“3 Men & A Truck”, Filling a Niche Market in France

Photo:  "3 Men & A Truck" on the job: Ron, Monty the American, Pete the Brit

 People often ask us, “So you live in France--what do you do all day?”  In particular they ask this of my husband Ron, who is fully retired.  And his answer is, apart from café-sitting, dining, wine-tasting, cycling, traveling, and helping Pierre with château maintenance, that he has a small business.   He and two other Anglo buddies are bricoleurs extraordinaire (fabulous handymen), and they call their business “3 Men & a Truck”.

For you to understand their business model, first I must digress and tell you something about French enterprises, shops, small businesses, etc.  The following is a list of the times that they are generally closed:

1.  All Mondays, and of course Sundays;

2.  Wednesday afternoons;  

3.  All remaining days, between 12 and 2 (or 3, or 4) for lunch;  

4.  The entire month of August (often spills over into July) 

5. All holidays (there are MANY); 

6. And last of all, the pesky Fermeture Exceptionnelle (translation: “Anytime we darn well please”).  This one occurs especially when you’ve made a special trip to a distant store.

As you may have deduced, though the French will eat or drink with you any time, they conspire to prevent you from shopping or getting home improvements or any other work done that you might require.

Seeing a need, “3 Men & A Truck” decided to boldly step in and fill the gap. Therefore they are available, for any sort of briclolage, odd jobs, home repair emergencies, etc.,  exclusively during these times:

 Mondays in the month of August between 12 and 2.

They figure that there is absolutely NOBODY in the whole country available during these particular hours, so they have cornered this niche market.  Understandably, their hourly rate, given such exclusivity, is extravagant.  They’ve had no takers yet, but expect to when the word gets out.  In the meantime, for lucky friends, their rate is this:  Will Work for Lunch.  Photo: "3 Men & A Truck" take their work very seriously.

There are many occasions when “3 Men & A Truck” have worked long and hard on projects chez nous, which means I provide The Lunch.  A hearty, man-pleasing meal is required after a full morning of work, so here is side dish (to go with a fat roast chicken or some guy-sized pork chops), that might work for you, should you be blessed with some benevolent bricoleurs.  This is also my Thanksgiving present to y’all, as it is fabulous for that particular feast. I know there are many non-Americans among you, but hey, everybody needs a day whose only purpose is to count your blessings!  To Ron, Pete, and Monty:  Bless your Hearts.  And to all my Dear Readers:  Happy Turkey Day next week!

 

RECIPE:  Creamed Leek Gratin

Before I came to France, leeks intimidated me a bit and I didn’t much use them.  The French love them; you’ll see them carrying away armloads of them at the markets.  Now they’re one of our favorite vegetables.

Normally for this blog I develop my own recipes. This one, however, is by Paul Grimes from the late great Gourmet Magazine (What were they THINKING? We can only console ourselves with their excellent cookbook ).  I can’t improve on this dish one little bit.  Well, maybe one could stir a bit of freshly grated parmesan into those bread crumbs…

 

Serves 4 3 1/2 lb (1.6kg) leeks, root ends trimmed 2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (from a country loaf) 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/8 teaspoon black pepper 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons, 85g) unsalted butter 1 cup heavy cream Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F (230 C). Cut most of green part off of each leek (discard) and then halve the the white parts lengthwise. Then cut crosswise into roughly1 ½" (4cm) pieces. (You should have about 8 cups.) Wash leek pieces in a large bowl of cold water, agitating them, then lift out and transfer to another bowl. Repeat with clean water, then drain leeks well. Cook bread crumbs with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in half the butter in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and pale golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Cut out a round from parchment or wax paper to fit just inside a 12-inch heavy skillet. Cook leeks with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch (30cm) heavy skillet over moderately low heat, leeks covered directly with parchment, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 12 minutes. Discard parchment and transfer leeks with a slotted spoon to 1 ½ quart (1.4 liter) gratin dish (about 10x8”). Pour cream slowly over leeks, then scatter bread crumbs on top. Bake until cream is bubbling and slightly thickened and crumbs are golden brown, about 15 minutes. (My note:  I always seem to need a bigger skillet, or use two if need be). •Bread crumbs can be cooked one day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature. Scatter bread crumbs over leeks just before baking. •Leeks can be cooked and assembled in dish with cream (but not sprinkled with crumbs and baked) 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered.

 

Unless otherwise attributed, all POSTS, PHOTOS and RECIPES on this blog copyright ©2010 Lynn McBride.  All Rights Reserved. 

Comments

[maureen winterhager]

...let's hope your 3 blokes don't get into any union trouble!! Bless their little cotton socks! Trouble is, when it's closed in France, no one is doing anything much other than cooking/eating/drinking/relaxing - I doubt whether they'd want three strapping lads doing strenuous work around them! Sacré bleu! They'll end up being invited to eat with their customers and defeat the whole purpose of their project.....peut-être!!!

[Natalia]

Your three guys certainly know savoir vivre!!
Lynn,I actually remember that Grimes' recipe from "Gourmet".(!)Since then my fondness for leeks has grown ,especially (maybe because of) their availability.
Your suggestion about adding freshly grated parmesan to the bread crumbs gives this heavenly dish some extra je ne sais pas (!) Yum!
THANK YOU (once again!) for another wonderful story!
Bon journee!

[Mickey McBride]

I like your article..but not your picture of these three handsome men.,.....try another picture with them dressed up.

[Norma]

Brilliant idea!! And I LOVED the casual photo, as it should be. Enjoying themselves. I will be on the lookout next time I'm there. Perhaps my husband can join them! Have camion, will travel.

[Thedailybasics]

Lynn I love your three men! Do they, perhaps, take on work outside of the area? Say in Rhode Island? Love the leeks recipe and will put that in my cookbook. Are you having a turkey out of expat habit next week?

[Mary Flowers]

Ha, ha, I think it's funny that your mother didn't like the picture.

We never vary our Thanksgiving menu, but you have inspired me - maybe we will have a new vegetable this year..

One of the things for which I give thanks this year is your marvelous blog - keep it up!

[elizabeth]

Why parchment paper and not a lid for the leek gratin?

[Lynn McBride]

Hmm...good question, Elizabeth. I read an explanation of this recently. And can I remember it? No! I do remember they said it was the old fashioned way to cook them, and the best. It's sort a cross between steaming and sauteeing, a partial cover so they don't get too mushy, that's my guess. I googled this & didn't find the answer, but did find a lot of recipes with leeks cooked that way.

[Bernard Duhaime]

I added your Creamed Leeks to our Thanksgiving dinner and it was a big hit. Everyone loved it and most asked for the recipe. I'll be sure to give you credit.

[teresa ewart]

this is a really lovely piece, thanks. very well written - and quite convincing... from the other comments it has the makings of quite a discussion. We'd always thought that once we moved to france we'd be buying our wine and big plastic "10 gallon" vats - and decanting it ourselves into bottles. I'll not feel so ashamed now when our guest are treated to the screw tops!
Teresa
http://upstixtofrance.blogspot.com/