Crisis torques

"THINGS are looking up. We've started buying the good orange juice with the bits in, not the nasty concentrate stuff."

It's hardly the high life, but John Mears, speaking on an echoing phone line from France, does not care. He is far too busy living the good life.

Two years ago John, 34, was manager of two Nestl factories and on his way to a seat on the board. His wife, Sian, 36, was a research scientist, also for Nestl, who got to travel the world as part of her job.

Their joint income was well over £100,000. They owned a beautiful Georgian house in York, had expensive holidays, sports cars, luxury meals and designer clothes.

Then, without warning, everything changed.

"The catalyst was when a very good friend of ours died," says John.

"He was our age, just 30. It made us realise how short life could be.

"We'd always talked about making a change, doing something different with our lives. Now it was time to stop talking about it and take action."

This was their motivation, but what was their inspiration?

Sian had bought John a row of vines in Burgundy for his 30th birthday. They had driven down to see them in their sports car, eating at fantastic restaurants along the way.

When they told people about their experiences on their return home, they always received the same reply: how can we do it too?

This was their inspirational idea. Their company, Gourmet Touring, offers holidaymakers the chance to hire a sports car to tour a customised itinerary of French vineyards and restaurants.

"We didn't rush into it like you see a lot of people doing on TV," says John. "We did a lot of research. I gave up my job and worked on the project full-time for six months.

"When the time was right, Sian gave up her job and joined me. It all sounds very boring and sensible, but it was the only way to get it right."

They sold their house for £250,000, leaving them with £180,000 after paying off the £70,000 mortgage. They invested everything in buying a house in France and a fleet of sports cars.

Hardly a life of penury, you might think. But the cars were for the clients, and the house didn't exactly offer five-star accommodation. For the first few months they had to survive without an inside loo or shower, and they still do not have central heating.

Eating out and new clothes are also not on the agenda but, as John explained with some pride, at least they can now treat themselves to the occasional carton of orange juice with bits in.

"We've never been the sort of people who try to keep up with the Joneses," Sian says.

"Having said that, the neighbours here are not really into material possessions. Keeping up with the Joneses here means having the biggest, juiciest tomatoes in your garden."

This does not mean, however, that their business is not starting to boom. They now have bookings months in advance of tours, which start at £430 per person for three nights including hire of an extremely stylish car and a Michelin-starred meal.

When they hit their sales target, which they are now doing on a regular basis, they give themselves a treat, like a night out at a local bar, a trip to the opera in Bordeaux or, most recently, a dog, which they actually have time to walk as they are no longer working 13-hour days.

"People say we have had a quarter-life crisis, but I think it's the people who are working themselves to death who are having the real crisis," says John.

"I used to work 13-hour days. I would get up ridiculously early - and I hate getting up early - work hard all day and into the evening, have a quick glass of something in front of the telly and then straight to bed so I could do it all again the next day.

"We still work hard now, but it's for us. And I can get up when I want."

So is there nothing they miss about their life of luxury in York?

"The thing I miss most is strolling into York on a Saturday and going to the deli and the fish stalls, just browsing around, buying whatever took my eye and soaking up the atmosphere," says Sian.

John's thoughts are less esoteric: "I miss a good pint of bitter. When we were in York, we used to have a lot of parties and would always buy in a couple of barrels from York Brewery. Unfortunately, they don't deliver this far. Oh, and I miss a good curry. The curries here are awful, so we're now both pretty handy at making our own."

Not even a barrel of Yorkshire Terrier and a steaming pile of vindaloo could tempt them back from France now though.

Gourmet Touring is a long-term venture for them. They hope to expand it in a couple of years with new offshoots into other areas of luxury travel.

But in the meantime, they are happy to walk their dog, enjoy a lie-in and live their life at a stroll rather than a sprint.

"There is no chance that we will be rushing back to the UK anytime soon, even if there are bad times ahead," says John. "This is our life now."

For further details of Gourmet Touring, phone 0033 632 800 474 or click on to www.gourmet-touring.com

Updated: 11:20 Tuesday, October 12, 2004