Acne Studios: By reading a bit of your biography, it strikes me that you have had a very varied and interesting life. How did you end up in Paris?
Jim Haynes: There is a short answer and a long more complicated and nuanced answer. The short answer is simply that I was invited to be a Visiting Professor to the newly created University of Paris 8 and I accepted. The long answer would require my sending you Volume 1 of my autobiography, Thanks for Coming!
Your generosity of spirit is very inspiring, you were one of the first people to explore the idea of creating bonds between people in different countries with the guidebooks you edited. Can you explain the idea behind these?
There are two ways to travel. The classic way is to be a tourist and go to see things (The Tower of London, the statue of Liberty, etc) and the second way I call to be a traveler and to participate in the daily life of others. My guide books to 10 countries in Eastern Europe and Russia contained nothing a normal guide book contains (no hotel or restaurant listings for example) but did contain approximately 1000 short biographical notes of people one could contact. I wanted to transform tourists into travelers And to a certain degree, I succeeded.
Can you tell me about the first Sunday dinner?
I had a house guest, a dancer from L.A. named Cathy Sroufe, whose hobby was cooking. She said that she would like to cook for me and some of my friends. I invited about 20 to 25 friends and they had one of the best meals in their life. Cathy said afterwards that she would cook every Wednesday and Saturday if I wished. I said all guests could come again if they called and booked a day before and if they brought an envelope with a financial contribution inside. I wanted to at least break-even.
Tell me about your house and studio. It obviously suits you well to live, work and entertain in the same place.
My atelier was built over a hundred years ago as a sculptor's studio. It is a delight to live here. One of the main reasons why I have continued to live in Paris. My neighbours are a delight - especially Madame Paupert who is in her 80s and who was born here. She often helps with the Sunday dinner preparations.
Jim Haynes: There is a short answer and a long more complicated and nuanced answer. The short answer is simply that I was invited to be a Visiting Professor to the newly created University of Paris 8 and I accepted. The long answer would require my sending you Volume 1 of my autobiography, Thanks for Coming!
Your generosity of spirit is very inspiring, you were one of the first people to explore the idea of creating bonds between people in different countries with the guidebooks you edited. Can you explain the idea behind these?
There are two ways to travel. The classic way is to be a tourist and go to see things (The Tower of London, the statue of Liberty, etc) and the second way I call to be a traveler and to participate in the daily life of others. My guide books to 10 countries in Eastern Europe and Russia contained nothing a normal guide book contains (no hotel or restaurant listings for example) but did contain approximately 1000 short biographical notes of people one could contact. I wanted to transform tourists into travelers And to a certain degree, I succeeded.
Can you tell me about the first Sunday dinner?
I had a house guest, a dancer from L.A. named Cathy Sroufe, whose hobby was cooking. She said that she would like to cook for me and some of my friends. I invited about 20 to 25 friends and they had one of the best meals in their life. Cathy said afterwards that she would cook every Wednesday and Saturday if I wished. I said all guests could come again if they called and booked a day before and if they brought an envelope with a financial contribution inside. I wanted to at least break-even.
Tell me about your house and studio. It obviously suits you well to live, work and entertain in the same place.
My atelier was built over a hundred years ago as a sculptor's studio. It is a delight to live here. One of the main reasons why I have continued to live in Paris. My neighbours are a delight - especially Madame Paupert who is in her 80s and who was born here. She often helps with the Sunday dinner preparations.
Did you always wish to end up hosting dinner for so many people or did it just happen naturally?
I never suspected that I would host more than 130,000 people over 30 years of Sunday dinners. (The twice weekly dinners soon was transformed to once a week on Sunday evenings.)
Before the days of email, how would your potential guests get in touch with you?
In the beginning it was completely 100% word of mouth. Friends brought friends. It was a number of years before I allowed any journalist to write about the dinners.
It strikes me as a wonderfully generous gesture to open up your home to complete strangers every week. Do you ever tire of it?
No, I never tire of the dinners. I even host them when I travel. I have had large dinners in Frankfurt (during the Book Fair), in Calcutta (during the Film Festival), in New Delhi, in Edinburgh (during the Festival), in Houston and elsewhere.
You say that you hate to say no. This is something I can relate to but it must be necessary at times to prevent overcrowding?
I now have to say 'no' sometimes on Sundays. It pains me to turn people away. But I can only host about 50 to 60 in my atelier. When it is warm outside and I can use my garden, the numbers can rise a bit. But now it seems over a hundred wish to attend every week.
How would a ‘normal’ dinner, if there is such a thing usually work?
Again this can be a short or long answer. The short answer: People book and come at 8 pm on Sunday. I introduce everyone to everyone. Many individuals I am meeting for the first time. The food is served and people help themselves at the bar. People talk and often exchange contact details. The dinners end at 11pm and they disappear in the night to their homes and hotels. Hopefully very satisfied.
Are there any favourite meals?
There are so many delicious meals prepared by wonderful cooks that it is impossible to name one or two favorites. I do like Tex-Mex and Indian meals, but Thai is also very popular.
I never suspected that I would host more than 130,000 people over 30 years of Sunday dinners. (The twice weekly dinners soon was transformed to once a week on Sunday evenings.)
Before the days of email, how would your potential guests get in touch with you?
In the beginning it was completely 100% word of mouth. Friends brought friends. It was a number of years before I allowed any journalist to write about the dinners.
It strikes me as a wonderfully generous gesture to open up your home to complete strangers every week. Do you ever tire of it?
No, I never tire of the dinners. I even host them when I travel. I have had large dinners in Frankfurt (during the Book Fair), in Calcutta (during the Film Festival), in New Delhi, in Edinburgh (during the Festival), in Houston and elsewhere.
You say that you hate to say no. This is something I can relate to but it must be necessary at times to prevent overcrowding?
I now have to say 'no' sometimes on Sundays. It pains me to turn people away. But I can only host about 50 to 60 in my atelier. When it is warm outside and I can use my garden, the numbers can rise a bit. But now it seems over a hundred wish to attend every week.
How would a ‘normal’ dinner, if there is such a thing usually work?
Again this can be a short or long answer. The short answer: People book and come at 8 pm on Sunday. I introduce everyone to everyone. Many individuals I am meeting for the first time. The food is served and people help themselves at the bar. People talk and often exchange contact details. The dinners end at 11pm and they disappear in the night to their homes and hotels. Hopefully very satisfied.
Are there any favourite meals?
There are so many delicious meals prepared by wonderful cooks that it is impossible to name one or two favorites. I do like Tex-Mex and Indian meals, but Thai is also very popular.
