Introduction

My great-grandmother had a particularly simple way of judging character. Supremely unmoved by such things as status, beauty, wealth or influence, she would base her first impression of any guest on one thing – how they behaved at table. If they ate well, they were invited a second time. If not, we never saw them again. Her motto was Who eats well, lives well, and it’s astonishing how often her judgement proved correct.