Gardeners meet several times over the growing season, once for a formal start-up, then a few times over the summer for informal pot luck dinners and an annual open house.

"I'll come back later on to take away your trash," he promises, as he sets up a portable electric hot plate on the table. He snips open sealed vacuum packs of soup to pour into the hot pot.

What with wireless and digital entertainment zones, kitchens have come a long way from the era of the open fire and blackened pot.