Hedi Sersoub – A Man of Many Hats

Can you describe the home and the land you now live on and why you moved there?

The land that we live on now is an old domaine from 1850, which used to be a vineyard domaine. So they had the cuverie and a lot of land where the vines used to be planted, but there are no vines anymore, just a large field with beautiful trees. We are north of Beaujolais and south of Mâcon, so we are in what you could call “little burgundy”.

What inspired your and Danielle to buy your place in the countryside and this shift in lifestyle?

We both are from the countryside originally. Danielle grew up in Bath and myself in the countryside of Lyon. We were in London before moving back to France and because we work from home and like nature and space, the countryside was something familiar.

We wanted to be in a place where it's easy to commute, to go to Paris or to take the plane and I think that we found just that. We are 40 minutes from everything, so it works well and there's a good social life in the village. The region is quite nice for that. We just wanted to slow down and be present with each other and do our thing, so for me to be able to work on the garden, or on my cars—I needed space. The countryside is the right place to be.

How would you describe your life there today? What fills your days?

Right now, it’s quite busy because we just moved in, so we’re still adjusting and trying to find where to put everything, so we are doing a lot of decoration on a weekly basis. New rug, new lampshade, new lamps, looking for a new sofa… The decoration is full on. So this occupies a lot of time. We do our work from home, so we shoot now on and around the land; it’s beautiful scenery. The days are spent between doing admin work, talking to clients, organizing shoots and looking after the field and the house. So, we juggle between both which is quite exciting, but full on.

Do you feel like you’re living more simply, or differently than before?

Yeah. The older I get, the more simple I live. I buy tools that will last for a lifetime. We enjoy going and picking up the eggs of the chicken. I love to grow my own food. I want to be, not off-grid, but be as off-grid as possible. I want to be autosufficient in growing food; we have been growing potatoes, greens, tomatoes, all sorts of things like that. So we do live very differently now and it's amazing.

What have you found most rewarding about this way of living?

Growing your own food. There is nothing that brings me more joy to know that that food put onto my family’s plates comes from good ingredients that I seeded, took care of and harvested. That’s the most joyful thing.

Can you describe the contrast of your day-to-day on the property versus the big events you and Danielle attend in big cities and the hustle?

After living in the countryside, you learn to take time on everything. Once you go back to cities, large cities especially, the social life is very fast-paced; people are in a rush. It's hectic. So it's quite full-on actually, to go back into this kind of social life and to chat to 100 people a day, when at home, we chat to one person: each other.

Is there something you’ve learned recently that you never expected you’d be doing?

Yeah actually, when shooting Varsity content. It’s not something I included in the video, but I was trimming down a tree… five meters high, on the ladder with a chainsaw in hand, holding the ladder in the other hand and pruning the whole tree, a big one. So I never thought that I would be doing that, but I'm learning and I loved it, despite being scared at the beginning.

What part of this new chapter are you enjoying the most right now?

Learning. It’s what I say in the video that I've posted with Varsity and it's a true thing, it’s a true story. I love the learning aspect, having many different hats and doing all sorts of things and just learning new stuff all the time; how to paint properly, how to fix this, all sorts of things in the house… I love it.

Does any of this connect back to your family or upbringing?

My dad has always been like that. He is a do-it-yourself kind of guy and probably the most handy person I know. He's always trying stuff; mechanics, house maintenance, maybe a bit less in the garden – that’s more my mom, but I guess I took from both. It definitely brings back some memories from my parents.

You’ve been part of Varsity for years – what does “Man of Many Hats” mean to you personally?

The Man of Many Hats is just a guy who doesn't just stick to one thing because he gets bored and he wants to learn and travel between different passions. Not necessarily passions but things that excite him—growing his own food, cooking, looking after all the things he has, just for them to last. So a Man of Many Hats for me is someone who’s not afraid to do new stuff. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be understood and learned.

Is there a “hat” you feel you’re really growing into right now?

Yeah, a homeowner. Every day, there is something to learn while fixing the house because once you finish something, there is always something else which needs attention. But I'm also growing more and more as a watercolor painter. I love to do watercolor painting. I’ve always loved to draw and paint but recently I’ve become obsessed with it, so maybe this is the next “hat”.

And we have to ask – what’s the name of the chicken?

There are four actually. Fibs is the brown one, the white one is Céleste, Morticia is the black one and Loïs is the gray one.