It's not that nothing scares her, but Élise de la Fabrègue is keen to try, and doesn't give up at the first hitch.
Otherwise, the cultural season at the Domaine de Rombeau inn in Rivesaltes, which she has run since the death of her father, would have been put away a long time ago.
For the past year, you can regularly slip into the large room to dine in the company of a tenor, a soprano and a piano and listen, between courses, to Neapolitan melodies, among others.
“In my youth, I learned the piano, I did theater, but I am not scholarly, there are a lot of little skills that I lack,” confides the owner with modesty.
“I find it a shame to have to go to places of culture to listen to opera, see a film, exhibitions and learn…” Never mind.
From meeting to meeting, the idea germinated and developed.
In addition to the opera evenings, the next of which will take place this Tuesday March 26, it has set up film screenings, exhibitions in the gallery above the restaurant room, plans to offer stand-up… Regular customers on Tuesday evening are delighted with this offer and, even if the business is not yet completely profitable, it seems to be on the right track.
A test with Oc'Consigne to recycle wine bottles
When she leaves the restaurant to go to the cellar, she keeps the same energy and wants to shake things up.
This year, the estate has gone all out on recycling wine bottles after a conclusive test carried out with Oc'Consigne.
“We have 5 to 10% of bottles that do not come back from washing because they have defects, this involves special logistics, we have to store the bottles before sending them to the factory, the labels are different but they remain very beautiful,” she compiles.
And it pays off, quickly.
She does not understand the reluctance, even if she admits that it is simple at home because the bottles are consumed in the restaurant and there is no collection to organize… “We do it for the water bottles minerals, in Belgium a distributor does it for wine, why not us,” she preaches, rejoicing that other areas of the department are looking into the issue.
Élise de la Fabrègue is full of other stories to tell, always with this desire to help deep in her heart which makes her experience unusual adventures such as welcoming Ukrainian women into her home.
“They always called me Mother Teresa,” she smiles…