A Mzansi boerseun on the Côte d’Azur

‘All French clichés aside baguette under the arm, skew beret on your head while riding a bike along the Seine – living and working in France for nine years has toughened me up a bit,’ says Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, whose Restaurant JAN is in Nice. ‘There’ve been so many situations where I thought, “What the hell am I doing?” Like ordering duck for the restaurant and getting 20 ducks, recently culled, with feathers still on!

‘You quickly learn to pluck a duck, but you also learn to stand up for yourself. They’re not going to get you next time, that’s for sure. Instead of collapsing into a sorry heap on the floor, you pick yourself up and turn the situation into something great. And because of that, I feel like I haven’t lost any of the romance of living here. Has that romance taken a different shape since those early, starry-eyed days? Of course! But my French Affair has never ended.

‘One of my favourite things to do in Nice is picnic, particularly in summer. There’s this incredible spot on the other side of Villefranche (the deepest bay in the Mediterranean), about 15 minutes outside Nice, called SaintJean-Cap-Ferrat. It’s a little cape that reaches into the Mediterranean with the most tranquil beaches. It feels like being in an old French movie, lazing the day away while feasting on fresh, crusty bread and creamy butter with a chilled rosé, or throwing together a salad from the most beautiful ingredients you bought at the market that morning. And when you feel like the heat’s getting too much, you just take a dip in the turquoise water. To me, there’s no better way to unwind after a busy week.’