Priscotts enjoy the busy life

in Brussels, and talked over the possibilities.

Food was a common thread through their discussion ‘‘but we kept saying each time ‘but not a cafe’. So we came back to New Zealand and opened a cafe.’’

Next step, however, was where to base themselves.

‘‘Te Awamutu was affordable and I already owned a home here. Putting down roots in Te Awamutu was a natural progression for me. I had a good job in France and had amazing experiences, but I knew I had to settle down some time.’’

Adding to the pressure was a miscalculation on the share market, which meant the couple lost a sizeable investment just before they returned home.

‘‘We had to make the cafe happen with what we had. We made the tables and worktops ourselves in the garage, and we did lots of painting. You can’t let it [the share-market loss] define you. We looked at it as a valuable lesson: we’re young: if we take a risk now, we are young enough to recover.’’

The first few years were a blur, she says.

‘‘And we kept having babies. It only feels in the last year like I got things under control.

‘‘We like busy, we like crazy busy – well, we had to get used to it pretty quick.

‘‘We’ve been here eight years now. I was young when I left to go overseas but this is the next stage of our lives. Te Awamutu is home now, we’re where we feel like we should be. We have all our family around us here, it’s a cool place to have family and children.’’

The kids, aged 2, 6 and 8, are more independent now, so independent that on one occasion she told them to put their shoes on and hop in the car. When they arrived in Hamilton Megan discovered they had taken her quite literally – they were dressed in shoes, undies and nappies.

‘‘While I was driving I only saw their heads in the rear-vision mirror so we had to go shopping for cheap clothes. I like to guide my kids rather than fieldmarshall them,’’ she says.

‘‘They’re at a great age now. They all communicate well, they’re fun and we don’t have to work around sleeps any more, we can get out and do things together.’’

And there’s plenty to do on the family’s lifestyle block on the outskirts of the town. There are cows, sheep – and kunekune pigs, which are the kids’ best friends. ‘‘They’re babysitters while I do the gardening.’’

The garden is Megan’s passion, where she winds down and where the couple grow organic vegetables, herbs and fruit for home and cafe.

‘‘We’re busy, but we’re used to it now. We attract it.

‘‘Living overseas helped me to be adaptable. In my job, I had to be a ‘yes’ person first rather than a ‘no’ person. I was a private chef and travelled a lot with my boss all over the world.’’

Alongside everyday healthy meals, she had to be able to cater for dinner parties when she was a private chef – for 10 in New York, perhaps.

‘‘And we would’ve just flown in that morning,’’ she says. ‘‘He entertained on his boat a lot so I had to get in all the ingredients and make do with what was on board.’’

They’re expanding the cafe now, she says, ‘‘growing it at the best time while we’re young enough and have the energy‘‘.