Clé France

Lunch in France is important. Ask a Frenchman or woman to miss lunch and you will be accused of blasphemy. The lunch tradition is as deep rooted as the fabled summer holiday that closes France down in August. Lunch hour in France is usually two hours of which lunch itself will take one.

The normal day to day French lunch purchased in a bar or bistro by the workers, will consist of at least four courses, and will often but not always, include a bottle of wine. You get all this and remarkable service for around 12 euros. The four courses consist of a starter, such as pate, a salad or charcuterie, a main course of meat or poultry with a vegetable and then a choice of cheese or a sweet. The wine comes in litre bottles and it will be a good vin de table. The French never seem to finish theirs and usually add a bit of water to it but there's no restriction on how much you drink and if you finish the bottle a new one quickly appears. In some of the more celebrated Routiere you may get up to six courses and wine for the same price.

These little eateries get reputations on their food and the better the reputation the more people they get. Lunch is what most of them exist on, drinks and coffees during the day are small bonuses. One little Routiere near me eventually had to build an extension for all his customers and if you don't get there before 12.30 you are lucky to find a space. In fact, he does so well he doesn't bother opening in the evening. So popular is he, that the centre of the village regularly got completely clogged up with lorries, vans and cars so the mayor built a car park nearby to accommodate the lunch time traffic. Lunch time choices are minimal if at all, you take what's on offer and that's it.

Then there are small family run restaurants which are more up market, quieter, more refined and don't get the workers in because they cost more. The food will be neater on the plate but there won't be as much and here the minimum price will be about 17 euros and wine will be extra. And, of course, there are quality restaurants where lunch is haut cuisine, costs 30 euros or more and the cheapest wine will be 25 euros. These places cater for the well off and often retired and lunch can last for a good 2 hours but will be an unforgettable experience.

If you want more? then follow the links above, in the images, where you can buy Fraser's published books.

Fraser Blake, 70, author of 'Dear Chips' and 'A Rant Too Far?' grew up in Africa, was at school in Scotland, and worked for the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia. He has taught English in Saudi Arabia and sold and renovated hundreds of properties in Northern France.

In 1998 Fraser was selling houses in the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire region and so was the obvious choice, when Cle France was started, to be their first agent on the ground in France. In retirement he writes, blogs, cooks, drinks wine, and hosts to dinner unlimited numbers of ex-pats.

Always on hand with a viewpoint, Fraser is going to share his views on France, the French and the British, and other people who buy in France. Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, painfully true, outrageously opinionated but always entertaining so we hope it adds a slightly different dimension to the usual normality of searching through the fantastic properties for sale on the Cle France website.

Watch out for more rants and opinion next week or buy the book today for a rollicking good read.