George Creuset (pot-washer) I was an only child. My mother died having me. My father raised me with his sister’s help. We were as poor as caged hamsters, but my dad still knew how to have a good time. He could really make his mouth organ sing. think dad’s attitude to life has rubbed off on me. I’m always whistling while I wash my pots. And I love singing. I wish I could sing like Paula. I’ve been washing pots at the Institute for 5 years. I didn’t go to the war because I have flat feet. I don't want to be a pot-washer forever. I’ve got plans. Big plans. I dabble in electronics and I’ve invented a machine which will wash pots. I call it Creuset’s Cleaning Contraption – well that’s the working title – it’s actually a ‘dishwasher’ without arms or legs. I haven’t married yet. I want to wait until I stopped being a pot-washer and have launched my invention.

Fred Cleaver (butcher) I was born in New York. I’d always loved all those gory war stories and the sight of blood had never worried me, so I decided to be a butcher. Meat has always been my favorite food – feed the boy beef and make a butcher of him I suppose. Vegetables are a waste of time except for French-Fries. They go well with steak. After my apprenticeship I worked in a few butcher shops then I went and did my time at the war, WW1 that is. I was in the navy. When I got back from the war an old bachelor uncle of mine died and left me some money, so I set up my own shop. My shop was near the Institute and pretty soon I had them as a customer. My prices are competitive and my parsley and pork sausages are the best in town. I met Bessie after I’d got the shop. She’s a great wife and our kids are good kids.

Yves Larousse (French chef) I grew up in Paris. My father was a distributor of foodstuffs. As an only child, I spent a lot of time with my mother. She loved to cook. I knew I’d be a brilliant chef because I made honeycomb at the age of 4. By the age of 10, I was making soufflés and other extravagant dishes. I invented my own recipes like Spatch-cock and Spinach Swirl and Camembert Cream Croissants. I wrote them all down in a special book. I knew I wanted to be a  chef, so I mastered the skills even before I went to culinary school. Even though I loved Paris, I knew I’d have to go overseas to obtain real fame and fortune.

Mrs Mary Davies (widowed wife) I grew up in Cedar Rapids in Iowa. I worked at weekends at my parent’s shoe shop and I saved enough money to go to New York. In New York, I enrolled in secretarial school. I promised my parents that I would still go to church and be a good girl. They didn’t want the big city to corrupt me. I met Alan. He was very handsome and rather suave and he’d trained in France for 6 months. He adopted the chicness of the French and used to say "Excuse moi garcon" when we were at a restaurant. When Alan asked me out, I was amazed. I felt like such a country girl compared to him. But he said he liked my naiveté – whatever that meant!!!

Cath Scarlet (bag lady) My mother was a dancer at a nightclub over on the East Side of New York. We were poor. When I was growing up, mom used to let me play dress-ups and put on her make-up. When I turned 16, mom was getting a bit old and she’d done her back doing the Can-Can. So she had no choice but to send me to work. I was always toppling over in my stilettos at first like a new born giraffe, but I got used to them. During the war I got lots of tips entertaining the troops. But it didn’t last. Just like my mother, I did my back but this time doing the jitterbug. Then a few bad things happened and I ended up as a bag lady.

Katie Pitman (Chef’s secretary) I grew up in Washington DC. My father was an accountant. As the eldest girl of a family of 7, I had a lot of responsibility in the family. At school, I was good at my studies and I was the school captain. I don’t smoke but I admit I chew too much gum. At secretarial school, I topped my class. I was able to type a hundred words a minute. I still can. My ancestors invented shorthand. Maybe that’s why I was so good at it. I met my wonderful husband William when I was 22. He went to the war and joined the ground troops in Germany but fortunately he survived. He is an engineer. After the war, his work took him to New York, so we moved here. I love it here because I can get to wear the swish-type of clothes that you just can’t get in DC.

Paula Tortula (mistress) I grew up in New York. I had a lot of brothers and sisters, so we didn’t have much money to go around. My mother was always singing to herself as she did the laundry. At night time, the whole family gathered around the piano and my brother played and we all sang along. When I was 8, my mother entered me in a singing competition and I won. I was so thrilled. My mother used the money I won to pay for me to have singing lessons. When I was 18, I was won another competition and one of the big name music scouts came back stage and asked me if I’d like to sing in a jazz band. He said I’d be the next Billie Holiday. It was my dreams come true to be able to sing for a living.

Joe "Slasher" Tessarario (gangster) I grew up in Detroit. My dad was always in and out of the clink. He didn’t know how to arrange things properly. My mom wanted me to be a good Catholic boy. I loved my mom, so I just didn’t tell her my plans for raising capital. The real money, I discovered, you could make from investing your money – loaning it to people. If they used the money to make more money, we both got rich. Sure I charged a lot of interest, why do you think they call us loan-sharks, but I lent to people the banks considered risky. If they couldn’t repay, you told them you’d stand them in something sticky and heavy and I’m not talking about toffee. Generally they wised up. Soon I had a strong network of people who owed me favors. My troops.