Dinner begins at eight

Jim Haynes Supper Club - Sunday December 9, 2012

“Maddy this is David. David is a travel photographer who has lived here for the past 22 years. He comes to dinner every single Sunday. David, Maddy is a writer from Sydney who has come to Paris to be in Paris.”

Every week for the past 30 years Jim Haynes has hosted a Sunday dinner at his home in Paris. Friends and total strangers call or email in advance to book and venture out to the 14^th arrondissement to break bread together, to meet, to talk, connect and often become friends.

I had read about Jim’s Sunday dinners online, stumbling across his website while on a Google road trip. I was instantly curious and wanted to know more about these institutional dinners run by an American-born 78 year-old man who welcomes total strangers as old friends. Seeing as though I was already in a foreign country what better way to immerse myself in the unknown than to attend a dinner party with a group of people I’d never met?

I sent Jim an email requesting a spot for my friend and I and within the hour he replied with a set of cryptic instructions. Done. Easy. The adventure had already begun-

Catch the metro to Alesia; take exit 6 and walk straight ahead ten steps, turn left into the rue d'Alesia and continue to traffic light; turn right and walk 39 steps to big green gate; press 45 A 96 and push open gate and walk to doorway A in the garden.

Dinner begins at 8 and ends at 11.

Dress comfortable. No flowers, bring a big appetite.

Staying true to our directions even down to the number of steps, we arrived complete with our appetite and no expectations. Upon opening the door the muffled hum of voices that had been contained by the windowpanes amplified into a full-blown orchestra harmonised with accents from all over the world. 

Dinner was held in Jim’s atelier, formerly a sculpture studio. The room itself was nothing out of the ordinary, adorned with simple furniture, a messy bookshelf and a few black and white photos, yet it was splitting at the seams with people of all ages and nationalities milling around the open plan kitchen, leaning against walls or sandwiched on the old couch. Since there was no organised seating it was perfect conditions for mingling. It was everything I wanted it to be – warm, buzzing, casual and inclusive.

Jim was instantly recognisable lounging back on a stool in his blue and white-checkered apron with his glasses resting on his nose and arms crossed as he eyed each newcomer slipping through the doors. I would put good money on the fact he is in the exact reclining position every Sunday.

A self-confessed people lover, Jim is a big believer in building relationships. “Each week I make a point to remember everyone's name on the guest list and where they're from and what they do, so I can introduce them to each other, effortlessly.”

Within minutes I’d shaken hands with five new faces, had given Jim a French kiss (on both cheeks) and was onto the first course – a crisp salad of witlof, radicchio, walnuts and beetroot.

Each week a different friend is in charge of preparing the feast and this week it was Jim’s friend from London. He was armed with an oversized ladle and looked every bit the chef at a school canteen as he swiftly dished up countless servings of chicken and goats cheese bake with basmati rice and tomato ratatouille. Guests crept up to the kitchen bench to be served and helped them selves to slices of fresh bread to mop up the remnants of their meal.

Jim provides not only the food, but also boxed wine, bottled beer and soft drinks. We drank wine out of plastic cups while balancing our plates of home cooked goodness on our laps, tactfully taking mouthfuls between conversations.

We met Kay who’s a lawyer in Brussels but originally from California; Michael from the US who has moved to Paris to compose music and can’t get his head around the fact that I didn’t play basketball at school (yes, I’m tall); David the travel photographer originally from Darlinghurst whose favourite destination is India; Veronica from Virginia who looks just like Audrey Tautou; and, last but not least, Mona, an elegant French woman cloaked in a black velvet dress who is a professional clown – seriously.

At the end of the evening those in the know whipped out their Tupperware containers and dished up a healthy portion of the leftovers to roll them into the next day. Not even one crusty cluster of apple crumble was left behind.

The evening came to a grand total of a donation (€30 suggested) with all the proceeds going to various artistic and social projects. Jim is currently supporting a small Broadway production entitled "Broadway Enchante" which plays nightly in French and English at the Theatre La Bruyere. The two principals, Isabelle Georges and Frederik Steenbrink, are dear friends of his and we couldn’t have been happier to support the cause.

We will be back. We will bring Tupperware.

To put your name on the list and be part of this fantastic tradition visit www.jim-haynes.com.

Menu - Sunday December 9, 2012

Entrée: Salad of witlof, radicchio, walnuts and beetroot

Main: Chicken and goats cheese bake with basmati rice and tomato ratatouille

Dessert: Apple crumble