GLOBETROTTING
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
•
MAY 2013
•
ILLUSTRATIONS BY PETER OUMANSKI
19
The 20-something American in
his Sunday best opens the garden
gate with caution, only to be
met with a cloud of smoke and a
hail of chatter. Once inside, he is
immediately surrounded by women
of a certain age, all jostling to lead
him along the cobblestones with
cigarettes in hand.
The owner of this garden, located
in Paris’ 14th Arrondissement, is a
79-
year-old American named Jim
Haynes. Every Sunday night for
the past three decades, the former
bookseller and theater impresario
has invited strangers into his home
for dinner, with arrangements made
PARIS
these days via his website (he
suggests a 30-euro donation but
will “happily accept more, or less”).
Haynes estimates that he’s hosted
about 1,500 dinners and 100,000
guests over the years.
Tonight, 50 or so people are
waiting in a kind of receiving line.
Perched atop a kitchen stool in
his atelier, which is adorned with
tasteful nude photographs, Haynes
greets each visitor before directing
them to a large table. As this week’s
visiting chef serves the entrée—
a casserole with pickled greens—
the guests exchange pleasantries
in a muddle of languages. “Exactly
what is the meat in there?” a diner
asks. “
Je ne sais pas
,”
the woman
beside him replies.
In the 1960s, Haynes was a player
in London’s countercultural scene—
his online bio is filled with entries
like “Am invited to dine with The
Beatles.” But if tonight’s company
isn’t quite as illustrious, Haynes
doesn’t seem to mind. He chats with
every guest, and reveals an uncanny
knack for remembering names. “I
don’t care what you do,” he says to
an American woman who asks to
take his picture, “as long as you talk
to each other.” As if on cue, another
guest starts grilling the woman
about the joys of having a French
boyfriend at the ripe age of 50.
One of Haynes’ conversational
rules is that there are no rules. He’s
even willing to discuss his recent
heart attack, which threatens to
bring to an end to his ragtag salons—
and which could easily put a damper
on this one. “I’ve had some health
issues,” he says. “I wasn’t sure if I
would be here tonight.” At that, the
woman with the French boyfriend
sidles over to Haynes and starts
flirting. “Well, I don’t plan to stop
yet,” he says, clearing his throat.
THE FRENCH
CONNECTION
JimHaynes would like to have you over for dinner—
if you don’t mind sharing the guest list with 100,000
other people
BY DEBMCCOY
