Happy ever after

Last week was all about cooking, cooking and cooking - four dinners in five nights, two in-house at 42rvh and two outside at Chateau Aragon. They were coupled with clients who needed breakfast and who were very keen to be up and out at a decent hour - so it was late nights and early mornings and running on adrenalin for a few days.

Since then it's been a bit quieter - breakfasts all week but only the early mornings and no late nights - a chance to catch-up with chores and a bit of sleep.

On Monday I slept for two hours in the afternoon which is unheard of - I rarely sleep during the day - but I felt so much better for it. No going out, a good cycle ride midweek and lots of thinking about future plans. There isn't really any relaxing because there are always maintenance jobs to be planned and always the 'next big thing' to sort out.

I wouldn't have it any other way though. If I think we can just stand still doing what we do here at 42rvh then we won't stand still at all - we will go backwards. So we have to keep looking for new opportunities to expand and develop what we do, which is why we are cooking for clients at outside holiday rentals and why we are always on the lookout for ways to expand the 42rvh offer.

The outside clients were from the USA and were celebrating a 50th birthday. We cooked three dinners for them over the course of the week, a simple supper on the day they arrived, a four course Summer dinner and a four course Languedoc regional dinner which naturally featured quite a lot of duck. It all went well.

They very kindly gave us a bottle of Syrah that they had dragged all the way from just outside Seattle. I looked it up and it's a good bottle of wine from one of the most respected winemakers in Washington state. What can you say to something like that? - its as if they knew before they arrived that it would be the perfect tip. It is now safely tucked away in the basement cellar waiting the day - whenever that may be.

The in-house guests were equally appreciative. We always have a very soft spot for a young in-love couple of newlyweds like the ones who arrived last Sunday - nearly welled up just looking at them and very much hope that in 20 years time they are still as happy and enthusiastic as they were when I first met them. Bless.

End of Summer

All of a sudden Autumn is upon us - the mornings suddenly seem darker longer and the evenings a lot shorter. I know these things don't just change suddenly but it does feel like that.

Maybe it's the change in the weather - from French summer to English summer apparently, i.e 18 degrees not 28 and constant showers rather than blue sky - or maybe it's because the schools are back and the daily street noise now revolves around drop-off and pick-up times at the school next door - or maybe it's because the first mushrooms and pumpkins have appeared at the market alongside the plums and pears that popped up a couple of weeks ago - or maybe its because the grape harvest (vendange) has started (apparently the harvest will be small but the quality should be high - due to the drought and sunshine since the beginning of June)

Actually I am quite looking forward to poached pears instead of roast peaches and pumpkin soup instead of melon salad and a good casserole instead of chicken breast - but I don't wish them upon us too quickly - I am hoping we might still get an Indian Summer as we have had for the past two years that I've been here.

When I ventured down to the market at 7.30am this morning the difference was palpable - the stalls on the corner were piled with ceps and girolles for the first time this year - most of the market stalls were still in the process of setting up, when a couple of weeks ago they would all have been in place at 7.00am and I was wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans instead of a t-shirt and shorts.

I like the changeover points between fruits and vegetables - do you stick with the outgoing which is now very cheap but just past it's best or do you plunge in for the new exciting stuff that you haven't eaten for 10 months even though it is still a bit pricey?

As we wandered the market on our second visit of the day, we came across 'the smelly tomato man', as Debrah sometimes refers to him, out of affection it must be said. He clearly lives for his vegetables and personal appearance and hygiene are definitely not as important to the welfare of his 'children' - today we watched as he caressed and then presented to a client a pumpkin, with all the care of a mother holding a new born babe. You have to admire such dedication and love.

It was an unusual Saturday because I had a client changeover and so missed my usual Saturday lunchtime gathering at Cafe Saillan and was cleaning and ironing instead. As is always the way my new clients didn't arrive until gone 4.00pm and so I would have had ample time for a quick swing by the bar and a bit of handshaking and cheek kissing.

My new guests are on honeymoon - aahh - and are also my first genuine bona fide American visitors because they have flown all the way from America to be here, rather than just channel hopping from the UK - and they are so young too to be all married.

I hope they have a long life together in peace and harmony - the last bit won't happen but if they work at it and are determined then the first bit will. You have my best wishes.

Meanwhile we have started closing the windows in the evening and have a put a heavier duvet on the bed and had cassoulet for supper - looks like the summers over.