Rose En Marche

Running A Market Stall In Provence

Jamie Ivey

Rosé en Marché is the third title in the delightful 'rosé' series by Jamie Ivey, and involves Tanya and Jamie selling rosé in French markets. They rent a flat in Saint Rémy de Provence and work in the town's market as well as three or four other local markets. There is, of course, the odd flying visit from their old friend Peter Tate.

In La Vie en Rosé the Iveys had set up and run their own rosé bar. However, they discovered that a French alcohol licence cost about 30,000 euros. On top of this, legislation meant it was impossible to set up a new bar within 50 metres of an existing one. All the viable locations already had plenty of bars, and to succeed they had to look at buying one of them. Given these unexpected costs the Iveys had to recognise that the whole project was too expensive and risky, but they still wanted to stay in France, and still wanted to be involved with rosé. They decided to set up a rosé shop, but rejected the idea. Streets which had a lot of people passing along them also had expensive leases. Finally they realised that the busiest time in any French town is market day. Rather than take the risk of buying an expensive lease, they needed to set up their own market stall. Able to rent space in any market in France, they opt for the exquisite Provencal town of Saint Rémy. Rosé en Marche will enchant and attract all the readers who are still in the pink from the first two 'rosé' volumes.