Lunch at St Jeannete

By Kieran

 Lunch at St Jeannete



Original artwork and nostalgic poem by Kieran Gonsalves (c) 2026, recalling my experience of intense software development in the medieval village of St Jeanette nestled along the Route des Villages Perches below the immense limestone cliff called Baou de Saint-Jeannete


St Jeanette is a picturesque hillside village near Nice, South France
Home to 30 code monkeys in 1992 including yours truly, quite perchance. 

Unbeknownst to us ‘twas the dawn of startups before IPO became a buzzword 
All we had was a customer spec and 45 days to beta … quitting wasn't heard

It was go-go-go six days a week from eight am till six pm with a twist
A luxurious two-hour white-table cloth three course lunch... get the gist?

Starting with a aioli vegetable soup and rustic Pain aux Céréales bread
And Salade Niçoise of tuna, olives and garden-fresh veggies, what a spread

My favourite entree, Daube provençale, beef slow cooked in herbs and wine
With the house wine flowing, everyone including the bosses seemed just fine

Nothing is complete without dessert, the classic Tarte au Citron, yummy!
A crisp pasty crust filled with a tangy lemon curd, prefect in the tummy

You'd wash it down with coffee, the Maître d’hôtel was like a team mate.
Soon she got to know us by name and kept our food ready, no getting late

Comments

Anonymous said…
Really superb. Classic for a Sunday. Great timing. Increased the appetite for learning and eating. 😎 (WhatsApp comment from a very dear childhood friend on a chat group)
February 15, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Kieran said…
I took this job in a leap of faith. The interactive voice technology was totally new to me and I spoke no French but I was hired to be part of the architectural and database design team - which I was confident about. We were 30 engineers mostly from Lille and Paris in North of France (clever move so that they would work 6 days a week), a couple from the UK, Egypt and Cyprus (that's where I interviewed for the job). We completed the task at hand and on Jan 13, 1993 I flew out to Calgary,Canada with my colleague to install the beta at AGT (local telephone company) - which ultimately was expanded to cover the entire province with over a million users. The technology was groundbreaking enough for the French company to be bought out by OcTEL, a Californian leader in voice messaging which turned around and used it as a crwon jewel for a M&A by Lucent Technology - and I my expertise in the product got me a transfer to California with Lucent who sponsored my Green card. Strange how things happen when you take risks. -Kieran
February 15, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Anonymous said…
Lucky you? My mouth was watering just “imaging the whole experience . You can have your cake and eat it ! (WhatsApp comment from a dear relative in Toronto, Canada)
February 15, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Kieran said…
French cuisine is something else. They have a ‘Plat du jour’ or special of the day which is usually a local recipe made from fresh seasonal produce and gives great value for money. It is ‘priz fixe’ which means fixed price so you know exactly what fits your budget (they don’t tip like we do here). The service is super fast because everything is ready to eat.
For me the ambience was excellent, enjoying the local food with my team mates was priceless - Kieran
February 15, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Anonymous said…
You remember all the French words. That is something. It reads very professionally (WhatsApp comment from a dear childhood friend)
February 15, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Kieran said…
Confession- I always spellcheck so that I don’t mangle anything. Sacre bleu!! - Kieran
February 15, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Anonymous said…
Quite the experience, tremendous (WhatsApp comment from a very dear relative in Mumbai)
February 15, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Kieran said…
Yes it was. We were strangers on day one as the team was a motley group of Parisiennes, Lillois (native of Lille), Egyptians and Cypriots (I interviewed while working in Cyprus). But we quickly settled down to the task at hand. The French take their meals very seriously, there is no rushing anyone - we would laugh, drink and relax for two full hours before going back at it. I am still friendly with some of them 30 years later. Great bunch of guys and gals. - Kieran
February 15, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Anonymous said…
Ah when people cared and helped - bit nostalgic now. (WhatsApp comment from a very dear friend in Florida)
February 15, 2026 at 8:19 AM
Kieran said…
There was a brilliant French salesman, Robert Pierre, who pitched a solution from IBM to the customer. Since it was a new area of voice interactive technology the other two vendors had competing but different solutions. The customer wanted a blend of all three. So this salesman made a deal, pay me if I can deliver a demo in 45 days. It was Christmas 1992. And the customer said most of December is holiday time so sure take until Jan15. The salesman put together a team from Paris, Lille, Cairo and Nicosia (where I was based) and put us up in this quaint village where we worked our tails off. It was amazing camaraderie and we delivered on schedule and won the contract. I relocated to Canada as the lead engineer which attracted a lot of attention due to its breakthrough architecture. It was bought first by a Californian company then sold to Lucent which sponsored my green card. Yes, people cared at that time.
February 15, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Anonymous said…
Haven't heard of half these dishes. (WhatsApp comment from a dear friend in Pune)
February 15, 2026 at 8:23 AM
Kieran said…
Rozie, I wouldn’t have heard it had I not taken this job. We were 30 young techies who worked hard but played hard as well. Lunches were never rushed, and though I initially didn’t speak any French I learned basic phrases and most French people appreciated the effort. On Sundays we’d jump into cars and explore the S of France including the small villages off the beaten path to enjoy the sights and cuisine. God is good - Kieran
February 15, 2026 at 8:23 AM
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