Day 62 – Week 10

The Montreux Palace Hotel in Montreux, has been awarded ‘best hotel in Switzerland’ status this year. I stayed there Wednesday night for a client meeting on Thursday morning. On Wednesday night I was ‘forced’ to take part in a ‘tasting’ to help decide what should be on the menu for the 150 guests who will attend the conference at the hotel I will be moderating later this year. It will also be attended by a former world leader.

At the dinner we were presented with a ‘menu de gustation’ – actually there were 3 separate ‘taster’ menus. Each of us were asked to taste and assess all of the food on our own menu. When e had finished sampling the dish, we would then swap plates with another guest, sample their dish and then swap it with yet another colleague. This was TOUGH!!! My own menu was; Foie gras terrine with apricot and nut jam and brioche. This was followed by scallops, cauliflower mousse, seaweed caviar. Then veal chop cooked at a low temperature, carrots with ginger, seasonable vegetables and Lyonnaise potatoes. Dessert was chocolate Manjari, Grand Cru and cake – then coffee and petits fours. TIMES THREE!!! One of the other menus featured the most mouth-watering duck. My client was gently insistent that everyone take part because we all had to vote at the end of each course for what we preferred. Oh – I forgot the wine…. There were 3 whites (including a stunning white merlot – which I’d never tried before - I think it won the white vote) and 3 reds – none of which satisfied my clients requirements. A fourth red was produced from the extensive cellar – this one saved the day!

The quality of the food and wine was excellent (not something you find that often in a hotel restaurant) I was very well behaved – until I found a petit four melting in my mouth at the end of the evening!)

Lunchtime the next day I caught my train back to Geneva airport (it arrived absolutely on-time. It left Montreux exactly on time. It travelled at a gentle pace along Lake Geneva past vineyards that stretched for miles. Even the smallest terraces right next to the railway line had vines. Every square meter had vines. The train then went right into Geneva Airport. All I had to do was go up an escalator onto the airport concourse. Why can’t WE do that in Britain? So well organised, smooth, calm and stress-free.

Friday morning at 5.45am I had to set off for Brighton in my car to moderate another conference. I stayed at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. My room was on the same floor a terrorist bomb tried to murder Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet when they stayed there during a Tory party conference all those years ago.

More hotel food. Surrounded by biscuits, cakes and 300 litigation lawyers for 2 days. I avoided the biscuits and cakes – the lawyers were nicer! Really.

Got back home – crashed out. Then on Sunday headed up to South Gloucestershire for lunch on Mothers Day with Peggy’s parents. It was also her dad’s 88th birthday. Even more food, including crumble, chocolate gateau, wine and champagne.

I knew it was going to be a tough week. It turned out to be true in more ways than I’d have chosen.

But what about my weight? 180 pounds. (12st 12 pounds) 2 pounds lost – as per my weekly plan! Phew.