I HAVE A GOOD OFFER to us and therefore knew that it tasted just the way we wanted it. So he had in fact prepared a double order just ready to be signed once we were full. Now he only needed the restaurant to heat up the mock turtle, boil some eggs, slice them lengthwise and use them as garnish. The taste was perfect and Søren had the contract ready to be signed. However, I’m not fooled that easily – orders have to be won through normal business abilities – and not by using such dirty tricks. So I told him that the dinner was almost perfect, but there was one serious error so I could not double the order… The eggs had been sliced crosswise instead of lengthwise! That happened about 15 years ago and we still have mock turtle at the purchasing fair in Frankfurt. Ever since then the eggs have been sliced in the right way. However, one year it went all wrong. Søren wanted to do extra well and so he asked the chef to put plenty of sherry in the mock turtle. However, due to language problems the chef misunderstood the order and so he put in plenty of chilli instead… It cost us some extra bottles of red wine to wash it down… and plenty of water. Even in China they know our eating habits, so we rarely need to bring along our own ”larder”. However, we do bring a little – just in case. For example I remember once when we went to Indonesia, and a Danish agent who lived there with his family invited us home to visit him. Åge chose to play it safe and ate 3 large slices of rye bread with cold cuts before we left. He ended up regretting that. In honour of the occasion, the lady of the house had defrosted some nice Danish beef and had made a lovely goulash with gravy, beetroots and mashed potatoes. Our favourite dish – especially after having spent 10 days in the Far East. She asked Åge if he didn’t like her Danish food, and Åge said something about an upset stomach… However, the rest of us ate until we were totally full up. Where Else to Sell Condoms if not in a Bedding Shop? It was also in Indonesia that we went to visit a factory that made various rubber products – such as rug stops and oilcloth. However, they also made condoms. Being hospitable, they gave us a present when we left. The present was a selection of some of their own products – and among these was a carton of condoms. The next time we had an advertising meeting, we wanted to take the mickey out of our advertising manager. We were in the middle of showing products that were going to be in the next advertising paper. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, we also put the carton with the condoms on the table. Carl Erik studied it closely after which his face went bright red and he told us that we had purchased many idiotic things over the years, but this was the worst… We didn’t understand that… Who better to sell condoms than a bedding shop? We had a long discussion before he gave in – with the remark that perhaps it was okay, but at least we didn’t have to put it next to the 83
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