If a picture's worth a thousand words...

... then this is War & Peace!

Sigh of Relief

OK. Problem solved. Not easily, but solved.

In the words of Big E we

"just had to 'nut' the housings down a bit, adjust the under oven drawer a gnat's & then line the cupboard doors up."

Simple really.

So that was that one sorted. Took a while mind, but it's sorted. Big E then got busy doing a few other minor little things, like remaking 2 cupboard doors because the German appliances don't fit in the Swedish appliance housings! This involved lots of big power tools & a bit more of the Big E magic. Blinding.

I wasn't stood around watching during this phase either. I was busy 'adjusting' the trunking so that the dishwasher would fit in the hole. I chose to do this by squeezing my large frame into a small hole & slicing my fingers to bits on the jagged sharp edges. Job well done that.

Only thing left is to convert the gas hob to LPG, connect it up & sign it off. Oh, & install the steam oven when it gets here, but who's worried about that? I just need to get some customers now so I can pay for it all

Spoke too Soon!

Look. Someone's mucking me about now & they'd better stop it, or else.

The ovens have arrived, we put them in the oven housing, which, as the name might imply, is a housing designed for an oven, & they don't bloody fit. We can get them in, but then they push the hobs out of the worktop. Grrrr!

OK. Deep breaths. Calm now.

Checked the install instructions. Again.

For the hobs, they read ' if installing above a built in oven, the minimum worktop thickness required is 30mm.' Measured worktop - it's 40mm. Ovens & hobs are both the same make, from the same range, so I assume they should fit when installed together. But they don't. The hobs are too bloody deep for the oven to fit. Now what do we do?

I'll let you know when we've worked it out. Bugger.

Nearly There

The end is in sight. At last.

Kitchen is looking great - pics to follow soon. Units are up, tilings done, hoods are hanging, sparks are flying. All we need is some cookers to cook with.

We've had the hobs delivered, a fantastic coffee machine, top of the range microwave/combi oven thing and a big fridge freezer. Which almost didn't fit up the stairs. Well, actually, it didn't fit, but where there's a will there's a way, and no way was it going back.

At least we didn't damage it. And if there were some minor 'adjustments' made to the building, well, we had builders on site so we could adjust it back afterwards. Don't think the fridge freezer will ever come out again though.

Still waiting for the ovens, but I've just made a call to the very helpful Anne-Marie, who assures me that delivery is on for tomorrow. Sometime between 8am & 6pm. Guess I know where I'll be then.

Anyway, assuming the ovens do arrive tomorrow, I can start really pushing to sell places on our courses. I've been a bit hesitant until now because I don't really like the idea of having to call people up & bump them to another date - just seems like poor service to me, but despite that we have sold a couple of places already. Good stuff.

So, all that's left to do is... everything else. Plus, find the money to pay for it all.

Not quite plain sailing...

Alrighty. Builders, electricians, plumbers all doing well, when kept apart. The new floor is down & looks fantastic - thanks Brian, Big Shout to you! The kitchen units have arrived & Big E has done a super job putting them in, so it's all looking good, but I haven't got any appliances, damn it!

The deal is done, the money is paid, but the appliances are nowhere to be seen - another unforseen consequence of wanting the best, so, it seems. Demand is high so availability is low, & I need to wait for a boat to get here from Germany. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

All this means that our date of May 1st is well & truly out the window. Big E has another job to start, in Scotland, so if the installation isn't done by next week I'm stuffed until the end of May.

Fingers & all other appendages crossed that the boat isn't a slow one from China...

The Sparks are Flying

So, Jules is in. Martin the Plumber is in. Big E the builder is in. They are all flying along & it seems to be going so well, except when it rains (which is often) & they all need to be in the room together. Then they are like cats in a sack. Oh well.

Kitchen units are ordered - Big E did tell me they would take ages, but a quick web check showed everything being in stock. Boy is that misleading. It may all be in stock, but that doesn't mean you can get a delivery within 2 weeks. I can't even get an appointment for a phone call to arrange delivery for 2 weeks! That means I am going to lose at least a week, maybe 2 or 3. And Big E really is insufferable when he is right. Smug git.

I am also getting a bit worried about my deal for the appliances. It is a great deal, for great ovens & hobs, but I haven't had confirmation of delivery or final cost yet. I suppose the kitchen delay gives me (& them) a bit more time to sort this out, but all the same, it's a worry.

Anyway - I can't do much on site while the boys are in there so I've been tasting & testing more stuff.

I have met a chap called Charles Carey who has been importing olive oil for 25 years now. He & I spent a very enjoyable morning tasting all sorts of different olive oils from all over the world. I am pleased to report that I am turning out to be quite the connoisseur - my inexperienced palate picking up nearly as much as Charles'.

I whittled his vast selection down to a far more manageable 8 or 9 and, samples in hand, headed back to Hertfordshire. After a lot more testing & tasting, both with & without food, I have picked 5 that I think are good enough to go in the shop. Not that the others weren't also good, just not good enough. Subjective I know, but there you are. It's my baby & I'll decide what is good enough. Oh, the power!

So, now we have 6 oils, from Greece, Italy, Spain, South Africa & Morocco, which I think are the best of their kind. And 1 which could be the best in the world.

I've also found some nice pasta & antipasti which look promising - updates as soon as my waistline can cope with the task. God I love this job.

Not much news on the sales front - hits to our site are going up, but no one is buying yet. Still, we have a couple of ads going in to Good Food & Olive Magazines next month which should boost traffic a bit more. Hopefully I will have worked out how to create coupon codes for the webshop by then so we can give a pre launch discount.

I am also being interviewed by the local paper next week. That's a bit nerve wracking because it's a new experience for me, but hopefully I will make a good impression and she will give us a good write up. Next stop News at Ten!

I need an extraction

Ok, so it's been a while since I last posted an update. Lots going on but not really achieving anything, if you know what I mean. My cheeky offer for the two units was rejected, so I am proceeding with just the one for now. Surprise, surprise, once I pulled out, they suddenly wanted to do a deal, but too late now.

I reached the grand old age of 40 (on Valentines Day) & survived the party & the morning after. Life begins, so they say, and they may be right - I'll let you know in due course.

Part of the conditions of my planning application was that I submit an extraction plan to the council for approval. I thought it should be pretty straightforward but asked for a meeting with Environmental Health just to be sure, and damn me if it isn't another thing that could cause a delay and will definitely cost more money. Sod it! Now I need to find a ventilation engineer who can move pretty quickly and for sensible money, but no matter how much it is, I haven't got the budget, so something else will have to give.

On a more positive note, I have got some excellent hosts lined up & have booked them through May & June, so now we have a deadline to hit - oh the pressure! Because we now have a deadline, the main website (www.just-cook.com) has gone live, even though it is not 100% ready and Junie B, the Google chick has started to work her magic. She has only been doing it 2 days and we already have our first sale! Woo Hoo!

Jules the super sparks starts work on Monday week, and if everything else falls into place, we should be ready to run some test classes during the end of April, so fingers crossed, but for some reason I am feeling very nervous. Excited, but also nervous. What a great feeling...