My Blog

Oh doom!

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:29:00 GMT

Well slap my thigh.....it's Friday night and I'm home early cos it's DEAD. We 've been turning people away the last two Fridays and tonight nobody wants to know. Dammit. On the plus side, the evenings have been quiet, so I am now well rested - and ready for more punishment! Lunch has been ticking over, but we did have a comment from a couple who came last night about nobody knowing we were open - despite my mailings, sticking up flyers etc. So the plan is to put an ad in the local paper next week. We are ready now, we are used to the equipment and into the routine.

I shall tweak the menu a little. The lamb chop is too fatty and spits everywhere - not only making a mess, but it's a bit dangerous. So I have already substituted saddle of lamb which is really lean, but I think I might do a Catalan platter, of Catalan sausage, boudin (blood sausage) and calamar, and anything else that is suitable and Catalan. Our Bank manager told us of a renowned butcher in a town close to here - Sahorre - whose clients come from far and wide to buy his charcuterie, so I may go and pay him a visit and get some advice - and some charcuterie - from him. However, it may have to get a bit busier first! Also, I think a pierrade to share with a chunky beef rib would be fun, so I might put that on as well. I don't think the lemon syllabub is going down oh so well - it's too light. People want something a little richer, I think as the others are going down a storm.

Our kitchen man wanted us to settle the bill today - we owed him the last bit - and give us the estimate for installing the 'tarif jaune' industrial elec supply.Well, he forgot to take off 4000 euros we'd paid as an installment (!) but managed to charge us 1500 euros for the table and support he made for the ovens and the dish washer. That is roughly double what we'd allowed for! As for the 'tarif jaune', we've gone a bit soft on it, as we've been open for 2 1/2 weeks and not had any problems. Part of the benefits, I suppose, of new technology are the energy saving parts of it. For example, the oven: it heats up so fast that I turn it on when I need to heat something, whereas normally I'd have an oven at 220° all night. Also, with the steam, I can heat up meat, for instance, at 150° with 30% steam, and not only does it reach temperature much more quickly, but at a much lower temperature - AND I turn the oven on when I need to heat it. The same applies for cooking things. Idem for the plaque induction, it goes on when I need it, and it heats stuff so much more quickly I use it for less time - especially since half of it isn't working!

Anyway, bearing in mind all the new electrics have been installed with having tarif jaune eventually, he still reckons around 10.000 euros (deep breath) for installing the final bits - who knows what - but including a cool 3000 nearly for a 2 hour fireproof door 1.20m wide to house the installation. This is not including EDF who will quote us also for the installation. We have seen figures like 3.500 euros bandied around on the internet for restaurants for EDF only. This looks like another amazing 15.000 euros to spend on electricity. Errr, more research required, evidently. Unfortunately Dave left the estimate at JP's office ( probably in shock) so we can't analyze the quote - I mean, how much more electric stuff can there be? And what a ridiculous quote - and size - for a door: a 1.20m wide door? We wouldn't be able to open it! Anyway, he is coming round next thurs to turn on everything at once to see how the phases hold up and at what point it overloads. Although, if everything is alright now, with heating etc...that we wouldn't have in summer, I think it's a bit irrelevant. However, the Plaque induction did get mentioned, and he is going to have another look at it - I am sure that the boy when he adapted it for the 3-phase supply messed up the electricity bits inside as one half works perfectly and the other doesn't. Their work on it invalidates the guarantee, so we will have to pay to get the manufacturer involved, and I think JP is aware of this and is willing to have another look. However, I know that although he is an electrician, he is unfamiliar with induction and its' complex electronics. We don't really want to foul up our relationship over it, so....we shall suck it and see, as they say.

Again on the plus side, we got the credit card machine up and running, so that is good!

Keep safe everyone. And looks like France might have done something right - no recession here! Not yet, anyway!

Thanks you little possums!

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:38:00 GMT

Hells teeth, I just lost the whole post I spent 20 mins typing ARGGGGGGGGh! Anyway, I just wanted to thank all you possums who want to keep reading. I shall keep on posting then!! However, I think the tourist angle is more than covered by the local and regional tourist offices, and our marketing angle is covered by our official site - www.bistrot-lecortal.fr If I was to incorporate all that into this blog, then I would just be repeating what can be found on the relevant sites, but I wouldn't have time to cook!

It is the end of our second week and we have done 1 more meal than the first week. Now, it doesn't sound like a great progression, but I am really pleased as we had 3 dead evenings and I thought we'd be down on our first week. However, it shows that it's the lunches during the week that work well. We seem to have a little pattern emerging: lunches during the week work well, and then at the weekend we get good lunches and dinners. Friday night seems to be crazy, we turned down countless tables this last Friday. Saturday and Sunday lunches are the hardest as they are much more leisurely and lunch for us tends to merge into dinner. On Sunday, I managed to squeeze in an hours break between services, and that was leaving Dave to finish up the glasses. However a fireman family came to lunch sunday, so hopefully he will spread the word around the firestation and maybe word will reach the Gendarmes (police). Also some people came from Perpignan, so maybe we'll get some people from there. These guys come to this valley at this time of year for it's apples - apparently we are good for apples. We continue to meet some really nice people, including loads of Brits who have houses, or live in the village here.

We are still having ag about the tables. They were supposed to arrive on the 4th November, but didn't, and are now expected on the 25th. Right. Honestly, it really is the pits. What annoys me isn't really the delay as such, but the lack of communication from the shop. They just don't tell us anything unless we badger them.These tables were also in one of their promotions - how can they promote them when they don't have them, and don't know WHEN they'll get them?! Grrr.

It is a bank holiday today, (and our day closed) so it is enforced rest for us - no shopping! I fall asleep every time I sit down, practically. I expect I'll get into the routine soon - surely!! We had a lovely lie-in this morning and then went on an excursion to a nearby spa town, doing the tourist thing, but also to get a change of scenery. I fell asleep in the car on the way home!! Anyone got any tips for improving one's energy levels?! Our lovely wine guy (who came to lunch on Monday) said we should open today, being a bank holiday, but we ignored him, as we couldn't face it. And I think in summer we'll be keeping it as well. I think lunch and dinner 6 times a week is enough for anyone. I don't want to end up hating it, like I did with the hotel.

So thanks for the vote of confidence, guys, I shall probably reorganise the blog a bit over the coming weeks (if I can keep my eyes open long enough!!) and here are some piccies of us....

Let's recapitulate.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:42:00 GMT

Quiet night tonight, so we have shut up shop early and come home. So I shall take advantage and do an update on how it's going. Our first week is over and we did 94 meals over the week. Loads of positive comments and repeat visits and interesting people. I ran out of food, and Dave had to go shooting off to the cash n carry to get more stuff. The hot stones have proved to be a real novelty- except among the elderly who can't be bothered to cook their own - so let me take the strain!! However, tonight is dead, so perhaps everyone's got bored with us already!

I have got the return of 'Cook's Hands' - I seem to have burned, cut, somehow bashed and bruised my fingers and hands so that every inch is sore. I hope they toughen up soon. Dave has 'Waiter's Legs' - and has even had customers bringing up their glasses and washing up - now that is spoiled!! He is going to be looking pretty svelt. I think we have got the rythmn of the menu and service - we're even getting to grips with lunch. We had a lady who is allergic to eggs, dairy and aubergines - but really allergic, she carries an adrenaline pen as she goes into anaphylactic shock - that was a challenge to spell, probably got it wrong - so we carefully put together a meal that she would enjoy and that wouldn't kill her. In some ways, I find the unpredictable things the most interesting, a sort of 'chef's challenge'. We have met some great people here in the village. We had a former Egon Ronay and AA critic in for lunch - luckily not to review, but he is a fellow foodie and had some really interesting suggestions. So all in all a really encouraging start.

It's a bit of a shock - for me at least - to be getting going in the mornings. However, I enjoy the challenge of thinking of lunch menus, it gets the imagination surging. I hope the lunch service takes off. We had a couple in for lunch today who came on our first service, booked for Friday night and for 5 next Monday lunch, so they like it, obviously! More like them, please.

One role reversal has been Dave taking over the books. I have always been the accounting one which is a bit ironic given Dave's banking background. However, I just don't have the time, so Dave has taken it over and it is quite fun to not have to deal with that. Dave has set up a spreadsheet, so that we will have a detailed breakdown of covers and takings for each service. Funnily enough we got the 'permis to construire', planning permission, from the Mairie (townhall) today. Now that it is done and open. In theory we didn't really need planning permission as it was a renovation, but I think we have got out of paying rates for this year as a result, so that was a good thing. We need to talk to the Mairie about it, though, as there is a notice that we are supposed to send back to them notifying them that we have started the works (ha) and that we have finished them and are opening ( ha again) so we need to know how they want us to do that. One thing that we have noticed on the permissions is a gripe by the Batiments de France- the State architects who govern buildings that are or are in proximity to historical monuments - about the colour we have painted the balcony wall. They want us to paint it a 'light, matt' colour in keeping with the greyness of the area!!! What is not light and matt about cream, I ask. In fact, the colour is called, tones of Stone So we'll just ignore that until it becomes an issue. I mean, who wants a grey balcony.

Well, I think we're about up to date. I guess this blog has about run its' course as we have now 'set up' the Bistrot in France. Anyone interested in the 'running' of a Bistrot in France?

A bientôt!

Look at us!

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:02:00 GMT

The dining room. Whadya think?!

I've timed out again today - day off. Day off, ha! Shopping for restaurant, trying to get ahead with paperwork, paid the telephone bill a month late, found it under loads of papers. Oops! Housework, dinner. Phew. Will try and blog tomorrow - deliveries, open lunch and dins etc. Hopefully post more pics tomorrow as well. Bye!

And we're well and truly off!!

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:59:00 GMT

Well my word, we did it, finally. And we are now right in the thick of it - I am writing this between lunch and dinner service, and actually might just drop off and have little snooze.......We have had a great opening, with neighbours and local supporters coming to see what we do. I must post some pics of us up and running.

True to their word this time, the chairs arrived and we hired a big van and picked them up on Tuesday. They were also supposed to receive the credit card machine, but they managed to mislay that also. Honestly, we have been dealing with this chain for 8 years, but this branch seem to be a bunch of numpties. In the last gaff we hired a credit card machine from our bank, but it cost us €100 a quarter, so we have decided to buy this one. We have bought a bluetooth one that we can take to the tables and is not fixed to the bar. It arrived on Friday, however, but it is more involved than we thought to set up, and involves our bank, and our bank manager is on hols...da dee da, you get the picture. It is not going to be fast!!

We had 13 people for lunch on Weds and 12 in the evening, so did a very respectable 25 for the day. Hurrah!! One table at lunch were the owners of a local hotel who do not have a restaurant, so it was particularly important to make a good impression. They seemed pleased.Thursday we had just one for lunch, the guy from our bank who came again on Friday. They get vouchers from the bank for their lunch, so we are more than happy to relieve them of them! Today we had 8 for lunch, and the evenings have been good - last night we were full, and turned down 2 tables!! Mind you, we haven't got all our tables yet, but we do have seating for 22. However, we have to seat 2's on tables for 4, so we lose places that way.

We've had a few traumas with the equipment, and the chaps have been going to and fro. The plaque induction is a bit odd. The left half works perfectly, but the right is a bit sporadic. Although we didn't get that from our kitchen guy, they wired it in and had the back off fiddling with the electrics. They have been back and have tweaked the wires a bit, and it is better, but still not right. The thing is, that it will no longer be covered by the guarantee since the boys have been at it. And anyway I am sure that they have caused the problem. So I don't know what we'll do about that. Luckily it's not urgent, I can just about cook on it. Also, second night, the pizza oven wouldn't come on - and we had people that had reserved especially for the hot stone..argghhh. When you work in a professional kitchen, you often have to think on your feet and if something goes wrong, you have to improvise!! So I put several stones in the big oven and turned it up full and hoped for the best. The stones didn't stay as hot for as long, but we got away with it!! The guys came out in the morning to have a look at it. We had turned it up too high and it had cut itself off. With the stones just sitting in it, the heat doesn't disperse, so we have turned it down a bit, and it seems to be working now, touch wood!!

Having the open kitchen is fantastic, and it is really practical having it at the entrance level, so if Dave is downstairs I can welcome the customers, and once they are downstairs, they can't distract me anymore, and I can get on with the cooking. So that is working well. The menu is also working well. The only difficult thing is the lunch menu. I have to plan and organise a different lunch every day which is fine if we are packed every day, but while we are building up a lunch trade, it is a bit tricky to organise. I am sticking to stuff to cook to order, so waste is minimised.

So now we are trying to adjust to the new routine. Suddenly there is no time to do anything - like blogging! Eating is a bit of a pain, frankly - it's too early to eat before lunch and can be a bit too late afterwards, and then eat before evening service at 18.30 is difficult and then I'm hungry again afterwards. Sigh. We'll get into the vibe! The cats sure wonder where we've gone!! And it was all very well saying that we'll finish the second half of the dining room in our spare time......now we have no spare time! We have been finishing off the small things in between services, like the signage, and programming of the electronic cash register. That was complicated as it is programmed through the computer, and doesn't work with SP3 that it had recently downloaded...so I had to uninstall SP3 so that Dave could program the cash register.....still, it is very posh, now and it is a bit of a novelty, as all we've had up to now is a blue cash box!!

I shall post some pics soon.....in the meantime, thanks to everyone who sent us good wishes.

We're opening!

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:57:00 GMT

Just a quickie to let you all know thatwe hired a van and picked up the chairs yesterday, they look fab! So opening for lunch today, hooray!! Got a booking for this midday, this evening, tomorrow and Friday, so things looking encouraging. Also first layer of snow around about on the mountains here....very picturesque. Will post as soon as possible to say how it's gone....thanks for all the good wishes!

Jeeeeeeeezzzzzzzz the electricians are back.

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:44:00 GMT

For Gods sake. Some idiotic little jobsworth came round today for an inspection of the electrics from the company that we have to pay to oversee the security issues, and who are responsible for giving us our certificate of conformity. Now, bearing in mind that he came at the beginning, oversaw the design of the circuit board and inspected in the middle, as a result of his visit today the boys are changing the circuit board and digging channels in our lovely new reserve floor. They have had to change the light switch in the cupboard where the circuit board is to a waterproof one - even though there is no water in there - and had to put the green sticker showing a man running on the emergency light in the reserve just in case we don't realise that it is the (only) exit. We are all quite demoralised by it, and most of it is extra work that we will have to pay extra for as it was not included in the quote.

Apparently - and you will realise that I don't really know anything about this - they need to have more 'earth'. So this involves digging a 2 meter deep hole under the reserve and sinking a metal pole until they get a reading of 50 things. Whatever they are. I must look up the theory on the web. They have had to cut a channel in the reserve floor with an angle grinder and now everything in there that I have meticulously cleaned is covered in dust, despite Dave trying to screen it all off. And it is full of stuff now including food in the fridges and freezers etc.

I am truly sick of it.

On a brighter note, though, we have been getting loads of good luck messages from friends and readers of the blog, so thank you all. I shall grit my teeth and go with the flow. My Sister-in-Law sent us a wonderful bouquet of flowers which are on the bar looking lovely!

Give me wine.......

Well, merde alors!

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:01:00 GMT

As they say here in France.

Not only are the tables and chairs not going to arrive, but the chairs will not be here for 3 weeks and the remaining tables until the 4th November. This is really bad news, as you can understand. Not only that, the credit card machine that was supposed to arrive today, mysteriously didn't. Needless to say I am absolutely furious.If this was the US I would probably be suing their sorry a***es. I was happily dickering about in the kitchen playing with my new equipment and starting the preps when Dave called me to STOP preparing any food!

So what we have done is this. We have changed the order to a different chair in the same range, so it is the same colour, fabric etc, just a slightly different style. It is also 22 euros a chair more expensive than the one we ordered, but they are doing it for the same price and it is in stock in Paris and will be here next Tuesday. Dave picked up our 3 tables for 4 that had arrived and the shop have lent us two display tables that they had in store. This will give us 5 tables - better than nothing - and seating for a possible 18 people. We shall have to just get on with it. Bloody Grr.

So we have adjusted our date of opening to next Weds lunch. Suddenly life has slowed down a bit. So I packed up in the kitchen and went for a long siesta. I was absolutely cream crackered - we were still organising menus at midnight las night. Dave got home to find me and Mittens fast asleep.

We've got a reservation, but no tables or chairs!!!!!!!!!!

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:07:00 GMT

My goodness, the pace has picked up a bit around here! Whoever thought plumbing could be so complicated - it took 2 1/2 days and Dave whizzing round specialist plumbing suppliers, and he is STILL coming back tomorrow to fix a leak! The specialist thing is the steam oven that needs piping that can withstand boiling temps. And the leak is coming out of the grease separator and into the mains supply.

The electricians/kitchen fitters finally finished plumbing in the oven, and various assorted jobs this am. We went shopping yesterday and I got all the pots, pans, whisks etc that we need, and also the 'epicerie' -flour, butter etc. I spent 5 hours in the cash n carry!!! And I won't tell you the bill! And although I got all I thought we shall need, invariably I'll find out right at the wrong time, that I forgot a crucial thing....

We've had crockery and cutlery, glasses etc arriving from various different companies that we've ordered from - most of it I'm really happy with, but a few things I'm changing. The freezer has been a headache - our kitchen fitter seems to be consumed with the problem of our freezer - which has been returned twice, now. We have even lost the thread of what has happened with it! Suffice to say, that not only does it not work, it isn't automatic defrost like it says it is in the documentation. We are very constrained by the size of the freezer that will fit into the space that we have, so J-P has admitted defeat and we have ordered the one we were originally going to order in September! Grrrr! Fortunately, this is not going to hold up our opening - I will just have to run down to the freezer in the reserve if I need anything. The Mairie even accepted a delivery for us yesterday, while we were out doing the marathon shop!

So I have now laid claim to my kitchen - I've scrubbed and cleaned it this afternoon and moved all my lovely new shiny things in. Tomorrow I cook!!!

Maybe. The only thing is, our tables and chairs haven't arrived. Well, that is not strictly true: the 3 tables for 4 have arrived, but there are 5 other tables and 28 chairs to come that were promised a week ago. Deliveries arrive on Tuesdays and Thursdays - they didn't arrive today, so Thurs is our last chance for Friday - and that's pushing it, as we shall have to put them all together. Dave has phoned to give some grief - and hopefully we shall know tomorrow whether they will arrive or not. The thing is, if they don't arrive thurs, then the next delivery isn't until tues. so. BUM. Cross fingers, everyone!!!! We had a couple come by and introduce themselves this evening, and book the very first table for Friday!!!!!!! Their name is Hope - so I'm taking that as a good omen! It reminds me of the time we got our new passports the day before we went on holiday to the US.

A great experience was meeting the wine guy today. We have contacted the company who supplied the previous owners, but with the proviso that they also supply us with the wine from Domaine Treloar, whom we met and whose wines we tried back in the Spring. English/kiwi vineyard owners, and I really like their wines - they really are good. However, we like to not only work with local French producers, but we have very positive experiences with working with local expat producers most of the time they have a very interesting story. The suppliers agreed, but not only that, they also are agreeably impressed with the wines, so will try to sell to others also. so it is a positive experience for everyone! This guy is going to print up the wine list for us (me - I'm running outta time!), supply us with the right size wine glasses for lunch (ours are too big) and give us all sorts of freebees - not to mention the 14, yes 14!!!! bottles of wine that he left me with to try. One of which I'm 'trying' as I type, so bear with me a bit. Poor Dave. He needs to make friends with some anti-histimines, then he could help me with them. Not to mention, we have a shiny, diverse and interesting wine menu - a little ' petite', but something we can build on. This is not the time of year to be holding big wine stocks.

So, let it be said that it is not exacty boring round here...oh, yes, I remember what it's like to work.....and Oh yes, I've designed and had printed some flyers that are fantastic ( even though I say so myself) and I have been distributing them very cautiously - we want to open discreetly, after all. I shall upload a piccie of my artwork when I get a minute. Whilst writing this, I am printing the menus in French and English. We ordered menu covers that will look great -with our logo, but they won't get here for about a month, so we are using the old ones for the moment.

Sorry if this post is a bit long, but who knows when I'll be able to post again, and a lot has happened. And the wine is lovely - it's one of Jonathans of Domaine Treloar. Mmm. Helps you type.

Anyway, if everyone who reads this crosses thier fingers, then the tables will arrive, so come on, concerted effort, please. If not, then it's the beach this weekend!

excited about tomorrow!

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:28:00 GMT

Well the plumber will come tomorrow, and if he doesn't there'll be trouble. so Dave is fitting taps as we speak ready for him to connect to actual water. Here is a compare and contrast of the reserve:

Wow! I think the Vets (hygiene people) will be happy with that!

Here is the dining room in all its' glory

The Italians!

And the ovens - seriously awesome. The top one is a 10Kw steam/convection oven and the one below is a pizza oven for heating the stones. However, the table is a real star too, it was made for us by one of the young lads doing the electrics and he's done a smashing job - and I don't mind admitting that we had reservations about it - knowing that he was doing it. But it is as solid as a rock and houses everything perfectly. Today we chose and ordered the menu covers - a month, dammit! Ordered a credit card machine (make sure people can pay!) and tidied up a few loose ends - I have ordered most of the crockery, cutlery, glasses etc, and am refining and printing the menu, and Dave has fitted a fire door to the electric cupboard. Busy busy! Oh- and we went to see a wine supplier who should be delivering next week. Phew!

High on paint fumes

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:07:00 GMT

Cor, if there was an olympics for painting, I would definitely be up for a gold. The reserve has been transformed from a cave in the rocks to a clean, bright room. It's had an undercoat of plasterboard paint all round and two coats of gleaming white. Dave has fitted the light, the light switch has been fitted and today it had its' first coat of floor paint and tomorrow it will have its' last. Then I shall clean all the fridges and freezers and we shall put them back in, and fit it out with shelving.

Ah, you may have noticed we have brought the opening date forward to the 24th, which is a week on Friday. Eeek! Wowee have we got a lot to do before then. However, the plumber is coming between now and thursday to fit the water heater and link all the water, and fit the grease separator and once that is done, the leccies will pop back to wire in the washing machine which they cannot do until the plumbing can be done, apparently.

Unbelievably the new freezer arrived today, but is also faulty. Arghh. The two chaps were really hacked off, understandably, they keep lugging freezers up and down our hill. Still, it wont stop us but not being here, and the guys have to come back to finish off wiring in stuff anyway. All we REALLY need is for the tables and chairs to arrive on time! Any day now.

Had another pleasantly agreeable dealing with the tax office recently. At the end of every quarter, we fill in a form to pay or claim back our VAT. As we are not earning at the moment, but spending like the clappers, I put in a claim for nearly €8000 in VAT. Well, much to my horror, they refused the claim and said we will have to wait until the end of the year. Fat good it will do us then - we need it now, to finish off the work and open! Anyway, Dave spoke to the controller Lady of taxes, and she asked us to fax one or two of our biggest bills which I did, and she phoned today to say that the claim had been accepted instead. How about that! That's a relief, I don't suppose the bank would have been too sympathetic in this current climate! Moral of the story: plead with them, it could work.

Most of the painting is done now, and Dave has finished the floor and is just touching up the edges, so now I have turned my attention to the actual opening - there is so much behind the scenes stuff to do: let people know we are opening, is a good start. Today I designed and ordered some flyers and I shall put them up in strategic local places - the Post Office, our bank, the supermarket, the tourist office and local hotels and guest houses - we shall just concentrate on local until we settle in to the routine. I have also posted a notice at the top of the hill for passers by to read. I have finished the menu, now we have to decide on menu covers, I have to print them and post them on the website, decide how I am going to present the food, what crockery and cutlery we need, where to get it from, order it and then write a shopping list of ingredients - bearing in mind I have not one grain of salt, even! I have to decide what i need to cook it and store it, and then buy that - and finally, order what I can, go and get the rest and cook it!! Phew! We shall probably forget something important like the bread! I am definitely finding this the exciting bit.

Well I have tried twice now to upload some pics, and twice, Internet Explorer has crashed, so I'm giving up for tonight. Perhaps I'll get them up tomorrow in the morning. G'night all.

The Italians have arrived

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:38:00 GMT

Well, phew, the Italian equipment has arrived at last - ordered at the end of July, and well late. This is the last of the equipment to arrive, consisting of a low level fridge with a grill plate, deep fat fryer and bain marie on top. It is 1.20M wide, so packs a lot of equipment into a small space. Photos to follow, of-course. Well, it was all we were waiting for, until it was discovered that the freezer doesn't work. So that went back today, and another one is on its' way, however, that arrived really fast, so hopefully the new one will come quickly. This incident with the freezer demonstrated the advantages of having a specialist in charge of equiping the kitchen. Once the elecs were turned on, we could test all that had been delivered, and although the freezer made a humming noise, apparently the motor isn't turning, or something. Anyway, something that would have been a right pain for Dave and I to deal with. The facade has been put on the front of the 'beast' and all that really remains for them to do is to hook up the equipment. Ta da!

So now all we're really waiting for is Dave and me to pull our fingers out. How exciting, we can practically open whenever we like! Well, I suppose we should wait for the tables and chairs to arrive......Ohmygosh, better get cracking on a menu - lots of ideas in my head, must get them onto paper...We were looking at an official opening from the 1st November, called Toussaint, here in France, All Saints in English, but perhaps we can get going a bit sooner. I am so relieved, because, now that I'm paying everyone, the money is disappearing fast. Well, Dave is half-way through flooring the main dining room. We have pretty much agreed to open without the second dining room initially, and work on it in our spare time. So he has lots of bits and bobs to finish off. I am painting for France - painting the reserve. Once that is done, we can move the fridges and freezers in there and set up the stockage area. Get the plumbers in to switch on the water, and fit a new water heater, and off we go. Wow, this is definitely more exciting than having it all ahead of us. Here's a night shot:

Will take pics of new stuff and post them soon!

Lookee lookee!

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:43:00 GMT

Starting to look smart!

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:42:00 GMT

So time flew by quicker than planned, as usual. We had a very constructive weekend. We decided to take advantage of two clear days of no boots stomping around and lay the floor on the welcome level. I had a blitz on the terrace and shoved all the workmens stuff into a corner and cleaned the terraces, so at least we look quite smart from the outside. Then finished off the painting around the staircases, and am now painting a protective varnish onto the paintwork to protect it from greasy hands.

Amazingly we had several more visits from peple coming by to introduce themselves and find out when we are opening, so that is great! There is a general air of impatience. Saturday was a bit of a dangerous day for me - some days, it's like I have a death wish! First of all I dropped a long metal piece of trim from a height onto the top of my foot. It was so painful I could hardly catch my breath. I thought initially I had broken a bone, but it's fine. Then, later, on our way to see the chambre d'hotes, I fell over at the bottom of our drive and tore my trousers and gashed my knee. What an idiot. My foot turned on some loose stones. This kind of accident makes me really break out in a sweat as this happened to me whilst in Brazil - I got of a bus, my ankle turned and I heard it snap. 6 weeks in a cast. However, just blood and a HUGE bruise this time - and a husband who wonders if I'm becoming a bit infirm! Anyone else have days like that?!

I think you'll agree, things are getting there!

In the absence of electricians yesterday (grrr) we went to Perpignan and ordered the tables and chairs. They will look fantastic. We also picked up the bargain bar fridges which we got in a promotion with 200 euros off. Still no electricians today, so they got an irate phone call. Apparently they are coming this afternoon to connect the electrics and bring the final bit of equipment that should be arriving from Italy and the custom made table to hold the ovens. If we get electricity this afternoon, I shall eat my hat. But I can hope! Watch this space!

Time warp!

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:48:54 GMT

Goodness, I had been trying to write that last post all week, but it's got quite busy round here suddenly. Kitchen stuff has been arriving, we now have all the inox tables and sinks, the 'pizza unit' which is a very handsome long low fridge with a marble top and a higher fridge unit where you have little pots of ingredients to put on salads, pizzas, etc. I realise this is a completely inadequate description, but I shall post a pic to make up for my inability to describe it! The freezer and pizza oven are here, plaque induction there. It sounds as if we are going to be doing pizzas, but the oven is to heat the hot stones - only pizza ovens heat to the heat required. One of the lads is off now making us a unit to fit my 'normal' oven with the pizza oven underneath. Who knows how that will turn out!

Olivier bade us farewell yesterday evening. I spoke to him further about his problems, it turns out he has Hepatitus B, poor thing, and they want to try to treat him with interferon which has similar effects to Chemo. The risk is that if he doesn't, he could end up getting Cirrhosis, and then it's game over, really. So it doesn't look as if he has much choice. I hope he will keep in touch - he says he will, but we shall see. His work ended up costing 11,000 euros once we claim back the VAT, which I think is a bargain for all the work he has done. This means we can add painting and fitting out the reserve to our list of stuff to do.

A lady came around yesterday and introduced herself as a neighbour who lives across the road in a lovely 19C villa, called Villa Delphine. She started doing chambres D'hotes this year - nutter - as she has 9 bedrooms and was full all summer. She wanted to know when we would be open a) so she could come and b) for her clients as she could not recommend a restaurant here in Vernet. She is a lovely lady and we showed her round and she was most appreciative of the colour scheme, so of-course got straight into my good books. We are invited around tomorrow at 6pm to see her rooms and a return visit. This will pander to my nosy nature as I have been trying to see in since we got here! We also had the owners of a local hotel, called Le Mas Fleurie come round to see when we are opening, and Dave heard a conversation of some French people who were passing who evidently were looking to see how we are doing. I get a feeling of a bit of impatience, people waiting for us to open - I know the feeling! Which is good, wouldn't you say?

We have been showing the Steakstones to our collaborators - the electricians etc. I also showed them to a potential supplier who visited on Tuesday. They have all expressed an interest in buying a set. I spoke to the supplier yesterday as it happens, who called to see if they had arrived OK, and put it his way that if he ever wanted to expand into France, perhaps we could do a deal. But I won't be selling them within a 50km radius!

Some customers of ours from The Dordogne visited yesterday - the 3rd, I think to look us up! Amazing, considering that's more than any family who have bothered to come out - hint hint! They're all too afraid of being given a paintbrush. So we had lunch here and then they treated us to dinner at a charming small hotel in the next village called Casteil. It was a fixed menu of Mussels and rabbit, neither of which I eat!! Talk about fussy for a chef, but I am a bit squeamish where it comes to meat. However, the chef was very sweet and did me melon and ham, and then duck, so all was not lost. However, I think they are daring choices for a menu with no choice. So that episode was a naughty distraction from our works. It was lovely to see them and catch up on their news.

Well, today is Friday, so once the leccies have taken themselves off this evening, I shall do a photographic round-up of the advances made this week and post them tomorrow, all going well.

Bye bye builder!

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:13:13 GMT

It's Olivier's last day tomorrow, after 3 months working here. Ahh. He needs us to accompany him round and sign off on everything, and, no doubt, write him a cheque. Some sad news for him, though, the doctors treating his liver condition want to give him a course of treatment which is very like chemotherapy, and it could lay him off work for a year. Each time he has an 'episode' of whatever he has, the episodes get worse, and future episodes could result in cirrhosis. He is waiting on the outcome of other tests before he makes a decision, but I feel for him. I always find it odd how really sick people can look really well - he looks quite well now. I hope he stays in touch.

And before you ask, yes, the leccies ARE still here. They didn't turn up on Monday at all, so we phoned J-P in the afternoon to have a moan, and they have been in force since. J-P appears to have taken over the wiring of the famous fusebox, and the two guys are putting up emergency exit signs and plugs and sockets and alarm boxes etc. Unbelievably, new stuff is STILL appearing. After some consultation with the company overseeing our conformity to regulations, it was decided that I needed another emergency button to push right by the door to the kitchen which activates the extractor fan to full blast. The idea is, that if there's a fire in the kitchen, I wack the button in the kitchen which cuts off all the hot stuff and on my way out, I wack the button activating the extractor, thus not being overcome by smoke. This is an extra button, and lots of white plastic cable covering is now snaking up the wall, to try and act as camouflage. There is not a chocolate teapots' chance that I will die in a fire! Our customers, neither. An alarm has been fitted discretely behind a beam in the dining room and a red box 'break glass in case of fire' has appeared behind the bar along with another white box which has lights on it that light up if something malfunctions on the fusebox. All very high-tech. And time consuming. Sigh.

However, kitchen equipment has started arriving and the kitchen has started shrinking! A special mention here has to be made of Nisbets France - which is actually a UK company supplying kitchen equipment at great prices from Paris. They deliver so fast, it is unbelievable. We ordered our washing up sinks and stainless steel tables from them, and had some reservations, since the prices were so reasonable. However, I am really pleased with them - they are robust and perfect!

Phew!

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:30:00 GMT

I spent b****y hours yesterday uploading pics, converting them to smaller jpegs and then creating a slideshow, and then Explorer kept crashing, so I couldn't get any words out! Grrr. Still, Perhaps you have got the gist that we have been making quite a lot of progress despite the fact that the electricians are still at it (gnashing of teeth). However, emergency lights and cut-off switches are going up, so actual visible progress is happening, and please let them finish this week! It would also be quite exciting to have electricity!! There is only one plug socket that works which is in the reserve, and this has loads of extension cables coming out of it as people power their tools and lights. We are nearly at the stage where we (well, Dave) can start the flooring, so we have been to Perps to choose it. We have ordered walnut floorboards, they are a mixture of black and normal walnut and have a really velvety dark sheen to them. They will look fab. They will arrive on Tues, so we shall be off to pick them up then. As you see from the photos, the Steakstones finally arrived. I have to mention DHL here - they picked them up from the supplier in the UK on the 1st Sept. and they finally got here after constant phone calls from us on the 26th. Good job it wasn't urgent. I am very happy with them, (the Steakstones, not DHL, and I wouldn't recommend them) I think they are handsome sets. They were also very well packaged. We have a handsome silver shovel with them as well, to manipulate the stones out of the oven.

So the final details are now being put into place. I ordered the kitchen tables and sinks etc last week, and they are on their way, so we shall start fitting out the kitchen when they arrive, which should be any day now. The only thing I am waiting for is a low fridge unit with a grill, deep fat fryer and bain mairie which has been ordered from Italy. We were told that it would arrive in September....not much of that left! Actually, I can't really believe where this month has gone - it all seems a bit of a blur.

Our banker came round the other day to see the progress - probably to find out for himself why it is taking so long!! He normally lunches here, so hopefully will be a keen customer once we do open. He seemed quite enthusiastic.

The downside of everyone finishing is that they will all want paying - watch that bank balance plummet! Gulp. Still, when we look close to opening, I shall blast everywhere with a poster. Oh, good news, and aparthotel is opening just down the road, about a 10 min walk here (uphill) and a 5 min walk back. 72 furnished apartments for rent, short or long stay. They will be getting a poster!! They are www.atriumtourismgroup.com and the new residence is called 'Les Balcons du Canigou'. I am so excited about opening, I can't tell you!

Well, better go, but before I do, I would just like to note how sad I am to hear of the death of Paul Newman. He truly was an icon, and hot stuff! May he Rest in Peace.

Pics

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:56:00 GMT

Tied to the paint pot!

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:32:00 GMT

Just a quickie to let you know I haven't forgotten to post, but I've been painting the big kitchen wall (entrance side of-course!)and I had to use an undercoat that required topcoating within 2 days, so I've been painting like a fury! Today we nipped out to sort out the flooring and I had to do more painting...but hopefully tomorrow I shall get myself sorted out and take some end of week photos. Despite the fact the two boys are still here *sob*, there is quite a lot of progress, even though they seem to still be cabling, rather unbelievably! Olivier is going great guns and has nearly finished the reserve, just about 3 days left to go, and most of that is mainly doing the joints and plastering. He has done a great job boxing in the main electricity cable in 1/2 hour fire proof board and then he has done the whole wall over that in 1/2 hour fire proof board, so all the main cables are protected. Or, rather, we are protected from them!

However, I have to go shopping for his lordship's pressie tomorrow - birthday boy on Saturday. What to get the man who has all he needs, and who wants for nothing? Nearly 50!! Old geezer!

Hopefully will post some photos tomorrow.

Night!

Stress and gnashing of teeth

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 19:38:00 GMT

This week has seen me at the end of my tether as regards the MESS that the two lads (electricians) make when they are supposed to be finishing stuff neatly. They have made such a mess of a junction box, they broke the wall and then fitted the box crookedly and then mixed up the plaster on our new terrace tiles and generally made a horrendous bodge job of it all. Consequently they have been banned from even trying to finish anything off and under no circumstances to mix any more plaster: Dave will do it. They have now fitted the box straight. I was getting so upset about it, it seemed to me that we were making everything shiny and new and these two were following behind and destroying stuff. So from now on any holes that need making or filling will be done by Dave. We just want them to finish wiring the box and b****r off. Of-course my stress = Daves' stress and I let him deal with them because I would have ripped their heads off. Dave went to see their boss mid-week and he is up to speed on their limitations. They are nice lads, but real bodgits, and won't do J-P any favours in the long run. So Now am calm....er. Zen.......

Dave and I got to grips with the kitchen floor and is now fitted.It definitely wasn't worth €1000 of fitting fees. I shall post a piccie of it tomorrow. Olivier, the Anaemic-one-who-is-no-longer-so-anaemic, is working away in the reserve: he has another job to get to, so hopefully, that'll spur him on, but the rails are about up, so the end is in sight! We'll miss him! And we are about ready to start decorating downstairs in the dining rooms. I have finished one blind, and have two more to go. I ordered the tables and sinks for the kitchen today...we can start putting the stuff in now!

We went on a mission to one of the cash n carries during the week. One of them has a promotion on for bar fridges which will save us €200. Nice one! Whilst there I treated myself to a new toy, inspired by Heston Blumenthal. A syphon:

And I think this will go on the dessert menu as a result:

It's a lemon syllabub with lemonade. Recipe and technique courtesy of Heston. Looks yummy, doesn't it, and light as a feather.

On that note, must go and get dinner!