1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 54 Screening

Zoe was looking behind Ronan. When Ronan turned around to check the situation, Mr. Jacques's calm voice also arrived at the same time:
"I thought you would come earlier."

Ronan suppressed his inner surprise, stood up and stretched out his right hand:

“I was renovating my house a while ago, and came here as soon as I had some free time.

Mr. Jacques shook hands with Ronan and handed the menu to Zoe in a gentlemanly manner:
"It's a pity that your truffle has been sold out, otherwise you could try the ones you picked yourself."

"I believe you must have other delicious truffles." Ronan motioned for Zoe to order a truffle-related dish, and then he sincerely complimented, "This place is so beautiful."

Jacques looked towards the valley in the distance:
“This is the most beautiful restaurant in the Luberon.”

You're welcome, as always, Ronan muttered to himself.

Fortunately, Jacques is just narcissistic and arrogant, but he still has the necessary professionalism:
"Do you need me to bring you the wine first?"

The French are accustomed to drinking one kind of wine before a meal and another kind of wine after the meal begins. The wine they drink after the meal may also be different from the first two.

Take the group of friends that Ronan came into contact with as an example:

Men would drink aniseed wine before meals, while women would drink sweet wine or champagne; during the main meal, everyone would drink white or red wine; and the wine they drank after the meal was called "Provence Hole", which was an extremely strong brandy. No matter how heavy and greasy the food was, after a small glass of wine, a "hole" would be punctured in the stomach, leaving room for more food.

Men are usually reluctant to drink rosé, so Jacques would ask Ronan if he wanted the dinner wine.

"Oh, no need." Ronan picked up the bottle of pink wine, "We all like it very much."

Ronan doesn't reject pink wine, and Zoe also likes the taste of pink wine.

Zoe hadn't decided what to eat yet, so Mr. Jacques left first to let them take their time to choose.

As soon as Jacques left, a young man wearing a gentleman's hat and a suit sat down at the table next to them.

The man first looked up and down at Ronan and Zoe's 'Provence-style' attire, then nodded to Ronan, waved to Zoe in a familiar manner, and asked in a relaxed tone:

"Do you know Monsieur Jacques?"

The unexplained enthusiasm made Ronan alert:

"Not really."

This man fully demonstrated the eloquence of the Provencal people:

"My name is Simon, and I'm a salesperson for an olive oil company. I'd like to sell our products to Mr. Jacques. Are you interested in working together? Introduce me to him, and I can give you a very handsome reward. It's simple, isn't it? Just say you met a friend and you guys get to know each other."

Simon has already written the script for Ronan.

"Why don't you go to him directly?" Ronan asked.

"Because I found a method with a higher success rate." Simon looked at Ronan and then at Zoe, and said self-righteously.

Ronan refused directly:
"Sorry, we can't help you with that."

Simon shrugged and kept his mouth shut.

After dealing with this little episode, Ronan suddenly discovered that there was something wrong with Zoe's expression.

For the first time, he saw something called 'shock' on Zoe's face.

"This bottle of rosé costs 130 francs." Zoe frowned.

At Madame Chels's they had a glass of wine for 6-10 francs.

"Don't worry, I have enough money." Ronan made a 'don't worry' expression.

Zoe pushed the menu to him and whispered:

“The food is more expensive!”

Ronan kept counseling Zoe, saying that he had brought enough cash for a meal at a two-star Michelin restaurant. But Zoe still followed the principle of "value for money" and ordered enough food for two people with difficulty, which resulted in many dishes that she, a picky eater, would not normally eat.

Seeing Zoe like this, Ronan was both angry and amused.

She was reluctant to let Ronan spend more money, but had to consider his face, so she ordered the entire French meal. When dining in a high-end restaurant, it is best to order dishes according to the traditional order of appetizer, soup, side dish, main course and dessert. If the order is missed, it may be considered that the man at the table is not generous enough, and the result is that she suffers.

But fortunately, the food at Mr. Jacques's restaurant tasted as good as its scenery, and the plate in front of Zoe was clean, and even the food she didn't usually eat was acceptable.

"The Michelin restaurant really lives up to its reputation." They both exclaimed from the bottom of their hearts at the same time.

When it came to dessert, Mr. Jacques personally appeared with a beautiful plate and asked if they were satisfied with the meal.

After learning that Ronan and Zoe thought the food here was as memorable as the scenery, he chatted with Ronan about truffles.

Ronan's truffle is not only of excellent size, but also tastes great. Mr. Jacques commented that it is the "most perfect truffle".

There was an empty chair nearby, but Jacques insisted on standing and talking to Ronan.

"Why did you choose rosé wine as an aperitif?" Ronan asked a question he couldn't figure out, which didn't seem to fit the style of the restaurant.

Jacques pushed up his glasses:
"People seriously underestimate the value of pink wine. When criticizing it for having no depth, layers and essence, have you ever thought that it is first and foremost a 'food'? As a food, it is no less delicious than other wines of the same kind."

Ronan also said regretfully:
“Pink wine has been badly damaged by wine critics.”

Jacques's eyes became sharp:
"When people think of red vineyard wine, they think of Bordeaux. When people think of white wine, they think of Burgundy. Pink wine should be a chance for the world to remember Provence, but it was ruined by those '54s' (the saying originated in Marseille, where there used to be a mental hospital on Route 54)."

Ronan was too frightened to answer.

Only Mr. Jacques dared to call those experts mentally ill, but he has always been so "arrogant".

"But my friends and I love it." Ronan looked at Zoe.

Zoe nodded:
“I buy two bottles of rosé every week.”

This was never meant as a compliment, Zoe drank pink wine at the party.

Jacques' eyes softened:
“If only everyone was like you guys, Provence’s rosé wine needs more ambassadors.”

Seeing Mr. Jacques's obsession with pink wine, Ronan said:

"The truffle picking season is over, I plan to sell some food at the market, maybe combine it with rosé wine"

People not only seriously underestimate the value of rosé wine, but also seriously underestimate its future and market.

It may be acceptable to the French in the future, so why not now?

And because it is severely underestimated, even the rosé wine produced by good wineries is sold at a very low price.

I feel like it can really be done!

Thinking of this, Ronan asked the question that concerned him most without any embellishment:
“I have never worked in the catering industry. Do you have any successful experience to share?”

Zoe calmed herself by drinking a whole glass of wine in one gulp.

The question Ronan asked was no less interesting than the one Lucas asked Ronan at the dinner table more than a month ago, when he asked Ronan how to find truffles without a hound.

Did he forget how he rejected Lucas?
Jacques's answer was as cold as his expression:
"Why do you think I would tell you?"

Do we know each other well?
Ronan still kept smiling:

"I know you're not afraid. Even if you tell me all the secrets of success, I still can't run a Michelin restaurant."

A big smile spread across Jacques' face, and then he finally sat down next to Ronan:
"My experience of success is 'screening'. For example, you are the person I 'screened' to be my friend."

You're really my type, kid!

(End of this chapter)