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Le Paradou is a sleepy Provencal village surrounded by fields of sunflowers and groves of olive trees that shimmer in the heat. Deep in Van Gogh territory, the village is home to the legendary restaurant Le Bistrot du Paradou, which has served up classic dishes to well-fed locals and knowing visitors for more than 20 years. Peta Mathias - inexhaustible food lover, writer, television presenter and plenty more besides - says a visit to Le Bistrot is something of a pilgrimage whenever she comes to France.
Mathias has just completed a week-long cooking class at her Fete Accomplie school in Uzes and our Friday lunch date at Le Bistrot is to discuss her new book, Can We Help It If We're Fabulous? Dressed in a white cotton tunic and pedal pushers, Mathias looks years younger than 58 and, well, quite fabulous herself. She can't resist giving the handsome young waiter who shows us to our table a flirtatious look before getting the giggles as she sits down to concentrate on the menu.
"I just love it when you arrive and there is a bottle of wine already plonked on the table," she says, happily pouring herself a glass and immediately turning her attention to the tomato salad served in a yellow pottery bowl. The anchovies, lettuce and black olives are deemed to be of good quality and the vinaigrette tasty.
"You see, this is the basis for all good cooking, quality products that are fresh and sparkling and haven't been lying around for days." In the best Provencal tradition, Friday at Le Bistrot is reserved for the grand aioli, a local specialty of steamed snails, cod and lukewarm vegetables served with a garlic mayonnaise. It happens to be a dish that Mathias knows plenty about as it is one of the recipes she teaches at her culinary week in Uzes, now in its third year.
The next two culinary weeks will be held this October in Morocco, where visitors will divide their stay "between the rural charms of authentic Berber hospitality and the riotous but sophisticated life of Marrakech's medina". She plans four culinary weeks in 2009, including two in Rajasthan, north-western India, which she visited in April. "I remember sipping pomegranate juice while listening to a haunting bansi [flute] playing. Peacocks and monkeys cross your path. You acclimatise to being called Sahiba and being gently looked after like a princess in approximately five minutes."
While Mathias says she is still in love with food, having devoted her new book's second chapter ("If I smell a drop of truffle oil I'll scream") to the subject, writing about women makes a refreshing change. "It's a way to branch out, write about something different and fun," she says, insisting that nothing qualifies her for the job except "having been around the block a few times", holding strong opinions about most things, and being born with an endless fascination for other people's lives.
The 10 topics she tackles are fashion, food, relationships, music, travel, beauty, work, sex, happiness and of course, men. She has chosen only things of personal interest and does not apologise for excluding subjects such as spirituality, the environment or sports. "You want religion? Look inwards. You want exercise? Walk to the wine shop," she says.
Written in a crisp, no-nonsense manner, her book is full of tips for the modern-day woman, whom she encourages to shop shamelessly, eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, develop a positive attitude and always make the best of herself - "if you are over 30, don't even think of putting the rubbish out without makeup on". In the fashion chapter, titled "Asset management", Mathias says a woman should never wear white shoes unless she is a nurse and avoid black shoes unless she is a nun, Italian or a magazine editor. The biggest lie in the world, she says, is that black makes you look thinner. "Fat people in black just look dowdy and surprisingly like fat people in black. Fat people in colour look fabulous and happy and sexy," she writes in her book.
She advises women to wear what suits them and show off their assets. "The world hasn't seen my arms for 10 years, but it does see my breasts occasionally because they're still under control. Nobody is going to lose sleep over my legs, so I don't wear short skirts. If you've got great legs, show them. Asset control."
The book was also an opportunity for Mathias to write about subjects dear to all women's hearts - shopping and shoes. Shopping, she says, is far more therapeutic than "vomiting out my tedious issues to a shrink". "New clothes make you feel fabulous - the shrink makes you realise how hideous you really are." As for shoes, you are never too fat or too old to buy another pair, says Mathias. "The more shoes a woman owns, the better person she turns out to be."
Mathias devotes several pages to an in-depth analysis of different shoe types, ranging from wedges to court shoes "favoured by air hostesses, Jackie Kennedy and bridesmaids who dye them to match their frocks". As she discreetly displays today's choice of red and white polka-dotted espadrilles - "disposable, chic and absolutely spelling sunshine" - from under the table, the waiter returns with our main course. The thick and shiny mayonnaise wins approval. The garlic can be smelled by the couple at the next table and its dark yellow colour proves it is made from real olive oil, she says.
The snails are fat, juicy and full of flavour, whereas the plate of steamed cod sprinkled with cumin seeds, steamed carrots, jacket potatoes, cauliflower and boiled eggs looks attractive but is disappointingly cold. Mathias does not hesitate to summon the waiter to take it back and heat it up. "Maybe, I've just been in this business too long," she sighs. "Twenty years ago, I would have thought this was fine, but the [grand aioli] I make at my culinary week is so much better. We use waxy potatoes, sweet courgettes, artichoke hearts and cherry tomatoes."
French cooking is indeed a subject Mathias is more than qualified to comment on, having lived in France for more than 10 years and running her own restaurant, Rose Blues, in the 5th arrondissement in Paris. She describes the restaurant in her first book about life in France, Fete Accomplie, as a friendly, cosmopolitan place where people swapped tables, started up conversations and wandered into the kitchen to gossip. She excelled in preparing a blend of French and Brazilian food but has few happy memories of that time in her life. She worked 12 to 15 hour days, lost far too much weight, fell ill frequently and suffered severe insomnia. "You work so hard and then someone will send the pasta back and tell you it's not cooked enough. That's when you want to pour hot oil over their head."
Her business partner also swindled her out of the profits when the restaurant was sold, leaving her penniless when she left France to return to New Zealand 17 years ago. "It was such a relief to get back home where life is so easy compared to France. I had to start from scratch though, and it took me a long time to get over it." She remained poor for the next few years, working as a chef and teaching cooking. It was not until she was promoting Fete Accomplie that her finances and fortunes improved. She was noticed by an executive from Television New Zealand and ever since has been fronting prime-time food shows.
Despite her outward success as a popular television presenter, celebrity chef and author of eight gastronomic/travel books, Mathias says she has made her share of mistakes and suffered failures that caused damage and scars - but they never stopped her working or seeking happiness. "The key with happiness," she says, "is not the content of our life but the context in which we hold it. Everything is a matter of attitude but you do have to teach yourself to quickly get back into the land of joy and wisdom after hardships, disappointments and betrayals."
Mathias admits she has also been betrayed in love. Raised in Auckland by strict parents and then schooled by Catholic nuns, Mathias says the sexual revolution powered her into adulthood, where she refused to bend to a traditional marriage or family life. She saw marriage as a trap and is thoroughly relieved that she never had children; accusing mothers of never telling their daughters just what is involved so as not to put them off.
A great admirer of feminist writers Erica Jong and Germaine Greer, being a mum-at-home was the last thing on her mind. She never sought a stable home, preferring a life of travel, romance and adventure. Love is a requirement for deep, profound sex, but she has always found the support and affection from family and friends lasts longer. She says despite a lifetime of selfless study, she still finds men incomprehensible. "I just find them difficult to take seriously and, until now, I've never really taken the trouble to find out what makes them tick."
As part of her research for the new book, Mathias sent out hundreds of questionnaires and conducted detailed interviews with both male and female friends and acquaintances. She was surprised at the openness of their responses. A recurring theme was the poor sex lives endured by "more seasoned" women, especially after a divorce, illness or due to waning interest from their partner. "Women over 50 frequently reported that they really missed sex and yet couldn't be bothered to go through what was necessary to find it," she says.
Finding love and sex as you get older is basically a numbers game - the more people you meet, the more likely you are to meet someone special, says Mathias. "If you never go out, then obviously the chances of the mailman being the one are relatively slim. Sex is like poker. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand." In conversations with women, Mathias discovered that men seemed to contribute more to unhappiness than happiness. "Women like sex but they don't seem too fussed with what comes with it."
Having always sought solace in food, Mathias is eager to sample today's tarte aux pommes at Le Paradou. Again, it falls short of expectations. The pastry is mass-produced and the crust slightly burnt. She suspects that the disappointing meal may well point to a general malaise in French cooking and a decline in standards.
Since arriving in France two months ago, the best food she has eaten has been at dinner parties or bought fresh from the market and then cooked with friends. On reflection, she comes up with a more sympathetic explanation. Perhaps after more than 20 years, Le Bistrot's owners are simply weary of the restaurant trade; ground down by the long hours and sheer physical effort.
Two years short of 60, Mathias could be forgiven for slowing down. If anything though, she's speeding up. Culinary tours and new book aside, she has several other projects on the go, including a series of how-to-cook DVDs called Peta Unplugged. The first, 10 Fabulous Recipes for Summer Entertaining, will be released for Christmas. It focuses on "aspirational cuisine" for the keen Christmas cook with recipes using ingredients like crayfish and duck.
Instructions on how to make her favourite summer pudding of chocolate and currant baklava are included. Mathias had so much fun writing the book about women that she is looking at writing another. On men, of course. "I've interviewed a lot of men, they are afraid and feel that women don't understand them. Too many men lead lives that society dictates to them, work too hard and spend too little time with their children - these are all subjects that are just dying to be explored." Mathias flashes the bemused waiter a smile before she pays the bill and sweeps out the door into the hot Provencal sun.
The French summer sales are about to start and she is ready to inspect the glorious Marni outfits just waiting to be whipped off the racks in those designer boutiques in nearby St Remy de Provence. "Personally, I've always found buying clothes to be such an easy way to make yourself happy - almost as reliable as eating and singing." Words of wisdom from one who knows.
