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Suzyq

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Everything posted by Suzyq

  1. Here's my recipe Use mixed dried fruit moelleux (moist), either chopped or left whole to taste; it doesnt need to be soaked unless using it straight away. You can use apricots, dates, prunes, bananas, figs. Dissolve fructose or sugar in water to make a light syrup add a vanilla pod and simmer for a few minutes. Leave to cool slightly and pour over the prepared fruit, making sure that the fruit is well submerged in the syrup. You can add whiskey etc at this stage to taste if you want to. Cool and put in fridge; it will keep for 2 weeks; the fruit will get softer and the syrup thicker and vanilla taste stronger if you leave the pod in; as time goes by. You can preserve it in jars sterilised in a water bath and it will keep for about 6 months, but isnt worth it as it is better made fresh. When ready to serve take it out of fridge about an hour beforehand to take the chill off and serve with homemade strained yoghurt. Suze
  2. No problem with some provisos. There are 2 ways od doing it; either using the french comapny as a branch of the uk business or setting up an entirely separate company. It depends on your circumstances which is best. The 2nd way may be simpler to administrate. Suze
  3. > We >have been approved by a >B&B Association recognised by the >French Office de Tourism, so >you don't have to tie >yourselves to Gites de France >for 10 years. Clevacances, >well in our Departement they >are not much cop, mostly >French gites. It is a misunderstanding that you have to tie yourself to gites de france for 10 years - this tie is only if you take a grant from them to convert your property. If you just sign up after the work is done the only tie is for the year of your subscription and you can hop in and out as it suits you. > >At a recent meeting with the >local Tourism Office we were >told there is 'a new >law in France which requires >everyone not registered with Gites >de France to complete an >official form (yes, another form!!!) >and apply to the Prefecture >of the Department who will >come out and visit you, >measure up your rooms, inspect >your kitchen - you must >have 2 if you are >going to do table d'hote >(I thought the idea of >that was to eat with >the family!) and then, if >they decide not to licence >you - for 5 years >for a fee - and >someone inconsiderately dies on you >and you have the Sapeur >Pompiers and the Gendarmes and >they ask to see your >licence and you haven't one >from the Prefecture, you can >be put in prison - >this chap is really likeable!! > > I suspect this is so everyone is running to a certain standard. However; who is going to do the inspection and just think how much work would be involved. We all know those who don't have licences etc and I suspect that the gendarmes if they visit will give you a warning first. I think someone is egging the pudding here to frighten people; but having said that if you are giving breakfast and/or doing meals then why not get the licence it's free for the petit or just a few euros for the grande. I Suze
  4. >Does anyone know what has happened >to Yelbid? I miss >her postings. Last I >heard she sounded a bit >down. Does anyone have >contact? > >Angela Have a look at the postbag, she has good news. Suze
  5. Light the blue touch paper and stand well back, this has obviously touched a raw nerve! I have a lot of sympathy with how you feel; especially if b&b is the greater part of your income. There are 2 parts to consider - the first whether you should give advice to your guests on how to set up and possibly compete with you; well you aren't obliged to give any information; the questions can be redirected with skill and you can give very general help; that they can get anywhere. If you feel strongly you could even use subtle spoiling tactics ie how difficult it is, what long hours, the taxes, lack of privacy etc. The chances are that they will already have picked up tips, just by staying with you. The second part is whether we should feel antagonistic towards competition. Well it is open for anybody to set up a business as they see fit. If the area is saturated they will dilute a difficult market; but if they have done their homework properly, they will know this and if sensible should think of something else to do or go to another area. With heavy competition; the theory is that only those who offer the best or different will survive - of course this isn't always the case. The best you can do is have a good presence and high standards and offer good value for money, and be really welcoming; customers will come back and will pass the word around. You have a head start already. And remember a lot of people dream of opening B&b or gites; for most it remains a dream and they don't actually do it or they only last a year or 2 - it is hard work after all. Competition on a level playing field can be for the good; making you rethink your operations and giving an injection of enthusiasm. We can all get complacent if things just go on the same year after year. Suze
  6. This is in accordance with the rules of B&B I downloaded from Cdc - I put a link in useful links a couple of months ago. I's got to do with the service offered as well as number of rooms. Suze
  7. I've known 2 who advertised with one call, one said they never pay for their ads now as they've never had a booking, the other said they worked well for their property - not a very scientific survey - Advertising rates vary considerably in magazines anything from 50 a month to upwards of 100 per month and more. You can often negotiate a lower price for an agreed run especially if you catch them a day or 2 before final date for next issue. One off's are rarely worth while, my own view is a minimum of 3 issues. Know your market and check out which publications are aiming at your target population. Set an advertising budget; it's easy to spend a lot on advertising for no return. Suze
  8. My personal feeling would be that you would need a licence (you need that even if you just give tea and coffee to B&B guests) and would have to set yourself up as a business - perhaps a "Salon de The" with all the usual formalities and that you would have to have permission from the Mairie. I think you would also need safe food handling certificate. As a business proposition, you would need to look at your location, for example no point in being off the beaten track, you need people to know you are there. You would need somewhere that would allow you to build a kitchen that was separate from your own and of course toilet facilities and parking so they didn't obstruct the road use. Seems a lot of expense just for offering a welcome cuppa. Suze
  9. >Has anybody got any information at >all about micro enterprises please >? How to set >one up. etc . >Thanks If you go to http://apce.fr they have a very useful book costs about 20 (money well spent) which gives the ABC of Micro-enterprise. It covers just about any aspect. Suze
  10. We bought an american smoker from a firm in Uk. Uses wood or charcoal, cold or hot smoke. Does wonders with the turkey breasts, chicken and magret. They need to be marinated first but there are so many different marinades and rubs. Suze
  11. It depends on your property, how you let it out, the number of rooms and their capacity, whether you do food and the company you go to. It is imperative you have the right insurance, if there something you can depend on if you haven't got it someone will eventually make a claim!! Most companies will call and assess your property and give you a devis, get 2 or 3 and go with the one that suits you best - not always the cheapest!! Suze
  12. Casual gardening would fall with the 'cheque emploi' system - lots of info on the forum about this. It has the benefit of a good in to the system for you and you would be legally employed. Suze
  13. You can buy it in France - saw some to-day in Atac - part of Auchan on their speciality 'rayon'. Suze
  14. They are 2 different beasts - for CdHote and Table d'hote I've put a link in 'useful links' where you can download some useful information from the Chambre de Commerce. Suze
  15. You should strictly invoice them in euros, you only charge TVA if you register for TVA, but not if you are registered as a microenterprise. If you accept sterling the sterling bank account should be brought into your French account balance sheet, and the income received converted to euros in turnover in the normal way. The invoice can be in euros and then you can show the client the amount you will accept in sterling - you set the rate not them! If you are going to register for TVA, invoices for goods to a UK address include Fr TVA unless the UK business is also VAT registered. All invoices to TVA or VAT registered businesses need to carry the TVA/VAT number (numero intercommunitaire) of the client as well as yours -as from 01/01/04. Watch out for UK customers paying in euros on a UK bank cheque - this will incur a charge when you bank it in your French bank. Suze
  16. LAST EDITED ON 07-Jan-04 AT 05:26 PM (GMT) Your Mairie should give you a list of paperwork to provide: Here's the list we had from our Mairie: Birth certificates translated into French Divorce papers translated into French Certificate of custom - this you get from the UK embassy in Paris (tel ; 01 44 51 31 00) Previous marriage certificates translated into french certificat de sante - from a french doctor basically a blood test for both of you - here they didn't charge for the test for marriage - be warned it will probably include an aids test, but you aren't always told until you get the results! EDF bill (as always) as proof of residence The Embassy also wanted 2 application forms - they send them to you certified copies of passports, birth certificates and divorce documents huge amounts of money - we paid nearly 800 francs (7 years ago) Mairie didn't charge for anything and also gave us presents from the commune. We had to have at least 2 witnesses but had 4 and they all had to sign all the papers in your dossier. I think the whole thing took about 3 months to organise; but that included august when nothing happens; from memory at no time were we asked for our CDS. I also know of the daughter of an aquaintance of ours who married here - she wasn't resident with a CDS, no EDF bill etc so it is possible; best to check at the Mairie. Suze
  17. Sometimes little independant epiceries will sell them, but this year I have asked my local Echomarche if they'll get some in and as long as I order 10kg or more they will. They obviously have their sources if the demand is there. Suze
  18. The Chambre de Commerce and Industrie in Paris have set out regulations for all Chambres d'Hotes in France; this is whether or not the owners are linked to Gites de France: Link for downloading the information: http://www3.ccip.fr/inforeg/fiches/pdf/chambres_hote.pdf Suze
  19. The Chambre de Commerce and Industrie in Paris have set out regulations for all Chambres d'Hotes in France; this is whether or not the owners are linked to Gites de France: Link for downloading the information: http://www3.ccip.fr/inforeg/fiches/pdf/chambres_hote.pdf Suze
  20. The Chambre de Commerce and Industrie in Paris have set out regulations for all Chambres d'Hotes in France; this is whether or not the owners are linked to Gites de France: Link for downloading the information: http://www3.ccip.fr/inforeg/fiches/pdf/chambres_hote.pdf Suze
  21. >Before we first opened we registered >with the chambre de commerce >as a commercant under the >microbic regime, however having registered >as a business there are >the pension fund and URSSAF >contributions to pay which are >extortionate ( seems also that >we cannot claim anything back >from URSSAF being self employed >- although could be wrong >on this one) The URSSAF and medical contributions are high, but if your income is low they do at least follow suit - have fallen into the trap that some years your expenses have gone over the not very generous allowance and you are actually paying on a net income you haven't actually earned?? You might check whether you are entitled to some unemployment benefit if you cease work, but this is also age dependant. >and the pension fund, which for >us is probably of no >use. > Why? If you have paid in you will get something out; but this is often a killer to contribute to for the small business as at low levels of income it has a lower 'plafond' and doesn't reduce any further if your income is really low. The contributions are increasing every year as the pot is running out and there are new rules being introduced from Jan2004, which I haven't got my head round yet! I think it's something to do with a complementary pension top up which is to become obligatory so the amount will go up. Your pension organisation should be prepared to come and visit you to discuss your position. >So my question to you is >this > >Have you gone down this same >route and registered with the >cdc or do you just >simply fill in your tax >return under the microbic system >at the end of the >year, obviously then taking out >your own healthcare and retirement >plan ? I can't answer the first; but even if you deregister you won't be able to have just private health care. Everyone living in France now has to contribute to the state scheme first - for non-earners it is based on any other income and means tested; then you have your complementaire top up as before. I might be wrong but I don't think that a 'non-earner' can actually contribute to a retirement plan as such but there are plenty of savings build up plans about which might provide a pot you can later invest in. > >Any pros and cons with either >method that you can think >of ? > It might be worth your while putting all your questions together and get together a copy of your last 3 years accounts and going to see a good accountant for a one off visit and then perhaps to go to CPAM just to check what your your medical position would be. Good luck Suze
  22. They tried it in our town and it went fine until the meditation at the end to wind down, up got most of the fr ladies who left muttering that they didn't know it was a cult Suze
  23. LAST EDITED ON 21-Sep-03 AT 11:25 AM (GMT) Have a look at some web sites and see what is the going rate for a similar type in your area If they are aiming at Fr market try http://www.gites-de-france.fr or the english http://www.frenchconnections.co.uk Suze
  24. Ask at your local maison d'agriculture or chambre d'agriculture or your vet, or the Mairie, they issue movement books as well. Maison Sante or d'agriculture issue the herd/flock number. Suze
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