at tremendous speed, making no allowances for the half of us who were foreigners on the course. 3. B We were waiting silently in the kitchen for him to arrive, and he burst into the room, already talking and giving instructions as the door opened. Within five minutes he had us peeling potatoes, slicing carrots and chopping onions.

Everything had to be done with great speed, and cut exactly to the size he required. 4.A Slice your carrots too thin and he rejects them with a disdainful gesture. "Those are only fit for the soup," he would say, before grabbing a potato from the hand of another student and showing him how to peel it in the way he wanted.

After a session of preparing ingredients for cooking, but no cooking, he moved on to other secrets. We were told to pick up the different foods and smell them. 5.E For Guy Dupois, the smell of the raw ingredients is a key to the composition of the various dishes we would later concoct. He insists that the best cooking is invention, not following recipes. You cannot taste the food before you cook it, but you can have an idea of the flavours that combine by smelling them before you start, and this allows you to imagine the finished product.

Later in the day we were instructed in the many techniques of good cooking: how to grill, fry, boil and roast correctly. We were taught to use herbs and spices sparingly. 6. I As Guy Dupois says, the art of great cookery is to produce a dish where you are able to taste each ingredient individually. If the taste of the food needs hiding with herbs and spices, the basic ingredients are not of good enough quality, or you are cooking lazily.

cont'd...

It's a problem faced by women all over the world. You've been out of work for some time. You want to get back into the workforce, get a job. B. - You need smart clothes for the interview, but you can't afford them. Without the right clothes, you won't make the right impression, and without a job, you haven't got the money for new clothes. It's a dilemma that's difficult to solve. Until, that is, Nancy Lublin arrived on the scene.

Poppy Max, Nancy's great-grandfather, was a penniless immigrant, sleeping rough under Brooklyn Bridge. Determined to get on in life, he started making a little money selling second-hand clothes from a hand-cart. A. - From this humble start, in the true tradition of the American Dream, he prospered. However, he always remembered the homeless men under the bridge, and made sure they had adequate clothes.

Poppy Max died in 1996, leaving Nancy some money in his will. C. - Inspired by his example, she decided to use it to help those less well-off. She set up an organisation for women wanting to make a fresh start, the core of which is a system whereby working women donate clothes for unemployed women to wear at interviews.

It's a problem faced by women all over the world. You've been out of work for some time. You want to get back into the workforce, get a job. You need smart clothes for the interview, but you can't afford them (smart clothes). Without the right clothes, you won't make the right impression, and without a job, you haven't got the money for new clothes. It's a dilemma that's difficult to solve. Until, that is, Nancy Lublin arrived on the scene.

Poppy Max, Nancy's great-grandfather, was a penniless immigrant, sleeping rough under Brooklyn Bridge. Determined to get on in life, he (Poppy Max) started making a little money selling second-hand clothes from a hand-cart. From this humble start (selling clothes from a cart) , in the true tradition of the American Dream, he (Poppy Max) prospered. However, he always remembered the homeless men under the bridge, and made sure they (the homeless men) had adequate clothes.

Poppy Max died in 1996, leaving Nancy some money in his will. Inspired by his (Poppy Max’s) example, she ( Nancy) decided to use it (the money) to help those less well-off (poor people). She (Nancy) set up an organisation for women wanting to make a fresh start, the core of which is a system whereby working women donate clothes for unemployed women to wear at interviews.

Dress for Success has already helped thousands of women in America, Canada and New Zealand, and has just been launched in the UK. The organisation targets working women, particularly those in large companies, and asks them to donate suits or other suitable 'interview clothes'. 4. D. - The clothes must be contemporary and nearly-new - there is no point in donating old worn-out clothes. The whole idea is to help women feel confident in interviews, and give that all-important good impression. As Nancy says, "It's a great way for busy women to contribute to their community. We encourage offices to set up collection points."

Local agencies send the clients, who are dressed by smart, enthusiastic volunteers, some of whom have even given up jobs to do it. A client is given one set of clothes for the interview, with a handbag and coat if necessary. 5. A. - If they are successful, they are given another outfit to wear during their first week at work.

Dress for Success is a strictly non-profit making organisation, relying on volunteers and the good-will of working women. Other organisations, however, have set up schemes with a similar aim but completely different approach. 6. E. - A large employment agency made the headlines by asking celebrities to donate clothes to job-hunters. It generated a lot of publicity, but much of it concentrated on the actual clothes the stars gave, rather than the aims of the project. Newspapers wondered if women would be turning up to interviews wearing party frocks, and some just criticised the celebrities' taste in clothes.

Dress for Success, on the other hand, doesn't target celebrities. "We do get donations from famous people", says Nancy. 7. B. - "But we don't make a fuss about them. They just go with all the other clothes. We prefer to concentrate on the people the clothes are going to."

Nancy hopes to set up more projects around the world, to help as many women as possible make a new start in life. Poppy Max would certainly approve.

Buying art

Having an original work of art in your home is thought by many to be a luxury, only available to the very rich. However it needn't be, if you buy work from new, rather than well-established artists. 0 But how do you go about it?

The art world can seem pretty intimidating from the outside. Stepping into a gallery, under the gaze of a haughty assistant, requires an amount of courage. 1. And once inside, the language used to describe art is often mystifying. Labels do little to help and catalogues can be full of jargon. It's enough to make you turn on your heel and run.

So what should the first-time buyer do? Well, first of all you should ignore the labels and catalogues. After all, they are people's attempts to put into words what probably can't be written down. 2. That is, the effect that a piece of art has on a person. And it's the effect that the piece has on you that is important. Look at it carefully. What does it say to you? Come back to it again if you're not sure.

You need to keep an open mind and look around several galleries. You may not be sure what you like at first, so try and see as many works as you can. 3. Check out the newspapers for any new exhibitions. Take your time and don't feel rushed into making a decision.

Of course, there are other places to look, as well as art galleries, especially if you have a limited budget. Art colleges usually hold end-of-year degree shows, where the newly graduated show their work. 4. Much of it is for sale, and an added bonus is that you will be helping new artists find their feet. Many restaurants, cafes and bars display work by local artists. Keep an eye out for them, especially when visiting new places.

Art fairs are another source of affordable art. Here you can see a wide range of new work, in lots of different styles. Prices also vary, but start at a very reasonable level. There are international art fairs, which travel around major cities, or locally organised fairs, often held annually. 5. Some are billed as 'art supermarkets' promoting the idea that art is for all, not just the elite. For many people this is a far less daunting way of buying art. They are usually advertised in 'What's on' guides, as well as in art publications.

The final point is perhaps the most important. Remember that however good the work of art looks when on display, it also needs to look good in your home. Try to visualise it in its projected place. 6. How will it look hanging on the wall or sitting on the shelf? Will it dominate, look too big or even too small? Ask the dealer if you can try it out at home first, before you make a commitment. A good dealer should be happy to comply. After all, once you've bought it you have to be able to live with it.