Saturday is market day in Baugé en Anjou, specifically the food market (there is a small market on a Monday with other stuff as well, when we aren't facing restrictions). It is my go to place for fish, milk products, fruit and vegetables that we don't grow ourselves, crèpes and galettes and nibbles, among other stuff. There are also 3 very good meat products stalls. A fine morning in Covid lockdown brings out the crowds - all stalls had queues. I stood in line for 10 minutes for fish, and a further 20 minutes for fruit and vegetables. Some would say that was a waste of time, but I firmly believe in supporting local businesses, so I didn't see it as that, but as a chance to relax and look around and contemplate.
So what did I contemplate in my queue? Certainly not queuing theory, so my bad - as an OR person, I really should have been doing a bit of mental modelling!! Instead I was looking at the chateau and wondering how the view had changed over the years. While one might like to believe that the Lord or good King René would have looked out over a similar market scene (although without the motorised vans), in fact the Place de l'Europe would have been within the curtain wall of the chateau, and so we would probably have been among sheds and stables and pig pens or the potager. The market would have been elsewhere in the town.
An outstanding example of a business start up and also the importance of being reliable (unlike the purveyors of yoghurts and dry goods, neither of whom were there today) to build a solid customer base is the family business selling Moroccan prepared dishes. She started up selling home made cakes and mint tea out of the back of her car, finding a spot where she could, but turning up rain or shine. The cakes were fabulous and sensibly priced (1€ each) and word spread. Then she added stuffed pancakes (mesnems I think they are called) to the repertoire, again sensibly priced, and fabulous quality. A year or two of solid trading like that, and she expanded her repertoire to include couscous and tagine to take away, ordered a week in advance. The cakes have increased in price a little (now 1,20€ each), but the range has increased as well, and there are now 20 different delicacies. There is always a short queue and everyone raves about the quality of the food. If she is going to be away, she warns you. Her husband helps from time to time, her daughter occasionally, but she is now at University, so her most faithful (and charming in my view) assistant is her son. She has built a fabulous business, so if you are in Baugé on a Saturday morning, go along and buy a yummy cake or two and admire a true entrepreneur.
I should point out that they dropped their masks for the 30 seconds that it took to photograph them, and then they were back on. All cakes were well covered while they did that, as you can see. She takes food hygiene very seriously.
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