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Hello there
Nostra culpa: we’ve been on holiday in the UK, so it’s a rather light serving of MENUette this month, But it’s been so hot in the Britain and mainland Europe that no one really has much of an appetite at the moment…so it’s probably better to set this plate of salad before you than a four-course feast (plus Port and Stilton) .
I’ve no doubt you’ve had it up to here with stories about the weather this summer, but I would like to add just two things.
So far, thank heavens, our département, La Nièvre, has been spared the terrible wildfires reducing other regions of France - and Scotland - to ash. That’s a blessing.
And while the drought (following a cold, wet spring) has been prolonged and the air temperatures, withering, our bocage and forests have long since set low expectations in respect of summer rainfall and plan accordingly. They send their roots deep, even in times of plenty. They hold mulching leaf-litter close. They curl their leaves in the heat of the afternoon to create shade and reduce water loss. And so, even though the pastures are as bleached as the Charolais cattle grazing them, the hedgerows and trees remain the sombre green of deep summer.
I went to the Loire, 20 minutes to the west, this morning to check on its level, expecting to be able to skip over it in places. Not a chance. Of course, its level is exceptionally low and there are more
exposed gravel banks than normal but, unlike many parts of the Rhine and Danube, it remains functional. At the moment, the banks of the Loire are decked out with beds of Ludwigia grandiflora (sometimes known as water primrose), an invasive perennial from the New World which seems to find the conditions on the Loire very much to its liking. Unlike some other invasive species, it ingratiates itself with the local insect community by making a generous contribution of nectar to the welfare fund of the riparian ecosystem. And there’s never so much of it as when the river is very low.
We have a busy old autumn coming up, starting in just over two week’s time with a tour for Light and Land, here in Burgundy. Some rain would be very welcome beforehand. Every day we read the forecast and a little rain or a thunderstorm is promised, And every day, like Jean de Florette, we are tormented as it happens over in another catchment. We haven’t yet reached the point of screaming to the heavens, but it’s not far off.
We’ll see you in the {cooler) autumn and winter, we hope.
Our best wishes
Charlotte and Niall
The practicalities of pitching
While I’m quite sure that many of you are not remotely interested in earning income from your photography, I’m sharing this pitch because there are lessons to be learned that are relevant to anyone wanting to have their photography noticed. And, frankly, who doesn’t?
It’s depressing how long it has taken these lessons to sink into my stubborn skull; to accept that, regardless of any merit my work may have, if it doesn’t solve someone else’s problem or satisfy a pre-existing need, it’s going to remain in its shrink-wrap on the shelf until the plastic is brittle and the colours faded.
The cover
The title and sub. are intended to establish that this is not another wine tourism pitch. This is equivalent to you naming your project in a way that says, “hey, this is something you’ve not seen before!”
If you’ve spent any time in La Nièvre, you’ll realise just how few UK visitors come over here; most gravitate further east to the vineyards around Beaune. So, Burgundy has two problem: it’s missing out on a chunk of the UK visitor market interested in things other than wine because the region is poorly-known AND the distribution of the visitors who do come isn’t even. Inside I will go on to how we can help address these problems within the context of the five categories listed on the cover. There’s not point in mincing about until page 2 or 3 to get to the point of the pitch.
Inside
Since, essentially, we’re trying to sell, knowledge, photography and copy writing, pictures feature heavily inside. And knowing how people aren’t keen on reading lots of text, I’ve kept that concise and on point. On the introductory page, I set out clearly what we see as our role in addressing “the problems” and the fact that we’d like a meeting to discuss work. For you, spending time coming up with an “elevator pitch” for your project - even just the right title - will make it more understandable and memorable to the potential audience as well as keeping you focused on the images you need.
I’ve chosen what I believe, from a British perspective, are five key strengths of the Burgundy offer, explained why they are appealing, then described what I, or Charlotte and I together, can do to communicate those strengths. We are leveraging our claim that we have a better “British insight” than the French folks on the tourist board and that we have an insider’s knowledge of the offers since we live here. And in your project, you shouldn’t be shy to flag your particular suitability to do it, your source of authority.
If you open the document (there is a link below) you’ll see that one vineyard picture has slipped in. I think it’s necessary to acknowledge that wine will continue to be the major draw to the area and that we’re open to work that may be available under that heading, too.
Now, Burgundy Tourism already has long-established relationships with French photographers and writer so it’s always going to be a struggle to muscle in there. But by identifying currently under-represented parts of the overall Burgundy offer and selling our unusual combination of being British, but also resident, creatives, we might stand a chance. We’ll see.
“Eh”, you might be thinking, “what about the fact you are pitching to French people in English. Might that not count against you?” Well, rather than risk imperfect French in the designed brochure, I provide the French translation (grâce à DeepL - still better than my French) in a separate text-only document where, perhaps small errors are more acceptable.
If there are any marketing professionals out there reading this, we’d be very interested to hear your take on our strategy.
While cheese tends to be regarded as a separate course in France, eaten by itself, we’ve not lost our old British habits and prefer it with something biscuity. These super-simple, yet slightly sophisticated sablés hit the spot for us, and some of our French friends too.
In your food processor, blend all these ingredients EXCEPT for the walnut halves and use only 40g (11⁄2 oz) of the Mimolette (or Gouda).
Add only as much of the egg yolk mix as you need to bind the dough into a ball. Wrap it in parchment and refrigerate it for an hour. In the meantime, heat the oven to 160 ̊C (140 ̊C fan) Gas 3, and prepare a baking sheet.
Put the remaining 20g (3⁄4 oz) of Mimolette into a bowl.
Roll the dough into cherry-size balls, weighing roughly 10g (3⁄8 oz) each then press each in turn into the cheese in the bowl.
Arrange these on a tray, place a half walnut on top of each then bake for 30–45 minutes until they are golden brown.
Enjoy! Oh, and by the way…what do you think about the way we lay out the ingredients, with the quantity after the ingredient? Niall claims it makes them easier to read (and St Nigel Slater does it this way too) but I’m not convinced. Your input is welcome!
Charlotte
Our winter 2026 and
2027 Chez-nous brochures - so far
What happened to the Spring 2027 brochure? Well, as it happens, our weeks are already booked out. Nevertheless, cancellations can happen so if you would like to register an interest in visiting us in the spring, please do so here.
Please click on a picture to see the brochure.
Do have a look at our 2027 Chez-nous brochures If you want to progress your photography - and be treated like kings and queens - there really is nothing else like it. Let’s have a Zoom call to see what we can do for you.
Bonus footage: Dispatches from the Collapse
Charlotte is never very happy when I introduce a sombre element into these MENUettes and I can’t blame her. But honestly, do we not ALL want to yell, like Jean de Florette, at the world at times ? I try to convert that energy into work that expresses the frustration more constructively, has more chance of reaching more people than just those within earshot. If you’re not already familiar with the project, Dispatches from the Collapse, it imagines this is a collection of photographs found in a drawer in an abandoned building, decades from now after some unspecified collapse has occurred, The photographs and their accompanying words have clearly been made as the collapse was underway. In some, the message is peevish, with an “I told you so!” tone to it, in other, the tone is more reflective or resigned. I produced most of these in a burst of ideas in 2018 and it’s a little demoralising to revisit the collection 8 years later and still to find it pertinent.
I’ll find something more uplifting for next month!
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Many thanks,
Our best wishes, Charlotte and Niall
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