Blog
Dear Friends of La Garrigue
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Mes amis bonjour,
What a week!
For a while thought I was never going to catch up with the work accumulated on my desk during my wee escapade in the Languedoc vineyards! But that is that; the payroll is done, the staff have been paid, the suppliers invoices are all ready, I’ve answered all my outstanding e-mails or at least, most important, opened all my mail, (most of it went straight in the bucket), sent the stock take to my bookkeeper and placed the orders for the rest of the week.
I also managed to attend the book launch of the “Relish Scotland-Third helping” cookery book at the Old Course Hotel at St Andrews. I am thrilled to have La Garrigue included in the publication this year and proud to be there with the very best establishments and chefs in Scotland. The reception was very pleasant and it was a great opportunity to catch up with some old ...and some very old friends. I was also very pleased to find out that once again La Garrigue was “Hit Listed” in the List magazine for the French section. This I think is the 7th year in a row and considering the number of restaurants in town it is very encouraging still to be there after so many years.
In spite of all that I am glad to be back at work for a rest! This latest wine tour has been the most demanding to date with ridiculous and self inflicted amount of miles driven through the villages and vineyards of Languedoc. The food we ate and the wine we tasted...(and that some of us drank!!) was just fantastic. The welcomes were second to none and the weather pleasant - most of the time. Only the driving was a bit hectic at times and the scratches left on the bus only tell half the story!! The list is too long to name all the wine makers, the restaurants, the chefs and waiters, the old and the new friends encountered during the trip but I just want to say a big thank you to all and I am already looking forward to meeting you all again on the next trip. I also discovered a few new vineyards and hope to be able to showcase some of the wines soon at La Garrigue. Please do not get too upset if you missed your chance to join us this time around as our reporter/ cameraman Jonathan has filmed the whole week and I understand the editing of hours of footage is just about ready. You will be able to follow us and share the adventure with us. I have also been told that three copies will be available; the internet version; the official version; and the uncut version: for adult and private viewing only.....but I can be bribed!!!
I understand that we had a wee problem with our on line reservation link on Google and Trip Advisor , I have been promised that the issue will be corrected within days and I do not want to even think how many bookings we may have lost during this period. I just want to apologise for the inconvenience. For the next week or so if you wish to come and see us, please call us directly, just in case any link with our old booking system, Open Table, may still appear on some internet pages.
As always I have brought back a few new ideas, recipes, and some old forgotten dishes from my trip and hope to be able to reproduce some of them with Mark in the kitchen. This is an ideal opportunity with the new spring menu to freshen up things a bit and bring some new season touches to our menu so watch this space...
The next few days will give me a chance to finalise the calendar of events for the next quarter, a vegetarian evening, an Italian Day, and possibly a dinner with one of my wine producers is on the cards. I will forward the date to you very soon.
But for now I have to leave you as, I understand, an all French European Rugby Cup final is just about to start and I am sure you will understand....Allez Clermont Auvergne!!!
A bientot,
J-Michel
==========
Mes amis bonjour,
What a week!
For a while thought I was never going to catch up with the work accumulated on my desk during my wee escapade in the Languedoc vineyards! But that is that; the payroll is done, the staff have been paid, the suppliers invoices are all ready, I’ve answered all my outstanding e-mails or at least, most important, opened all my mail, (most of it went straight in the bucket), sent the stock take to my bookkeeper and placed the orders for the rest of the week.
I also managed to attend the book launch of the “Relish Scotland-Third helping” cookery book at the Old Course Hotel at St Andrews. I am thrilled to have La Garrigue included in the publication this year and proud to be there with the very best establishments and chefs in Scotland. The reception was very pleasant and it was a great opportunity to catch up with some old ...and some very old friends. I was also very pleased to find out that once again La Garrigue was “Hit Listed” in the List magazine for the French section. This I think is the 7th year in a row and considering the number of restaurants in town it is very encouraging still to be there after so many years.
In spite of all that I am glad to be back at work for a rest! This latest wine tour has been the most demanding to date with ridiculous and self inflicted amount of miles driven through the villages and vineyards of Languedoc. The food we ate and the wine we tasted...(and that some of us drank!!) was just fantastic. The welcomes were second to none and the weather pleasant - most of the time. Only the driving was a bit hectic at times and the scratches left on the bus only tell half the story!! The list is too long to name all the wine makers, the restaurants, the chefs and waiters, the old and the new friends encountered during the trip but I just want to say a big thank you to all and I am already looking forward to meeting you all again on the next trip. I also discovered a few new vineyards and hope to be able to showcase some of the wines soon at La Garrigue. Please do not get too upset if you missed your chance to join us this time around as our reporter/ cameraman Jonathan has filmed the whole week and I understand the editing of hours of footage is just about ready. You will be able to follow us and share the adventure with us. I have also been told that three copies will be available; the internet version; the official version; and the uncut version: for adult and private viewing only.....but I can be bribed!!!
I understand that we had a wee problem with our on line reservation link on Google and Trip Advisor , I have been promised that the issue will be corrected within days and I do not want to even think how many bookings we may have lost during this period. I just want to apologise for the inconvenience. For the next week or so if you wish to come and see us, please call us directly, just in case any link with our old booking system, Open Table, may still appear on some internet pages.
As always I have brought back a few new ideas, recipes, and some old forgotten dishes from my trip and hope to be able to reproduce some of them with Mark in the kitchen. This is an ideal opportunity with the new spring menu to freshen up things a bit and bring some new season touches to our menu so watch this space...
The next few days will give me a chance to finalise the calendar of events for the next quarter, a vegetarian evening, an Italian Day, and possibly a dinner with one of my wine producers is on the cards. I will forward the date to you very soon.
But for now I have to leave you as, I understand, an all French European Rugby Cup final is just about to start and I am sure you will understand....Allez Clermont Auvergne!!!
A bientot,
J-Michel