La Vie en France: Heather’s Story, Part II

We last spoke to former Leiths Online student Heather Lusardi (@lesmirabelles82 on Instagram) when she and her husband Sam were poised to sign the contract on their new house and business near to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the far east of the Tarn-et-Garonne region. As Heather and Sam get ready to welcome their first guests this summer, we caught up with Heather about their journey so far.

Last time we spoke to you, you had just purchased your property in France. Where are you up to now with the renovations?

“We’ve just completed the renovation of the first gîte and we’ve also had our first holiday booking which is very exciting. With the first gîte done, we’re now moving on to think about the food side of the business which is the really exciting part for me. As well as hosting supper-club type events at our house, we’re also going to be offering a private catering or private chef service, and we’ve also had our first booking for that: a 40th birthday in August. It’s really starting to feel like things are moving. The next job for us will be building out and renovating the outdoor events space so we can host our food events. I’m hoping to host an event by the end of July, but it may be ambitious as we’re currently navigating the complex French bureaucracy required to get the food side of the business licensed and authorised. We’ve got a meeting with the mairie next week to discuss this, so fingers crossed!”

It’s fascinating to follow your progress on the @lesmirabelles82 Instagram account but it looks like exhausting work. How has it been?

“It’s actually been really enjoyable for the most part! I’ve loved getting stuck in and getting my hands dirty; learning new skills and seeing the product of our hard work, but it has been really intense these last couple of months, getting things ready to open. Everything takes a lot longer than you expect, and there’s always a hitch along the way. The hardest thing has not been having the time to do the things that I really enjoy. As we’ve been so focused on renovations, I’ve been neglecting the vegetable garden, experimenting in the kitchen, and menu and event planning. Getting the private chef booking has helped me to carve out some time for that, though, and to start to think about what we want to offer food-wise, which has been really rewarding.

One of our happiest times was when we hosted a party here in May, essentially a joint 40th birthday for Sam and I, but also an opportunity to get all our friends over and show them what we’ve been doing and where we’ve settled. We had a couple of evenings of food, drink, and dancing for friends from the UK and new friends in France, which were so wonderful. It gave us a flavour of what we’ve been dreaming of for Les Mirabelles. It’s all about bringing different people together around a table, good food and wine, and the sense of connection that creates.”

Coming back to the food, what have you been getting excited about? Have you made any new discoveries?

“The best discovery has been just how amazing the produce is around here. I knew the area was known as the orchard of France but as we arrived in the depths of winter, it’s taken a little bit of time to see what that really means. So, in our orchard we have an abundance of fruit that’s hopefully going to come into season soon - mirabelles (of course), plums, apples and pears.  And in the market at the moment there’s apricots and peaches and cherries and strawberries and raspberries that are all grown within 15 kilometres of where we are and are just absolutely sensational. What I really love about this area is the respect that’s given to food and produce. We’re surrounded by farmers who are all quite small scale, they might not be certified organic but they’re real custodians of the land and very proud of how their food tastes. We went to a local village party a week or so ago and everybody was just talking about food, discussing whether the pâté and charcuterie this year was better than last year’s. And this was just the warm up event. They hold an incredible festival every August, a kind of grand feast night and party, where they serve eight courses for about 700 people.”

What food plans have you made so far?

“With our first gîte open, we're going to be offering table d’hôte which guests can book a few days in advance. We will serve guests a three-course meal either in the orchard, down by the pool, or on our terrace depending on weather. I’ll be cooking simple, really ingredient-focused food. Things that make me excited are dishes that are zinging with herbs, citrus and spices, not necessarily traditional French food but Mediterranean food more broadly. For example, I’ve got a guinea fowl in the fridge marinating in pomegranate molasses, spices and lemon zest, and tonight I’m going to roast that and serve it with tomato couscous and cucumber, red onion, sumac and parsley salad. It’s summery, it’s vibrant, but it’s really about doing justice to the beautiful produce. For our private chef offerings, the menus range from simple rustic cooking, to something that’s more complex, both in terms of ingredients and presentation. For the event in August, for example, the customer has chosen our most extravagant menu - the menu gourmande, and we’ve developed the dishes based on what the customer loves and what’s at its absolute best at that time of year. We’re starting our homemade focaccia, followed by a pea and ricotta ravioli, with tarragon and basil oil, for the main course we’re serving a rib of beef with red wine and bone marrow sauce, and a crispy potato terrine with charred cabbage with burnt butter. After that we’ve got a palate cleanser of melon and muscat sorbet, then to finish we’re serving a lemon and yuzu tart with lemon verbena cream and raspberry gel.

We’ve had probably four days off in the last six or seven weeks and been working ten-hour days sometimes, so spending time in the kitchen is a real treat. For example, I spent half the day making a cherry tart and some jam was really lovely.

I’ve definitely been using my Leiths’ skills, especially on the pastry side of things. What I really benefited from during the Leiths’ course was the extra finesse and precision that the tutors and the modules provided. So when I make desserts, I’m always thinking about the lessons I learned and the tips I picked up.”

What’s the next stage for Les Mirabelles?

“The next big milestone for us will be our first Feast night here. I’ll be planning the menus in the next month or so, and we’ve got quite a lot of work to do to get the space how we want it - and of course the French bureaucracy to wrangle, but I can’t wait to see people here enjoying our food. After the summer we’ll start developing our second gîte, and hopefully start getting the planning permission required for the third one. We’re also trying to get more involved in some of these local events and embed ourselves in the community. The people we’ve met, both French and English People have been so friendly and so supportive, so we do feel welcomed into the community.”

Finally, how is your French doing?

“It’s getting there! We still have weekly lessons; we’re definitely improving. We’ve got a meeting with the mairie coming up and I feel pretty confident talking to him about our business plans and the admin and know we’ll be understood, but there’s always more to learn!”

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