Real Life: Setting up a Social and Gastronomic Gite business in France

With a plan to create sociable holidays in France grounded in gastronomy, Sam and Heather Lusardi were determined to do everything to make the project work, they tell Alison Hughes…

Sometimes dreams are a long time in the making. They usually start with an idea, often after a blissful holiday in the sun, imagining yourself buying your daily baguette before stopping for a pause café to watch the world go by. On returning home, the daydream fades until the next holiday comes round. But sometimes life takes an unexpected turn that makes us translate those dreams into action.

Fifteen years ago, Sam and Heather Lusardi were dreaming -like so many of moving to France ‘someday’. The lure of long sunny days, mouth-watering produce on market stalls and that famous slower pace of life was always at the back of their minds. Then, in 2020, a series of events made them think long and hard about how they wanted to spend the rest of their lives, and their plan for ‘sometime in the future’ became ‘why not now?”.

That year had a devastating effect on so many people. When Covid struck, Sam was working in the government department dealing with civil contingencies. Suddenly, the contingency plan for pandemics was no longer a plan but the real thing. This meant long. stressful hours in the office. Heather, who had previously worked in a globe-trotting job that she loved, had spent the previous year in a higher-education role that didn’t live up to expectations. Added to this was the personal tragedy of finding out that a fifth round of IVF treatment had been unsuccessful.

Taking inspiration from the ‘vibe’ at a foodie weekend in rural Wales (forest), they wondered if they could recreate the same atmosphere of relaxation and good food in the south of France. Given that their new life needed to also provide them with an income, they fixed on the idea of running convivial holidays, “where like-minded people could meet around a table filled with good food, good wine, stories and laughter”.

Once they had established their aim, Sam and Heather swung into action. First on the list was making sure they could both get residency -Heather already had a European passport, courtesy of her Hungarian ancestry, and Sam was about to obtain his first Italian passport after jumping through a few linguistic hoops at the Italian embassy.

While waiting for this formality to be sorted out, they were religiously keeping up their French on duolingo, and Heather, who was already a talented cook, decided to take a Chef’s Skills course at the prestigious Leith Cookery School. Not to be outdone, Sam took a Level 3 course at the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. Although both Sam and Heather downplay their prowess in these subjects, these are highly regarded professional qualifications. Knowing that there’s a huge choice of activities available for holidaymakers to combine with their accommodation (archery and nudism were just two they came across), Sam and Heather had already established their USP as sociable holidays ‘grounded in gastronomy”.

They’d often found self-catering kitchens woefully lacking in gadgets when on holiday themselves, so they were determined to furnish their gites not only with garlic presses, but everything needed to rustle up a gourmet meal if guests so wished. Equally, for visitors who preferred the idea of tasting delicious food rather than preparing it themselves, the pair decided to offer ‘feast nights’ for guests and locals.

The food they would offer was to be seasonal and international, using locally sourced (and hopefully their own homegrown) produce. Heather says her inspiration for cooking comes from ‘the sunshine food of the Mediterranean-bright-red tomatoes and peppers, cool lemons, apricots and peaches one look at Heather’s Instagram page will leave you in no doubt about her cooking skills.

So with their professional qualifications and the stamp of approval for residency, the exciting part could begin. Heather’s mother has lived in the Hérault department for 20 or so years, so Sam and Heather were very familiar with the area and planned to start their property search in the Occitanie region. The aim was to rent for a few months and make house hunting forays in the area.

Their checklist included: a character property (but not a complete wreck), a fair amount of land (enough to have a few animals and a potager), some outbuildings (suitable for gite conversions and event space), a pool or space for one, near a town and not too isolated (they wanted privacy, but not to be too far from a boulangerie). They began their search.

The couple knew the things to watch out for too old buildings may well have at least one roof containing asbestos, a fosse septique will invariably need replacing and the electrics might be functioning, but will probably not be aux normes (up to standard). But as every househunter knows, the most important question is ‘can you see yourself living there?”.

After many exploratory trips and 65 viewings, ‘the one’ was a property that wasn’t listed with the agents who’d been showing them around and wasn’t even in their original search area. “We were won over by the stunning scenery of the Gorges de l’Aveyron,” Heather says. The property ticked a lot of boxes, but more important was the coup de coeur they had been waiting for. It felt like home.

Les Mirabelles is in Tarn-et-Garonne, but near the borders with Tarn, Aveyron, Lot and Lot-et-Garonne. Beautiful villages like Cordes-sur-Ciel and Najac are a few kilometres away and the Sunday market at nearby St-Antonin-Noble-Val is an event in itself with, as well as food stalls, buskers playing and plenty of opportunity for people-watching.

Just as important as all the practicalities of their new life, one of Sam and Heather’s priorities was to become part of their local community. The previous owner of Les Mirabelles, Monsieur Debecq, turned out to be a real treasure, insisting they stop paying for storage in the UK and move their belongings into the barn-even before the acte de vente was signed. He wasa heating engineer and proved to be an invaluable source of information and help during the renovations-including sweeping the chimney for them before they moved in.

In rural France, the calendar is punctuated by fêtes that reflect the seasons. On these occasions, the whole village turns out, trestle tables are erected and a repas champêtre enjoyed. In nearby Espinas, the highlight of the year is La Fenaison (haymaking festival). It attracts thousands of visitors who come to watch the celebration of traditional skills and rural activities such as wielding a scie long long saw), ploughing and clog dancing. Starting with a mass in The tractor parade at Fenaison Occitan, the festivities continue with a parade of tractors, and culminate with a 10-course meal and copious amounts of red wine.

Sam knew he had been accepted when he was asked to help paint signs for the Fenaison and later to help out on a communal pruning and weeding day-both events ending with plenty of locally made eau de vie. As in most small communities, people expect to help each other. “You should never be afraid to ask for help either,” says Heather. “Entr nide is the norm here.” Of course, it helps if you have put in the effort to learn the language. The Lasardis have embraced this, both taking an intensive French class in Toulouse and continuing with weekly lessons by Zoom.

Despite all their preparations for the move to France, there Fenaison is a local farming Festival have still been a few things that have taken them by surprise the cost of building materials being one and the fact that in France “they do things differently. But the couple’s delight with their new life comes across loud and clear.

Sam has written an amusing blog detailing their journey from civil servants in the UK to owners of this little bit of paradise in southwest France. It’s full of anecdotes and observations about their daily life, including how to deal with a canicule (heat wave) when you haven’t yet installed a pool, and interactions with their neighbours. “One thing we have learnt,” says Sam, “is to adapt and also to recognise our limits: when it’s better to get someone else in, rather than trying to do everything yourself”

Two gites-Le-Cerisier and Le Néflier are now up Fêtes often include meals for all and running, the potager is producing courgettes, beetroot, tomatoes and numerous other vegetables, and, living up to its name, there has been an abundance of mirabelle plums-enough to make chutney, wine and Scotch bonnet hot sauce. A family of chickens has joined the household, and two faithful canine companions-Olive and Elwood-who have had several of their own adventures along the way! All in all, I would say this has definitely been a dream come true for Sam and Heather.

Follow the couple’s adventures at infinitejest.substack.com and on Instagram @lesmirabelles82

Heather’s culinary story is here: leithsonline.com/post/student-stories-heather-lusardi-on-her-leiths-online-experience

For more about Les Mirabelles, visit lesmirabelles82.com

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