Vegetarians, Cassoulet and Confit

I am happy to cook most recipes - I am not keen on shellfish but might cook them, would rather someone else did. So I was not too daunted when clients said that they were vegetarian and could I please not serve an omelette as that is what they are generally offered in French restaurants.

I have 2 or 3 vegetarian cookbooks and as I had been given some notice I had time to sort something out for them. I had already made some Tomato soup and Beetroot soup, so the clients had an option for either. I had also found a really nice Roast Mediterranean vegetable Lasagna, courtesy of Delia Smith which I served with a green salad with an Apple Charlotte for desert. They enjoyed it so much that they requested a meal for the next night! Ho hum, thinking cap on!!

Pas de probleme! Corn on the cob starter (home grown sweetcorn!) followed by walnut and broccoli bake with fresh carrots and runner beans and profiteroles with chocolate sauce for desert. They were delighted and I was as pleased as punch that it all worked out.

I found that I was enjoying cooking, J had a productive potager on the go and the vegetables were superb and they were what I put on the table. I found that we rarely bought vegetables from the market, just things like aubergines and sweet peppers which we did not grow at the time.

We had a group of people from the South of France come to visit. They had booked for a long weekend and were visiting the Puy du Fou which is not too far from here. They arrived Friday evening, piled out of their cars and made their way along the path to our house. Madame greeted me like a long lost friend, we had been communicating by telephone and email for a couple of months prior to their visit. What a delightful lady, her husband was charming and their friends as well.

I had arranged a meal for their first evening and after seeing them into their respective rooms I was back into the kitchen to continue preparations for them. I was preparing a salad with feta cheese and cherry tomatoes followed by Chicken Provencale with runner beans and potatoes (from the garden!)and Pears poached in spiced red wine for dessert.

I was suddenly summoned from the kitchen by Madame. The 'Group' had settled themselves in the lounge and had arrayed in front of them on the coffee table three 1 litre water bottles. They contained Whisky, Pernod, and Port. They also had a large basket of cherries picked that morning. They had found some glasses in the cupboard and were inviting my husband a myself to join them for an aperitif. We could not refuse!!

After they had had their meal they burst into song! What a delight! These were people who knew how to enjoy themselves. They were neighbours who raised duck for foie gras, confit and cassoulet. They were also on their local Twinning committee and their town is Twinned with the town that J's paternal great-grandfather comes from - small world!!

The next day the 'Group' requested another meal - no probs, Soup starter, followed by Pork Chops in Onion Gravy and Tarte Tatin for dessert. They loved the Pork, a very Franglaise recipe!!!

They left on the Monday morning, and we had been waiting for some lambs to be born - the first arrived before they left so they had the pleasure of meeting and greeting some beautiful new babies!! A delight for them and a joy for us!!

Opened!!

In the grenier we had created a family suite of two bedrooms, one double and one twin with their own shared bathroom. On the ground floor, off a large hallway, I had created a double room with own bathroom and also a larger room with double and single bed and own bathroom. I had checked out how much the local hotels were charging per night and set my rate to compliment.

The rooms were now fully decorated and furnished to my satisfaction, I was now ready for our first clients.... and nervous, as I had never done anything quite like this before.

I had in my distant past worked for a few weeks in an Hotel in the deepest Kent countryside, as a receptionist/book-keeper and also some evening bar work. I knew how to greet people and show them their rooms, how to pour a pint or mix a champagne cocktail or gin and tonic. But I had never had to do this for me, let alone in another country!!!!

I did a couple of trial runs with friends from the UK and they were so much help, pointing out things that should or should not be done, letting me know if there was any problem with the plumbing, the lighting or the beds or if their were any weird noises in the house. As it was there were no problems and it seemed that all would be OK!!

I took the decision to only advertise the B&B in France, after all this is the country we have adopted and I did not want to be exclusively for English clientele but somehow English people seemed to find me! The majority of English visitors were couples coming out to France in search of either a holiday home or to look for a cheap ruin to 'do up' and maybe run a gite or two, live in clover and make a fortune! There was at the time in the UK more than one series of programmes showing how couples had moved out here and had created super properties and were enjoying the good life - Ha!

My first French couple arrived from Paris for a short weekend break in the countryside en route to their holiday destination at the coast further south. Madame did not like dogs, she was terrified of them! We had two dogs! Chut! but then she admitted that it never occurred to her that we might have dogs. Problem was easily solved - when she was out and about with her husband, the dogs were confined to the house. They spoke a little English and I spoke a little French and we got on absolutely fine. They adored the house, their room and ate everything on the table at breakfast. I had made jams and jellies for the table and sourced a really nice marmalade. I haven't been able to get Seville Oranges here to make marmalade but found a nice recipe for tangerine marmalade. Our local boulangerie has superb bread, brioche, croissants and choc au pain which are always appreciated.

So my first French clients came and went and I felt relieved! Another bridge crossed.

During my first summer I had clients every week with hardly a break. The washing machine, iron and dishwasher were working overtime. I also offered table d'hote and found it not too difficult to devise some easy yet tasteful menus. A gentleman in our local bank asked if I did Table d'hote, I said 'mai oui' his response was 'Ah ha! la cuisine Franglaise!' Yes, my cuisine was 'Franglaise' English cooking with French ingredients..