CLAIRE PTAK had planned to move to London with her English boyfriend Damian when she was offered a job as pastry chef at the famous Chez Panisse in Berkeley in California.

Cookery Classes at Snugboro 2008: Rory O’Connell teaches intensive one-day classes at his home near Ballycotton, Co Cork. Private classes or workshops for groups or individuals can be organised! — rory@rgoconnell.com; tel: 086-8516917.