We are still busy at La Vieille Grange but having a real plan of action and a week off every third week keeps it as a paying bobby and fun which is a great plus.
We have just been given a great review by an Army officer who stayed. 'Fantastic hosts, beautiful house in a wonderful setting and the food was Michelin star quality served at home' I will settle for a comment like that!
Kept our guests on their toes yesterday at breakfast as I managed to fill the sugar bowl with salt. For a couple of our guests Weetabix will never taste the same again. My ploy of saying that salt is good on Porridge didn't cut it. They did see the funny side of it but I will never live it down.
Our guests seem to eat more and more of my home made bread and some of the repeat business we have been asked by e mail do we still do our version of Beuf Bourgenon and home made bread before they book. We have not tested as to whether they would still come if we didn't,
Weather here so unpredictable. One evening we are out having drinks and dinner in our 'Ruin, secret garden' the next evening we are inside with the heating on, what is going on?
Because we have been busy it's been difficult to fit family and friends in this year but I am sure we will manage.
Our daughter gets her BAC results on Friday the 6th of July in the morning and in the afternoon she flys off to start a two week training course with the TA in the UK. I really hope that she enjoys it.
Lots of gardening and DIY to catch up with this 'Week off' The grass is growing as you look at it.
Pinger just gone for my bread so go I must or I will end up with burnt offerings.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Some experimental bread!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
B&B still coming in!
We are still amazingly very busy. I am certainly not complaining but for some reason I expected it to tail off a bit. We are always trying to get to grips with new menus not just for our guests but it makes it more interesting for us. Some of our 'experiments' work and of course some don't but that's the fun of cooking. It always surprises us that things that shouldn't work on paper absolutely do when put together, seasoned and cooked. One recipe for instance is a sweet Brioch loaf with two Toulouse sausages baked inside and when baked and sliced served with Mango Chutney as a starter. The sweet and savoury work well together.
We have a week off now but have just filled our B&B for the week after so time to recoup and get cooking again.
The weather here in this part of Bretagne is all over the place and trying to garden and cut grass at the moment is very hit and miss. Our cider apple tree which every year is a mass of blooms this year has been a big disappointment so I hope it's not a sign that we are in for a poor summer.
Yesterday was a very busy day at the bread oven but it went very well and the bread, eighty loaves, were perfect. The day at the oven was given over to showing a group of children from a home how to use the oven and how to make the bread. A very enjoyable and rewarding day.
One of my friends who always comes to help on our bread oven days went for her annual check up and was promptly sent off for more investigations and has been diagnosed with lung cancer. The amount of friends with various illnesses at the moment is quite frightening.
My brother is coming over for a couple of weeks soon and we are hoping to further the renovation on my bread oven here at home. I always enjoy my brothers company as we have our very own Gourmet evenings and it's nice to try out my experimental cooking on him.
Well now it's off to bed!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Still very busy!
Just a little update to say that we are still very busy at La Vieille Grange.
Our B&B seems to be going from strength to strength. We have however booked a week off next week. We thoroughly enjoy doing it but we need to get some of our jobs done around the place.
This week we took the opportunity to try out a couple of our own meal creations and I am pleased to say they went down very well and are now on the menu. One was something that should not work but does. We cooked two nice fat Toulouse sausages wrapped in ham and then baked them inside a Brioche loaf which is a sweet cakey bread. The sweetness of the bread and the savoury sausage taste just great together. We also did a twist on breakfast. We baked soft rolls. Scooped the inside of the rolls out to form a bowl. We then added to the bread rolls beans, scrambled eggs and sausage chunks and a rasher of bacon. Very Yummy!
My friend Jean-Paul and I have a lot of jobs at the bread oven to get done as we are very busy with bookings for bread making and baking demonstrations. This year in August we are having another three day festival of bread making and baking. It has been growing year on year and is now one of the biggest festivals in the region. Over the festival weekend I will bake over one thousand French Boules. These are all sold and the money is then donated to all the local causes such as the elderly, the homeless and some of the poorer children in school. We raise every year with the festival and our demonstrations over 25,000 Euro and after expenses and insurance costs to set up the festival it all gets given away to all the various charities. The other main purpose is to keep the tradition of bread making alive and well. I never in a million years thought whilst walking around on the top of Esso tankers and running three petrol stations that one day I would be living in France teaching French people how to make French bread, it's just very weird!
After really lovely weather it turned really nasty with wind, rain and storms. Bretagne is very green so the rain does have it's benefits and the sun will soon return so we have that to look forward to.
Sunday morning we are off to a brunch at a new restaurant run by an English couple and I am supplying some bread for the Chef to 'Critique'. They have done a brilliant job of the renovation and it's the way I would have it if it were mine.
Time for bed!
Our B&B seems to be going from strength to strength. We have however booked a week off next week. We thoroughly enjoy doing it but we need to get some of our jobs done around the place.
This week we took the opportunity to try out a couple of our own meal creations and I am pleased to say they went down very well and are now on the menu. One was something that should not work but does. We cooked two nice fat Toulouse sausages wrapped in ham and then baked them inside a Brioche loaf which is a sweet cakey bread. The sweetness of the bread and the savoury sausage taste just great together. We also did a twist on breakfast. We baked soft rolls. Scooped the inside of the rolls out to form a bowl. We then added to the bread rolls beans, scrambled eggs and sausage chunks and a rasher of bacon. Very Yummy!
My friend Jean-Paul and I have a lot of jobs at the bread oven to get done as we are very busy with bookings for bread making and baking demonstrations. This year in August we are having another three day festival of bread making and baking. It has been growing year on year and is now one of the biggest festivals in the region. Over the festival weekend I will bake over one thousand French Boules. These are all sold and the money is then donated to all the local causes such as the elderly, the homeless and some of the poorer children in school. We raise every year with the festival and our demonstrations over 25,000 Euro and after expenses and insurance costs to set up the festival it all gets given away to all the various charities. The other main purpose is to keep the tradition of bread making alive and well. I never in a million years thought whilst walking around on the top of Esso tankers and running three petrol stations that one day I would be living in France teaching French people how to make French bread, it's just very weird!
After really lovely weather it turned really nasty with wind, rain and storms. Bretagne is very green so the rain does have it's benefits and the sun will soon return so we have that to look forward to.
Sunday morning we are off to a brunch at a new restaurant run by an English couple and I am supplying some bread for the Chef to 'Critique'. They have done a brilliant job of the renovation and it's the way I would have it if it were mine.
Time for bed!
Wow! Another busy week at La Vieille Grange.
It's been another rewaeding week running our B&B. We now have it all off to a fine art I am pleased to say but as is the way we are always learning.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
A Week off?
After three weeks of full on B&B we have a week off, Woop! Woop! Not quite true in a sense as there are lots of our own jobs that need doing. After the winter the garden is a priority and if the B&B carries on like it is the garden is going to play a big part. We have a secret garden which is part of a ruin. You could visit our lovely house and not realise that it even exists so it is a perfect place to hide away with a café and a good book. It is in the basement part of the old cider house and so it is sunken with the most beautiful view down to the river and up through the valley and not another property in site. We have had as many as twelve people to lunch down in the ruin. It has a very French feel as it has a large solid table under a beamed area covered in a lovely vine mixed with honeysuckle. We also have electric lights and a charcoal BBQ as well. It's a hard life being retired but I am getting the hang of it!
I also keep an eye on three holiday homes. What is very nice is that all of the owners of these properties have become such lovely friends. All of the homes are very different but all have a charm of their own.
I personally could not have a holiday home whilst living in the UK as I would be constantly counting the days in between each visit and would just want to always be over here in France as it is where my heart is. From our first visit to France thirty odd years a go it's where we wanted to be. Now we have lived here for ten wonderful years. Evie has thanked us more than a few times for bringing her to France as she has enjoyed an idylic childhood.
Sunday next we start a new week of B&B which starts with a trip to Dinard airport to pick up a guest. Our Rav 4 has now clocked up nearly 200,000 miles which is amazing as apart from the normal things like brakes and tyres we have never had a thing go wrong with it.
We are hoping to have a lazy day on Friday and take the train to Rennes for a wander, a meal and just take in the beautiful city that it is.
Now to bed!
I also keep an eye on three holiday homes. What is very nice is that all of the owners of these properties have become such lovely friends. All of the homes are very different but all have a charm of their own.
I personally could not have a holiday home whilst living in the UK as I would be constantly counting the days in between each visit and would just want to always be over here in France as it is where my heart is. From our first visit to France thirty odd years a go it's where we wanted to be. Now we have lived here for ten wonderful years. Evie has thanked us more than a few times for bringing her to France as she has enjoyed an idylic childhood.
Sunday next we start a new week of B&B which starts with a trip to Dinard airport to pick up a guest. Our Rav 4 has now clocked up nearly 200,000 miles which is amazing as apart from the normal things like brakes and tyres we have never had a thing go wrong with it.
We are hoping to have a lazy day on Friday and take the train to Rennes for a wander, a meal and just take in the beautiful city that it is.
Now to bed!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Still busy busy
Well we have been full tilt at La Vieille Grange for the past three weeks. It's been very hard work and great fun. The people we meet are a very diverse bunch but all have their 'Ways'
Next week we have some time off and it will be nice to get some of my own jobs done. The amount of time spent in the Super Market is unbelievable shopping for our guests breakfasts and evening meals. We spend so much time in Léclerc they must think we are on the pay roll. It's very sad that I now know where every thing is on the shelves in that particular store.
Jane and I have done so much baking and cooking too over this period and we have once more had such brilliant comments about our food. It's a real buzz when ones hard work is appreciated.
The days are getting longer now which is good because I can't wait to get our garden back in shape after winter. The summer here is just wonderful it has to be said. I am looking forward to the walks along the cliffs at Val-an-dré and a nice lunch in the harbour.
April is approaching and I have three bread oven days already booked, Can't wait to get started again. It is going to be a very busy season on that front.
Gone mid night so I am now off to bed ready for my early start in the morning.
Next week we have some time off and it will be nice to get some of my own jobs done. The amount of time spent in the Super Market is unbelievable shopping for our guests breakfasts and evening meals. We spend so much time in Léclerc they must think we are on the pay roll. It's very sad that I now know where every thing is on the shelves in that particular store.
Jane and I have done so much baking and cooking too over this period and we have once more had such brilliant comments about our food. It's a real buzz when ones hard work is appreciated.
The days are getting longer now which is good because I can't wait to get our garden back in shape after winter. The summer here is just wonderful it has to be said. I am looking forward to the walks along the cliffs at Val-an-dré and a nice lunch in the harbour.
April is approaching and I have three bread oven days already booked, Can't wait to get started again. It is going to be a very busy season on that front.
Gone mid night so I am now off to bed ready for my early start in the morning.
Friday, January 20, 2012
January 2012 and the year is already looking very good!
It's January and it's very cold and wet but already I am looking forward to the Bretagne sunshine, it won't be long now.
Already we are very busy with our B&B with bookings coming in as far off as October 2012. It is only a 'paying' hobby for us in my retirement but already it's difficult to keep the lid on it. We enjoy it so much that it's hard to say no when enquiries come in. We want to do it a week on and a week off so that we can visit various places around us. We have been here nearly ten years now but there is still so many visits to be made both near and far.
We are going to the UK to see family and friends in February but already I am excited about getting back to our lovely house. Jane, my wife, is staying on a bit longer but I am returning as we have booked B&B in that week. I am being promoted from Sous Chef to head Chef so the pressure is on. I hope that Jane's standard has rubbed off on me, we shall see!
It's ironic really as both Jane and I just love cooking and baking but have to ration ourselves with the food. My bread and her cakes and puddings are a recipe for an expanding waist line. The saying is though 'Don't trust a skinny cook'
There is a big push in the UK to push real bread and so lots of smaller independat bakers are promoting it and getting the public informed. Once you have tasted proper home made bread there is no going back again. I do my bit here in France.
Already we are very busy with our B&B with bookings coming in as far off as October 2012. It is only a 'paying' hobby for us in my retirement but already it's difficult to keep the lid on it. We enjoy it so much that it's hard to say no when enquiries come in. We want to do it a week on and a week off so that we can visit various places around us. We have been here nearly ten years now but there is still so many visits to be made both near and far.
We are going to the UK to see family and friends in February but already I am excited about getting back to our lovely house. Jane, my wife, is staying on a bit longer but I am returning as we have booked B&B in that week. I am being promoted from Sous Chef to head Chef so the pressure is on. I hope that Jane's standard has rubbed off on me, we shall see!
It's ironic really as both Jane and I just love cooking and baking but have to ration ourselves with the food. My bread and her cakes and puddings are a recipe for an expanding waist line. The saying is though 'Don't trust a skinny cook'
There is a big push in the UK to push real bread and so lots of smaller independat bakers are promoting it and getting the public informed. Once you have tasted proper home made bread there is no going back again. I do my bit here in France.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Christmas and New Year 2011
We at La Vieille Grange have just had the best Christmas and New Year. Christmas day with friends playing games around a very nice log fire. Good food, good friends and just a big chill day. Celebrated on Tuesday our sort of boxing day at one of our favourite restaurants in Moncontour. It was a long and leisurely lunch.
Our daughter has been in party mode for the best part of her school holidays but has had great fun. She had nine of her friends round on New Years Eve and between them cooked a roast Beef dinner and then afterwards just partied in the New Year until five in the morning. Give them all credit as they kicked us both out to our local bar and told us not to come back for a couple of hours while they cleaned their party war zone up! We came back to a near spotless house I am pleased to say.
We are all ready now for 2012 and so I wonder what that will bring.
Happy New Year!
Our daughter has been in party mode for the best part of her school holidays but has had great fun. She had nine of her friends round on New Years Eve and between them cooked a roast Beef dinner and then afterwards just partied in the New Year until five in the morning. Give them all credit as they kicked us both out to our local bar and told us not to come back for a couple of hours while they cleaned their party war zone up! We came back to a near spotless house I am pleased to say.
We are all ready now for 2012 and so I wonder what that will bring.
Happy New Year!
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