Annemarie Rawson has written two books about her adventures in France. Photo / Supplied
A Havelock North woman couldn't believe her eyes when she saw her dream job appear on her screen.
Annemarie Rawson and her husband Steve were living in Auckland at the time. Annemarie was restless and looking for an adventure and then one Sunday afternoon it appeared before her eyes.
The job was managing a 15th century farmhouse in France.
So they packed up their lives in New Zealand and went abroad.
However, what awaited them was not what they had been led to believe.
Annemarie has told her story in two wonderful books, My French Platter and My French Platter Replenished.
I asked Annemarie some questions.
What was it like to pack your life up and move to another country?
Intense, as there are so many facets of your everyday life that need to be scrutinised and either altered or cancelled, from car and home/contents insurance to cancelling the paper and returning the Sky box and everything else in between! Then there was renting out the house, putting our home contents into storage and selling the cars. There's a lot to think about and do. Simultaneously, it was exciting to be leaving and to be off on an adventure.
You faced some really difficult situations, including dealing with a hostile boss. What advice would you give others in the same situation?
Stand up for yourself when bullied, but have a Plan B, in case it all turns to custard. That was my biggest mistake – not having one. Luckily for us, we made some special friends who took us in and helped us enormously.
Who taught you to cook?
No one in particular. I learned to cook from watching friends create beautiful food, from cooking shows and trying recipes for myself. I don't do anything fancy involving many steps or ingredients, just simple food with plenty of natural flavour that can be complemented with added flavours.
What's your favourite French dish?
Cassoulet. I first had this unctuous, slow-cooked and intensely flavoured dish when we stayed in the town of Carcassonne. On a small shuttle bus taking us into the village, Steve asked the driver where the locals ate. The driver dropped us right outside the door of this small restaurant and suggested we try the cassoulet. No regrets. Cassoulet was once a simple farmhouse fare but has evolved into a rich and complex dish, made up of white beans cooked to maximum creaminess, cured pork sausage/belly, duck and goose confit with a delicious hard-baked crust. It has undertone flavours of onions, celery, carrots and bay leaf. I'm salivating, remembering it. I never was tempted to try frogs' legs or snails!
And NZ dish?
You can't beat a New Zealand pavlova – especially Chelsea Winter's recipe, topped with whatever takes your fancy, but typically kiwifruit. I like to thread lemon curd through the whipped cream and top with strawberries and raspberries and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds and mint leaves. It looks fabulous.
When did you decide to write your adventure down?
When we returned from France. The experiences we had, the people we met and the simplicity of life in the countryside had inveigled their way into my heart and changed me. It was difficult mentally to settle back into our (then) Auckland life. Our friends' and families' lives had gone on unchanged while we were away and as much as they were delighted to have us back, they didn't want to hear me giving chapter-and-verse about our lives in France. It was then I decided to get it down on paper so I had a "hard copy" of our lives away and not just memories.
What has been the hardest part about publishing two books?
Taking the plunge, exposing and placing myself at the mercy of a reader's review. Thankfully, most have been fabulous, reducing me to tears in some instances where they have felt they were on the adventure with me and enjoying a glass of rosé on the way. I do have two rather nasty reviews which left me feeling upset for a brief time but it's my story/memoir and not meant to be some erudite tome.
How did you feel when you saw your first book in shops?
Thrilled but stunned that people would be interested in a very ordinary, everyday New Zealander's adventure in France.
Tell us something surprising about yourself.
I can't be seen without mascara! I have a fair and freckled complexion and look washed out … like Miss Piggy without her false eyelashes.
Three tips for someone planning to move to another country.
1. Ask yourself why you are wanting to go, and to that country. 2. Thoroughly research each aspect of what your life would be like there. 3. If accepting a job, ask for names and details of people you could talk with to get a good understanding of your role and those you would work for.
What's next on the agenda?
Completing my next book, Late-Life Adventures in London and Beyond, and hopefully heading off for a few months back to the UK and Europe in May or June, Covid-dependent. In the meantime, I'm loving our new life here in the Hawke's Bay.
There have been four artists-in-residence at Rinitawa.