Milk pots

[connolls]

Hello, does anyone know where I can buy the individual little UHT milk pots in the Limoges area?

Many Thanks, Mel

[Quillan]

Try Carrefour, they also sell the small little butters as well, both have quite a good 'shelf life'.

[connolls]

thanks for that... i am in there all the time as well and never thought of looking there??!!??

[Lachouette]

Failing that, I'm sure I've seen them in Limoges Metro.

Jan

[connolls]

Hi Lachouette,

Once again thanks for getting back, i've heard about the Limoges Metro, but not too sure what it is. Is it a "cash and Carry" type place ?

Can anyone get access to it or do you need a "customer card", and if so could you let me know where it is and what I would need to do to join.

Thanks again.

Mel.

[Quillan]

Well our local one requires a TVA and a SIRET number to get a card as it is for trade only.

[connolls]

Thanks Quillan.

Will have look on their web site.

Regards Mel.

[Lachouette]

[quote user="connolls"]Hi Lachouette,

Once again thanks for getting back, i've heard about the Limoges Metro, but not too sure what it is. Is it a "cash and Carry" type place ?

Can anyone get access to it or do you need a "customer card", and if so could you let me know where it is and what I would need to do to join.

Thanks again.

Mel.[/quote]

Limoges Metro is a cash and carry, being the same as Mackro in the UK, but as Quillan says, harder to get into! It's in the avenue de l'abbatoir, near the Pont Neuf and around the back of the King Long Chinese and new MacDo. Until last year, merely belonging to Gites de France got you a card, but then we were asked to provide details of our siret number and registration at the Chambre de Commerce, but we're certainly not TVA registered.

I've been in there this morning and can't see your little pots in any case, but they were in Carrefour with the other long life milk products (dried and condensed etc), near the coffee in Carrefour at Boisseuil.

Jan

[Babbles]

If you have a UK Makro card you can use it in Metro in France, but it does have to be one that lets you into the food section or otherwise its just the office stuff.

[connolls]

Hi,

Thanks for all the information.

We have found some in Carrefour, but work out very expensive compared to on-line companies that supply..............not sure if it's possible (or even legal) to have them delivered to France as most of them are UK companies.

Will have to look into that one !!

Once again thanks for everyones help.

Regards Mel.

[Quillan]

[quote user="connolls"]Hi, Thanks for all the information. We have found some in Carrefour, but work out very expensive compared to on-line companies that supply..............not sure if it's possible (or even legal) to have them delivered to France as most of them are UK companies. Will have to look into that one !! Once again thanks for everyones help. Regards Mel.[/quote]

I wouldnt buy them from the UK and this is why. The French don't use tea and coffee facilities in the rooms so much as the English. The French and other Europeans (with a few exceptions) tend not to have milk in tea and coffee. The pots have a 'shelf life' which is shorter than ordinary UHT milk or cream. You don't know how many guests you are going to get (unless you are full already for the whole of your season) and out of them you don't know how many are going to use the milks. You could buy a hundred in the UK and end up throwing 60 or 70 in the bin because the date runs out. The milks and butters are always in our local Carrefours, I think they have run out once in the ten years we have been doing CDH. You can freeze the milks but I don't know about you but I always check the dates anyway when I stay in another B&B and whilst they might have been previously frozen and OK the date stamp will be out of date but I don't know that so the B&B gets a bad mark in my book plus it makes me think what else was out of date.

The other thing is I don't like UHT milk, hate the stuff, and much prefer normal milk. Keeping that in mind and the fact we have a fridge in the breakfast area we leave little jugs (like you use when serving tea) and tell guests, if they want real milk, to help themselves but we still leave the UHT milks in the rooms. A lot of people like this and many the times I have seen a guest shuffling back to their room at some unearthly hour in the morning with a jug of fresh milk to make tea for their wife, it's normally always English guests as well.

Good luck.

[connolls]

Hi,

Thanks for all that really useful information, all that you say makes perfect sense so will gladly take your advice.

As you can probably guess we are new to Chambres D'hotes and this is our first year.............so steep learning curve !!!!

Thanks Mel.

[Lachouette]

Had I got around to it before Quillan, I'd have made exactly the same point about not buying from the UK, for the same reasons. We too have a fridge that's central to 4 of our 5 rooms, and I leave fresh milk there but it's only ever British guests that use it.  In the 5th room I leave some of the 'Regilait' sticks of powdered milk on the tea tray, and these aren't too bad in either tea or coffee and are easily and relatively cheaply available in Carrefour and Super U. You'll be surprised at how little milk you go through with guests, unless your market is entirely British.

Jan