bizzer

HI Jon If you need a supplier of fresh meats , frozen items and sweets/desserts try Achille Bertrand from Brossac their meat is great a one quality cheers Barry

Hi Julie There are so many different aspects to your question as it depends on the size of the establishment e.g if you have more than 48 covers including the staff then fire regulations change and hygiene requirements for staff are slightly different if you have less than 4 staff... Taxes etc are best answered by an accountant as again there are certain things you could get exemptions for ... e.g if you take on staff who are unemployed you could get an exemption on your social charges for them and if you are in an area of development like I am in the Charente Horte et Tardoire there are grants and exemptions for starting businesses in a regeneration zone drop me an e mail with more details and I will try to answer the best I can for you with the experiences i have had here some not so good but lots have been a pleasure. cheers Barry  

Hi Guys  yet again I am after something, I am looking for someone to give me a quote for kitchen extraction... I can buy the items but need someone to fit it and they have to be registered as they have to give a guarantee to the equipe de securite..to say all is well.( mine has let me down Hopefully some one will know someone who can whether it be a man who can or a woman who can Cheers Barry  

Hi Guys I am looking for a professional rotary iron --- yes all you ladies out there this guy does his own ironing.. seriously it is for my linen I just missed out on one on e bay so if any one has one they don't use and it is within collection distance of the Charente drop me a line --- or if they can deliver or post.. Cheers Almost there now!!!! Barry  

Hi Tresco I am intrigued now !!! I feel an e mail coming on to find out.... Now I know why my ears were hot on Friday night --- both of them!!! Thanks for the kind wishes and I look forward to meeting you in the flesh one day --- money and mouth cheers Bizzer

Well the months have passed.. some not as quickly as others but we are now on schedule to open the  first week in February ............. What a chore it has been, maybe i will spend the next hour typing it all up.. me thinks not... The only things left to do are get a concrete floor down in the kitchen (then tile and all the rest, agree a convention for the licence iv with the Mairie... register as fit to trade... stock up.. employ staff ... plan menus... get marketing underway then have a cup of tea and a lie down.... and that is just the half of it. I have certainly learned a lot over the past 7 months  about the French system and how to court it... If anyone wants a few tips let me know [email protected] cheers guys  

Hi guys I have not been on line for a while as I have made the big move now and everything is going to plan but very very slowly... we have had to wait four months for our permis from the DDE and other departments and now we have an issue with keeping the beams as our architect says no and I say yes>>>> So we have a meeting with the fire security team tomorrow to iron a few things out (anyone know of an antifire treatment for beams as there is one in England??)ening date is set for January/February.... missed Christmas by at least a month...so much to do and such a little time but hey it will be woth it.. Everyone in the village has been wonderful and the local authorities have been extremely helpful especially the young lady at the Mairie a real treasure.. I do feel lost with out a computer at the mo so have to rely on friends for computer access --- maybe soon all will be running smoothly... Cheers Barry

Hi Guys I am looking for accommodation on the 15th Sept for one night within two hours of calais,as I want to break my journey from Angouleme to Stoke on Trent Cheers Barry

Hi guys I am looking for one/two nights accommodation with 1 1/2 to 2 hours of Calais on the 14/15th Sept as my partner is going to break his journey from Angouleme to Stoke on Trent... This will probably be a regular thing of about once a month... Any one got anything available?? Look forward to hearing from you chers Barry

Hi Guys here is the experince of a French friend. "bonjour Barry je connais que bien la sacem (C'EST UN VOLEUR DE PLUS ) soyons serieux ,c'est un organisme qui te prend de l'argent si tu diffuse de la musique dans ton restaurant.Mais je te conseille de negocier les tarifs surtout la 1er année d'ouverture et surtout ne signe pas de contrat avec eux si tu toruve les tarifs exagerés. Ou sinon tu peu attendre que ce soit eux qui te contacte directement . Les tarifs varies en fonction de l'instalation musicale dans ton restaurant mais si ton restaurant n'est pas trop grand le moins cher c'est la chaine stereo .Mais si tu met des bafles un peu de partout dans le resto. ce sera plus cher. en 1990 a DAX je payais environ 180€ pour l'année. mais tu peu negocier avec eux au tarif le plus bas surtout la 1er année. tu peu aussi voir les conditions sur le site de la sacem directement tu aura ainsi un appercu ." The crux is that you can negogiate the tarif for the first year and it is more expensive if you have speakers etc in your cafe/restaurant ... cheaper if it is just a stereo or radio in the orner etc. Cost for the year was 180€ so similar to missyesbut. If in doubt check the website http://www.sacem.fr/portailSacem/jsp/ep/home.do Hope this helps Cheers Barry

Hi Guys I have used authentik and the lower level of etincelle they are both very good language tools all the text is recorded onto cds or tapes I used to play them constantly in the car on the way to work --usually a 40 minute trip there and 40 mins back, then for 20 mins every evening I used to replay them and read the text at the same time.. They are usually full of current affairs and they do have some exercises in too... Thanks for posting so many websites I am now going to send the forum details to a few friends Cheers Barry

Hi Again guys I have asked a few friends and here is a summary of their experiences,,, Dinner dances/ live music events a chap from SACEM or equivalent turns up on the door and takes 2.5% of the takings. 70€ is the price a friend has paid to SACEM for the privelege of playing music --- CDs... Do the answer to the question is yep you have to declare you are playing music ---- praps soon there will be a tax on tax... c'est la vie. Cheers Barry

Yep I too think it will be similar to PRS in England I had to pay by the amount of seats I had in the restaurant quite Bizarre really as I can't see what difference that made.... I have asked a few friends with businesses to help me out on this one as I have heard they can take quite a hefty chunk off you, if it is live music a percentage of your takings for the evening but, this is only what I have been told by a hotel friend.. As with PRS if you play music written by anyone else then you are liable for royalty fees and therefore they charge you whether it is radio or cds -- it can't really see this being any different in France.. and a word of caution if it is like England they can back date charges from when you opened... I will get back to everyone when I find out more cheers Barry

Yes Arnold I agree entirely with your advice... Don't buy it and then close it as the goodwill will evaporate very quickly and take an absolute age to get back it sometimes never comes back. Wait until you are ready to buy and move. We were tempted many times during our many searches.. in fact I was devastated when one property sold just as we arrived at the agency....everything we had seen on the web had gone months previously. We eventually went to a village (we were going to cancel the appointment) where we met a great guy and he showed us lots of potential places all of them matched our wish list... We did not buy any of them and left to look another day. One month later an e mail arrived with a pic (the only agent out of 9 to keep in touch)--- hated it, went over to look at some more properties and the pic we hated was the place we bought( pic was taken of the rear of the property) it had absolutely nothing on our wish list... no garden no well, few neighbours but we loved the building ... it was as if it chose us (strange I know) we love it... Please wait until you are sure... is it a line of work you want to follow (working for yourself)or do you just want to invest in a restaurant and run it from a distance even when living in France? Just food for thought Cheers Barry

Hi Arnold Hmmm wally on TV me thinks not!!!! I hope my straw is a long one and with a cool drink passing through it... Who does have the short straw ?? Cheers Barry

Hi Lizzy i agree whole heartedly with you the young ones have been done and will be kept upto date with all innoculations the older one has had the rabies jab and if needs be i can get the blood test carried out in France... she would NEVER be left behind... cheers barry

Hi Guys " for the sake of a few quid" how patronising!!!!!.. My dog is 12 and will be 13 next year so she will definately not be coming back...I have been in two minds whether she should come but when I am not there she frets My other two dogs are 5 years old and when they come across... with my partner in two years time ...they will have the antibodies test as will the cat...the dogs will then be able to holiday in other european countries.. with the odd exception Everyone's circumstances are different -- yes I agree some people do take risks and they have to go back to England faster than they arrived but please credit some of us with some intelligence.... Sore point with me sorry for blowing off!! Barry

Hi Diana where is your cafe?? do you have a website?? cheers Barry

Hi Franchesco I will be taking one of my dogs through the tunnel in Sept too and she has not had the final blood test for rabies as she will not be coming back. I do have a passport for her signed by the vet and I will be taking all her innoculation certificates with me. A friend of mine took her animals -- cat and dog they had their chips tested at the terminal and were let through (at first it would not recognise the chip). I have been told there is a special check in at the tunnel for cars with animals ... they always ask at check in whether you have any animals and I suppose they direct you to the correct place to be "checked".After that it is bon voyage !! All the best Barry

Hi Saligo I should join your club I too have stayed in some lovely Chambres d'Hotes and some not so lovely ... all within a similar price range too. One had a bed which was so uncomfortable that I spent all night in the armchair at least in the chair I couldn't feel the springs digging in me.. Another I stayed in was fabulous --- clean and tidy and very welcoming hosts it was a joy to stay there.. i must add too that the first experience is hopefully on the decline as lots of Chambre d'Hotes are facing such stiff competition and customers are more and more demanding ... I know from experience some people want a lot of service for very little money.. Cheers Barry

Hi Olijenner I would start at the mairie, then the Chambre de Commerce and the Service veterinaire as they deal with public health issues.. When I visited the Chambre de Commerce they even photocopied the requirements I would have to meet for the Service Veterinaire they were extremely helpful. All the best with your venture Good Luck. Cheers Barry

Salut Monsieur Lélan I am taking it that you will be running your restaurant yourself after 6 months, that you can speak French and have worked in a restaurant either front of house or in the kitchen before as working in a restaurant is no mean feat 16 hours a day and perhaps 7 days a week dealing with demanding customers some pleasant and some very unpleasant!! Employing staff in France is very expensive and if you were not running the restaurant yourself you would not only need to employ a manager but chefs, waitresses/waiters and a washer up/plongeur.. The social charges on top of a salary can amount to up to 50% extra on your salary costs.Plus it is extremely difficult to dismiss people in France although there are two types of contract a CDD which has a time frame and used for seasonal/temporary workers or a CDI, which is a contract virtually impossible to get out of and used for workers without a set time frame ---indertermine..Hours are specified by law with the 35 hourweek which could double your workforce requirements. You will also need a good accountant and a person to complete french payslips/salaries as some accountants will not touch salary work as it is too complicated ... french payslips are huge. You will need to take into account the location of your restaurant is it seasonal or all year trade .. most restaurants are busier in summer than in winter unless you are in a skiing resort. As for will you be diddled who knows?? You may not be but, if you are not there then you are leaving yourself wide open to anything and what is something goes wrong will you be able to leave England and dash across to deal with issues as they arise?? Needless to say a lot of thought needs to go into what you are doing. A book I found to be very enlightening is STARTING A BUSINESS IN FRANCE by Andre de Vries I suggest you read that as it is full of useful information... Please do lots of research it will pay dividends in the end and always remember no one will work as hard for you as you will yourself I wish you all the best in your venture Cheers Barry

Cheers Mikki Many thanks for the info.. we did try to register with Metro in Angouleme but cold only do it with our SCI account as we haven't set up the SARL yet as apparently we need to be trading within one month of setting up the SARL and we are at least three months away from trading Thanks again Barry

Salut oui je peux parler et lire Francais and thanks for the link missyesbut... I have seen a few magazines for chefs and restaurants so hopefully I will be able to subscribe at some stage cheers Barry

ok you are hired !!! as lomg as you DON'T eat much