Is there a best way to attract guests than making special of...
Is there a best way to attract guests than making special offers? My place is ready and have invested so much. Could it be th...
Yes Eileen, I do provide a considerable amount of condiments for my guests.
I do this because I host in what used to be an 80 year old garage in the rear garden of my property. It is not 'The Ritz', I am all the time chasing cracks, doing touch-ups and cannot offer the services that a hotel offers. Many guests (particularly the more elderly) do not understand that an Airbnb is not a 'hotel' alternative......it is an 'accommodation' alternative.
So what I lack in infrastructure, I make up for by providing the most comfortable homely experience that I possibly can.
This is what every guest receives in food and snacks.......
I manage this by negotiating deals with my local businesses.
Every guest, even overnighters gets a cheese plate.......
When cheeses, bacon and other perishables get near their use by/best before date, or get a bit pulled around in the display cabinet they either get put into a box set aside specifically for me out in the warehouse area or, they get thrown in the dumpster.......I never pay more than 50c for a cheese so every guest gets a $30 cheese plate but it never costs me more than $1.50. They can't understand how I manage to do this on what I charge.....and I don't make a point of enlightening them!! I just shrug my shoulders and say, I enjoy doing it!
My only restriction is I am only allowed to supply perishable products in the manufacturers sealed packaging. I cannot keep on hand a 5 Kg bulk pack of bacon and simply pull out a few rashers and wrap in plastic cling wrap for each guest. I can't cut a wedge of cheese off the round and wrap it! As I don't have a commercial food handling licence I cannot supply anything I cannot guarantee the integrity of.
But it works well I am never short of things to offer, and guests love it.
I do also love cooking and sometimes if a particular guest is here for a week or more and we get on well we will share a meal with them and a few wines. But I make a point of stressing on them not to make any mention of cooked meals in the review process. The last thing I need is a future guest marking me down because they didn't get a meal offer they were expecting.
But we have had some lovely nights around the table with a chicken, mushroom, pumpkin and asparagus risotto, or a Salmon Wellington with cream cheese, leek and dill.....
It works well for me and I know has been responsible for much of my future business.
Cheers........Rob
Hi Eileen, Our door would always be open to you Eileen.
I have had to take over the household rolls more and more as Ade's MS has progressed and I do love my cooking.
I tend to make dishes that I can pre-prepare in the morning so I am not isolated from the group if we are entertaining as meal time comes around, and the Salmon Wellington fits into that category perfectly.
My only issue with this dish is......the Filo pastry. You can make it with puff pastry but it is much less refined, less delicate than layered Filo pastry....it's nowhere near as nice!
No matter what I do I can't get those sheets of Filo to separate!
You see in the cooking shows these presenters just calmly lift the Filo sheets one by one from the pack......BULL! I have tried everything over the years, pulling the pack out of the freezer and putting it in the fridge overnight. Wrapping the pile of sheets in a damp towel for a couple of hours before use but, I have a devil of a time getting those thin sheets to come apart without ripping each other.
If anyone has any advice on how to successfully separate Filo sheets I would love to hear it.
Anyway here is my recipe Eileen. I have posted this recipe in the past on the CC, hence my last line!!!
A nice easy dish to prepare and cook Eileen, just one tip. When preparing the salmon portions before arranging them on the Filo, cut each piece into even widths to match the size of the slices you ultimately want to serve and place each piece in a line about 1/4 inch apart so that when you cut the Wellington for serving you have nice neat slices without tearing the salmon around un-necessarily.
As you're coming into winter give it a try and let us know how it turns out Eileen!
Cheers........Rob
NB, I possibly should have sent this recipe in a DM but my thought was others might like to give it a try as well.
