My introduction to proper cooking came when I opted for domestic science in the fifth year at school instead of technology. I loved woodwork, but found metalwork painfully dull. Filing away at a piece of metal for four weeks seemed a dreary way to get a key ring. That was when, for the first time in history, boys could do domestic science instead of another subject. Only four of us joined Miss Bell, a young Delia lookalike, for cookery lessons, but we had a bit of a laugh. Our first achievement was pineapple upside-down cake.