So let’s buy a chateau in France, muddle through the culture and language, settle in as locals, become dab hands at regional cuisine and live out the storybook life amid vineyards, villages and joie de vivre. Easy peasy.
Maybe not. But these three South Africans - an artist, a chef and a “stylish woman with boundless energy” (according to their cover notes) - have done it and produced an envy-inducing book to prove it. Read it and dream. “The days flow by . . . while we work, polish, scrub, mend and try out new recipes,” writes Anet Pienaar. “Every meal, whether a quick breakfast on the kitchen patio or a formal dinner for 14 guests, is a special occasion.”
We can’t all live the dream but they’ve managed it. So enjoy their story, be envious and try the food (although what you’re supposed to do with the four eggs in the profiterole recipe beats me).
FESTIVE FRANCE by Louis Jansen Van Vuuren, Hardy Olivier & Anet Pienaar (R375 Jonathan Ball)
Rating: 3/5
Reviewer: Kevin Jacobs