Come here

My cooking week guest is a Dutchman, who works for an Australian travel company based in the UK, and therefore, rather bizarrely, speaks English with an Australian accent rather than a Dutch one. Nonetheless, he seems like a nice guy and I think we are going to have a good week together.

We started last night with a few canapes - which I made - it would have been a bit much to ask him to make his own - and the starter for a sourdough loaf. Pleasingly for me, he has already said that it has inspired him to do more than just put out some crisps and nuts the next time he has friends over - which is great.

This morning I took him down to the market and we squeezed and prodded and sniffed and tasted our way around the stalls before enjoying a glass of wine and some lunch sat out in the midday sunshine - it was another beautiful Languedoc day and I feel as if I have caught a bit of sun on my face.

Spring is finally coming - the mimosa is out and the first daffodils have appeared in the market, along with broad beans, asparagus and strawberries (imported from North Africa - so not yet local produce) - but it means my menus will start to change which is good because I am just beginning to tire of the winter fare.

There has been a lot of activity on the website this week and even a few enquiries but it's still proving hard to persuade people to book - everyone seems to be looking for a deal of some sort. The problem is that it still costs the same as it did to run this business, if not more, so it's a catch-22 situation.

Maybe a bit of sunshine will cheer everyone up - let's face it, there is only so much continual bad news one can take - and then hopefully they will feel more confident about actually booking - I hope so.