The myriad smells are completely alluring - there’s the buttery scent of shallots being braised, the sweet smell of chicken being roasted and, from the patisserie kitchen below, the tantalising aroma of tarte tatin wafting up the stairs.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is asking the UN to award French cuisine Unesco humanity heritage status.
A parliamentary fact-finding [...]

‘Mummy, I’ve just uncovered a bone that’s never been seen before.’ My eight-year-old son, who had never handled anything more dangerous than kitchen scissors, was scraping away at the sandstone with awl and scalpel, brushing away loose dirt with a toothbrush. ‘I think mine’s the femur of a tyrannosaurus,’ shouted his 11-year-old brother, working [...]