Dear sisters and brothers,

When I was a student in Italy I used do interesting part time jobs. One of them was as an assistant to a famous Italian painter. He had a secret picture storage space in the basement of his studio, and I was the only one who was allowed to go in. When clients came my job was to go and fetch pictures from the secret storage that they might like to see. He was old so he could not see the colour very well, so I had to prepare the different coloured paint for him and also take care of the studio.

He had a lot of celebrity and super rich clients, so I had a chance to observe these people. One thing I notices was how despite their fame and wealth they all seemed to struggle with the same things that we all struggle with such as worrying about their money and overcoming difficulties in their human relationships. Until that time I had always seen such people as being in a different class, however, after that part time job I was never interested in celebrity magazines anymore. Still now I never get nervous if I meet any so called VIP.

Perfect roast potatoes

First of all I believe buying good potatoes makes quite a difference. Peel the potatoes and cut them to the size that you like (I like big chunks.) Put them in enough cold salty water to just cover the potatoes (to avoid all the goodness in the potatoes you are using as little water as possible.) Bring to boil and boil for 4 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a good amount of oil on a roasting tin (either olive or sunflower oil) in the oven. Should be 200 C. /gas mark 6. Drain the potatoes and put them back in the empty pot, put the lid on and give them a good shake to help them lose their edges. Then transfer the potatoes onto the roasting tin and coat them with the hot oil by turning them over a few times.

Cook for about 1 hour (depends a bit on the size of the potatoes) until they are crispy golden brown.

Have a good week.

Chieko