Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sunday, November 20, 2011
PARIS -- For more than 30 years, Jim Haynes has hosted a Sunday dinner
at his home here for whomever wants to come. It's open to the first 50
or 60 people who sign up -- and more than twice that many in nice weather,
when guests can spill out into the garden.
Most arrive as strangers; Mr. Haynes hopes they leave as friends.
My family of four enjoyed the warmth of Mr. Haynes' hospitality last Christmas
when Paris was cold and the streets were wet. We walked the 45 minutes
to his home at 83 rue de la Tombe Issoire, in the 14th arrondissement,
or district.
Guests are asked to arrive at 8 p.m. sharp.
My son's smartphone led us close to the front door, but the streets of
Paris can be a mystery, even when you're standing right where you're supposed
to be.
"Are you looking for Jim's?" a woman yelled as she approached a large
dark door. Kathryn Hill from Sydney, Australia, was all smiles as she
guided us inside.
As we walked through the courtyard she explained, with a laugh, that an
old flame "I now consider an ember" brought her to Paris.
It was a great start to an evening we would never forget and set the tone
of congeniality and sharing that filled the night.
The place was packed with an eclectic group of artists, tourists, teachers,
filmmakers and everyone in between. Wine flowed freely as did conversation.
A group of visitors to Jim Haynes' Sunday dinner enjoy. (Photo Doug Oster/Post Gazette)
With experience as a professor at the University of Paris for three
decades, Mr. Haynes, 78, can remember everyone's name in the room. At
the dinner he shouts out your name when he catches your eye. It's kind
of a party game and he laughs loudly each time.
Born in Louisiana, he spent his teenage years in Venezuela. After college
and military service, he settled in Europe; in the hip mid-'60s London,
he was a friend to the Beatles and Rolling Stones. He's now a fixture
in the City of Light. "I love Paris," he says with a smile. "Everyone
loves Paris."
This tradition began sometime in the '70s when Cathy Sroufe (now Monnet),
a ballet dancer from Los Angeles, needed a place to stay. Her hobby was
cooking. This lithe dancer was the last person he thought could cook,
but "cook away," he told her, and she made a meal for 20 of his friends.
"It was the best meal any of us have ever eaten before or since," Mr.
Haynes said. To pay the rent, she made meals every Wednesday and Saturday.
Eventually, the event was moved to Sundays. Mr. Haynes recommends a donation
of 25 euros per person. If you can afford more, that's great; less is
fine, too, if you're strapped.