Jim Haynes who hosted the dinners for locals, ex pats and in later years tourists who discovered him, died this January 6th. Our first invitation to dinner in a French home resulted from connections we made at our first dinner. Someone invited us to a vernisage for a photographer at a Turkish restaurant and further invitations followed until one of the people we got to know included us in the private party. The food was okay to dire, the wine was in boxes, and people spilled from the tiy apartment into the courtyard. Neighbors allowed the weekly events which ended at 11 pm and in exchange were provided with the first plates assembled by the volunteers in the kitchen.
Here is a BBC story about these dinners which went back over 40 years.