French experience tre`s magnifique
Franc¸aise cuisine, vin, conversation and culture – Claire McCall discovers that it is all available right here in Aotearoa, thanks to the pandemic and two women’s passion for all things French.
The creme brulee arrives with a professional flourish as the smartly dressed server, a crisp-white napkin over his arm, sets it down on the washed oak table. Beneath the crackly golden crust, it is unctuous and silky. Parfait (excellent).
It is a fitting end, not only to a meal prepared by a cordon bleu chef, but to a day filled with laughter and learning.
Patsy Sackx and Catherine Bamford are longtime friends who, during the Covid lockdowns, not so much pivoted but pirouetted down a new avenue, setting up French language immersion weekends away in Aotearoa for Francophones.
With international travel off the menu, the Auckland-based pair, who had been hosting boutique tours to Normandy, Brittany and Provence since 2016, decided to ‘‘create a little bit of France right here’’.
They first tested the market with a Gallicinspired getaway to Matamata.
The reaction? Si bon! So they spread the net wider with ateliers in Martinborough and Akaroa.
Sackx, originally from Antwerp in Belgium, and Bamford, who was born in the village of BourgdesComptes in Brittany, arrived in the country when bakeries had barely heard of a croissant, the local camembert tasted like a bar of soap and wine was still very expensive.
‘‘You couldn’t even find a rose´ ,’’ Bamford says. Even though they hankered after family and the food, they loved the ‘‘blue-green beautiful’’ land they had adopted as their own.
The duo brings their own brand of fun to the four-day experiences hosting groups of eight through gentle adventures, all the while speaking French.
They are the ideal tag team.
Sackx, who teaches French to children and adults, emboldens those who have only a beginner’s grasp of the language and Bamford, who works in hospitality, focuses on the more accomplished speakers.
‘‘We attract people with a passion for the language and the culture,’’ Bamford says. ‘‘Those who love the food and music of France and who want to gain confidence and skills in a relaxed atmosphere.’’
A Friday night game of petanque is usually enough to break the ice. And what better environment than a grand colonial homestead overlooking the pinot noir vineyards of the Wairarapa? As participants throw their boules onto the crushed-gravel court at Lismore House in Martinborough, a verre du vin on the sidelines, French music playing in the background to set the mood, inhibitions magically disappear.
By the time Vincent Boudet, personal chef for the weekend, and lecturer at Wellington’s Le Cordon Bleu institute, gathers the group for a cheese-making demonstration, the conversation is flowing smoothly.
‘‘At dinner time, he explains the menu, speaking in slow French so that everyone can understand,’’ Sackx says.
Not that the pair are endlessly insistent on sticking to the lingo. ‘‘If you want to speak in English, of course there’s no pressure.’’
Although the traditional gastronomic offerings – think cheese souffle followed by cassoulet – are
undoubtedly a highlight, there is some work to be done. Each morning, there is a French lesson tailored to the levels within the group and, in the afternoon, an activity to explore the area.
In Martinborough, that might be an electric bike tour of the vineyards, and in Akaroa, a fourhour nature safari to see the penguins or a cruise on the harbour with the dolphins is on the agenda.
‘‘Three of the tour guides at Pohatu Penguins are native French speakers, so it feels really authentic,’’ Sackx says.
Even if learning the word for penguin (manchote) is not top of the priority list, forming new friendships with like-minded people might be.
For Louise Pagonis, newsreader and tour guide, that has been one of the clear bonuses of attending an atelier.
‘‘Patsy and Catherine treat you like a friend the moment you walk in the door,’’ she says. ‘‘The thing I remember most is huge amounts of fun.’’
Pagonis, who signed up because during the pandemic there was no opportunity to head to Europe to practise her French, enjoyed the itinerary, the feeling of an ‘‘international’’ experience within New Zealand and watching everyone’s confidence build.
‘‘Some participants were rusty and hadn’t spoken for a long time; others had varying levels of French, but I was impressed by the way Patsy and Catherine would encourage people, so it was not intimidating for anybody.’’
She not only came away from the weekend so inspired that she decided to sit a DELF exam (an internationally recognised French language diploma) at the Alliance Franc¸ aise – and passed – but gained a couple of good friends, whom she still meets when they are in town.
This year they are keen to rendezvous in Avignon for a true taste of Provence. But who knows? If some global disaster should scupper those plans, tant pis (too bad). There is always Akaroa.