Down to earth

DESPITE the war and the Sars scare, 1,200 people winged their way to Montreal recently to attend the annual conference of the International Association of Cooking Professionals.

This networking festival for food writers, cookery school owners, teachers, caterers and chefs is held yearly somewhere on the North American continent.

The fact that there was a record turnout for the 25th Annual conference reflects the fact that in the US, record numbers of people are, buying cookbooks, enrolling for cooking classes, because they want to be able rustle up something delicious for their family and friends.