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"Chic ! meets" : Philippe Starck - "A potted history" of Nivea cream - "Rising trends" : Cooking with candy - "What to do with" cod ? - "Rising trends" : Converted churches

"Chic ! meets" : Philippe Starck
Chic met the most well known French designer-architect - Philippe Starck. There is no shortage of adjectives to describe this prolific and inventive designer, who rose to the top in the 1980s, and still ranks there! He can irritate people or fascinate them, but whatever he does, it's a success. His creations are on display in numerous European and American museums - the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris and the Design Museum in London. One doesn't become a design genius overnight. Born in 1949 in Paris, Philippe Starck spent his childhood cutting things out, sawing them, sticking them, sanding them down, and taking them apart under his father's drawing tables. He spent hours on end doing and undoing, re-creating the world around him.

"A potted history" of Nivea cream
In 1911 a German doctor, Paul Gerson Unna, made the first emulsion of oil in water. His discovery was to give rise to the first medical ointment. With the addition of rose and lily-of-the-valley extract and a handful of other little secrets, the first cosmetic cream was born. It still needed a name though. As it is white, like snow, its inventors called it "Nivea", from "nix, nivis" - snow in Latin. It has graced many a bathroom shelf, and has been rubbed into many a hand, permanently "revealing our inner beauty". The cream met with phenomenal success in the 1920s, thanks to advertising. But the fact that Nivea has become such a cult object is largely down to its infamous blue tin.

"Rising trends" : Cooking with candy
Cooking is regressing... Who would have thought it? Tagada strawberries and Marshmallows have entered the world of pastry cooking. Liquorice brioches, Tagada Strawberry macaroons, bubble gum mille-feuilles... in the most fashionable restaurants playful cooking has taken over from stuffy haute gastronomy. Young chefs have been unashamedly playing around with candy. A treat for the taste buds!

"What to do with" cod ?
There's only one place to sample the cuisine of Hélène Darroze, chef of the Restaurant "Hélène Darroze" with two Michelin stars!

"Rising trends" : Converted churches
God with no fixed abode? We've all heard of the conversion of water towers and old factories into working or living spaces, but the conversion of churches is only just beginning in Germany. Various churches have been transformed into lounge bars, advertising agencies and children's museums. This transformation of churches has come about as a result of the dwindling numbers of churchgoers. As a result, churches have little money left for maintenance.