Q. I enjoy giving dinner parties and put a lot of effort into the preparations. However, recently I have noticed that much of the food I lovingly cook goes uneaten despite proclamations of how delicious it is. It has dawned on me that a large number of my friends are secretly on weight-reduction injections, and barely want to eat. I don’t like to ask beforehand about such a sensitive issue, yet neither do I want such waste, so how can I assess the right amount to make?
– M.B., Chelsea, London
A. An extremely well-informed source calculates between 15 and 30 per cent of those in elite circles are currently self-dosing. For Cuisine Droguer you can adjust your quantities accordingly, without even asking, but still cook it lovingly.
Q. There have been endless articles in the press about the advantages and disadvantages of WFH for both the employee and the employer – but nothing about how very tiresome it can be for the punter. Trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting with a professional adviser is fraught with problems: one is made to feel that this is an unreasonable request and it can take a couple of months because they are hardly ever in their offices. But we feel that, with a potential new adviser, we need to see if we like the look of them, and with an existing adviser, it is much easier to gauge whether they have grasped the full extent of any problems we may have at a meeting. Can you suggest a form of words we might use, when we get in touch asking for a meeting, that won’t be met with a couple of standard paragraphs basically ignoring our request?
– R.H., Cheltenham
A. Even though Zoom should negate the need, the most successful CEOs like to meet employees in person. Explains one CEO: ‘I need to stare into the whites of their eyes and see if they are flinching.’ Trick the sloths by telling them you have to be very nearby their office in the week beginning [name a date in the near future] and you would like to kill two birds with one stone by visiting them on the same day. You can be flexible – so would they like to choose a day that will suit them?
Q. Nowadays when people ring my bell out of the blue, it’s often – but not always – paid representatives from organisations that want me to sign up to give money each month for ever, and it’s usually an inconvenient time. If I pop on an apron and pick up a wooden spoon before answering the door, then I can say briskly that I’m in the middle of cooking without having to plead my case. And if it happens to be an unexpected visitor or a parcel delivery for me or a neighbour, I can proceed normally.
– K.L., London N1
A. Thank you for sharing this tip.
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