country cook - Annabel Langbein

country cook
As her career
takes centre stage,
Annabel Langbein
opens the doors of
her private retreat
The cook says
she’s no copycat
– she’s simply
being herself
and doing what
she enjoys most
Just a few years ago, Annabel
Langbein was happily whipping
up recipes for her self-published
books, and posting the odd cooking
segment on the internet.
But the modest mum of two had no idea
that she would be offered a TV deal that
would send her career skyrocketing
beyond her wildest dreams. Beginning
in the UK this week, her show, The Free
Range Cook, is going to screen in an
astonishing 73 territories around the
globe and the accompanying book
will hit shelves worldwide later this year.
As her programme airs over here,
Annabel will visit London this week on
the next stage of an adventure that is
changing her life. She’s meeting retailers
and publicists, and talking to the media
about the book and TV series, which she
hopes will be as successful overseas as
they have been here.
“It is pretty incredible how it has all
taken off,” says Annabel, taking a rare
break outside on the steps of her new
terraced vegetable garden at her Wanaka
holiday home.
“Recently, my daughter Rose said to me,
‘Mum, you should be proud of yourself.
Not long ago we were just starting all
of this and look what’s happened.’
“I knew I had it in me to have a go and
at times it has felt like an endurance race,
there’s been so much work, but it’s an
amazing opportunity to be given.”
Now is the perfect time for self-taught
It would have been much harder when
the children were younger,” says Annabel,
who is mum to Sean (19) and Rose (16).
“I’m older and more confident now.
I feel stronger in myself. I really feel
I’ve got something to share.”
Becoming a household name has taken
a bit of getting used to. “I’ve had a few
trolley stalkers,” she laughs, referring
to fellow supermarket shoppers who’ve
taken a great interest in what she’s buying.
But she’s not troubled by the prospect
of becoming internationally famous.
“People ask, ‘Does it worry you if you
get recognised in the street?’ I’m only
a cook, I haven’t found a cure for disease.
experiences. It’s not about me. They just
want to talk about food.”
Annabel shrugs off suggestions she’s
New Zealand’s answer to other well-known
cooks. “I don’t think I’m New Zealand’s
Nigella Lawson, I’m just me. I’m definitely
not trying to be anyone else, I’m just trying
to be true to myself in doing what I love.”
But the whirlwind success of The Free
Range Cook – which is filmed at the 23-acre
Central Otago property she and husband
Ted Hewetson bought 15 years ago – means
that Annabel rarely gets a chance to put her
feet up.
Today is a typical day – so far she’s had
a conference call to the US, and a meeting
Annabel to launch an international career. What is nice for me is that people ask with her business manager, and in between
“I couldn’t have done the show until now. me about food and they talk about their got on with jobs around the property, like ➲
Dress from Miranda Brown. Necklace from Kagi
Annabel is heading to London to promote
The Free Range Cook, which is set to
screen around the world. The chef
believes she’s ready for the excitement
and challenges that lie ahead. “I really
feel I’ve got something to share.”
‘my wonderf ul
wanaka hide away’
12 New Zealand Woman’s Weekly 28 February 2011 www.nzwomansweekly.co.nz 13
Photos: Emma Bass • Hair & makeup:
Claudia Rodrigues • Styling: Emma Aubin
James Perse SHIRT from Muse

Annabel’s put in
a lot of work, but
says she’s been
given amazing
opportunities
The Wanaka
retreat feeds
both mind
and body
Cardigan from Miranda Brown
‘It’s a great place
to get away and think’
picking apples from the orchard. She’s
also dreamed up a delicious new salad
that involves betroot, fennel, feta, walnuts
and pomegranate molasses.
“I’m so lucky to have this place,” she
muses. “I love it. And it was the perfect
place to film The Free Range Cook because
it fits in with the whole idea of fresh, natural
food and sustainable lifestyle. It was
important to me that everything about
the show was authentic – we do grow
most of our own food.”
Now she’s taking time to check out
the new vege garden, which had to be
replanted after wild goats broke in and
chomped their way through the last one.
Bubbling with energy and every bit as
warm and down-to-earth as she appears
on TV, Annabel reflects on how lucky she
is to be able to retreat to the bolthole she
loves so much.
“It’s a great place to get away and think,”
says Annabel, whose main home is in
Auckland. “It feeds your spirit. We have
this rhythm of life here that is so simple.”
But despite the craziness that’s
enveloped her of late, Annabel’s
determined to carry on doing what
she loves best – inspiring people to
cook food that’s fresh, simple, in season
and delicious.
“I just want people to get the same
pleasure out of cooking, and eating
good food, that I get.
“Cooking is a complete passion for
me, in fact, it’s a need. If I go away on
holiday I only last for two days before
I have to go and cook. We once went
to a lovely resort in Thailand, and while
everyone else was lying around the pool
or going horse-riding, I was sneaking
into the kitchen to cook.”
Annabel says her kids and her husband
Ted, a farmer and businessman, have
had to put up with a lot over the years,
and she is grateful for their love and
support. “Sean and Rose have been
fantastic and I have been incredibly
lucky with the man I married. I couldn’t
have done any of this without him – in
fact, I wouldn’t have wanted to do it
without him.”
Having Ted by her side will help her
cope with what looks to be an exciting
but hectic new chapter in her life.
“Now is the time,” she smiles. “I’m
ready for it, I really am.”
■
Donna Fleming
hot property
➲Annabel Langbein’s husband
Ted Hewetson bought their
Wanaka hideaway 15 years ago
without telling her. She says it’s one
of the best things they’ve ever done.
Ted didn’t tell Annabel he’d put
in an offer on the land until the last
minute. “He said it was going
unconditional the next day but we
would only buy it if I really wanted
to,” she says.
The first time she saw it, and
found herself wandering around in
boggy water, she wondered if they’d
made a big mistake. “I thought it
was a bog on the side of a hill, but
there’s a natural spring and that’s
why things grow really well.
“It’s a beautiful location. I love the
lake, I love the mountains. I love the
fact Ted and I can do simple, romantic
things like collecting pine cones.”
In the years they’ve owned the
property, she and Ted have put
in thousands of native plants, an
orchard and enough vegetables
“to feed the population of Wanaka”.
14 New Zealand Woman’s Weekly 28 February 2011