"You'll probably starve," my mother said when I moved into my first studio apartment. This wasn't just a reflection of her belief that any career in the arts (but especially the theatre) would doom me to certain poverty; it was a fact-based observation that the extent of my culinary skills up until I turned 20 involved making toast, heating soup and putting frosting and sprinkles on store-bought shortbread cookies. Determined to prove her wrong, I bought a cookbook, stocked my new little kitchen with pans and utensils, and recruited my fellow actors for fun after-rehearsal dinners. The memories-and the menus-live on in this essential guide for anyone with (aspiring) champagne taste on a (starving artist) beer budget.