Research and development

Anita runs a great cuisine here; our guests are usually delighted with what we serve.  We have tried all sorts of dishes during our time in England, and we learn a lot from eating at other restaurants.  It's a great way of finding new presentation techniques and ideas for recipes or combinations of dishes: we frequently incorporate discoveries into our menu.

I didn't really believe that we would be able to offset the cost of dining out as a business expense, but I asked our accountant anyway, more as a joke than anything else.  But yes, he assured us, dining out could be accepted as a business expense, within reasonable limits, of course.

So today we had lunch at a very nice restaurant just west of Laval, run by a couple who, we discovered, live not far from us.  Very nice it was too.  We made sure to choose different dishes, and we came away with some ideas for things to try.  The view from their terrace over the adjacent lake was fantastic; I imagine it would be fabulous to eat outside in summer but the weather kept us indoors today.

I must remember to ask if we can claim accommodation away as a business expense, evaluating the competition.