What do farming and the beauty industry have in common? “Working with what you have, finding the essence of a thing and then accentuating it,” says Trevor Conn, who exchanged a successful business in the beauty and fashion industry for a farm in Dullstroom.
When Trevor and wife Sue moved from Johannesburg six years ago, friends predicted they wouldn’t last two weeks.
Trevor was at the top of his game, having worked with big names in the beauty industry such as Givenchy, Guerlain, Lancome and Christian Dior. He had his own television show, made frequent guest appearances on programmes like Top Billing, was in regular demand by magazines looking to feature his expertise and had a long list of celebrity clients at the Beauty Institute, which he ran with Sue.
Then, one day, things changed. The couple was reading a book by Rick Warren, called A Purpose Driven Life. “It asked, quite literally, ‘what are you here on earth for?’”
They were in the middle of Coca Cola Pop Stars, working as the make-over artists, completely caught up in a demanding industry and a lifestyle concerned with image and success.
The question resonated deeply. “We asked ourselves how we were preparing for eternity and how we could do it better?”
These questions were all the motivation they needed. “We decided to opt out, aware that despite the glitz and glam, big house and nice cars, there was a space that needed to be filled in our lives.”
They found a farm and opened a guest lodge, called Cpirit Country Haven. “In the beginning friends would stop by with food,” Trevor laughs, “they knew that I knew nothing about farming.”
He interrupts his story for a moment, to turn on the stove for the breakfast he is preparing in the Barn House kitchen. “I’m probably the world’s worst chef, but I saw Jamie Oliver making this breakfast and I thought, ‘I can do this.’”
As he prepares the ingredients – mushrooms, eggs, smoked salmon – his jeans and crisp shirt protected by a navy and white striped apron, Trevor is the picture of a family man living a country idyll, his family by his side.
“I see the change in Trevor, how he has embraced being here and poured his energy into it,” Sue says. “Our industry is about appearance. As much as we love it, it’s superficial. Here we can take things back to their essence. It’s about true beauty.”
After they bought the farm they discovered the walls of the old buildings weren’t straight and each side of the house was a different height. “The longer we looked at it, the more we loved its faults,” Trevor laughs.
“When you start to accentuate and focus on what makes something unique, you discover its beauty.”
The lodge is a mix of its own character and the Conns’ personal style. The walls are painted in Trevor’s custom “lipstick red”. It’s glamorous but understated and calming too, reflecting the personal changes that the Conns have undergone over the past few years. Farming, even gentleman farming, keeps you close to the dirt and humble.
Their adorable three-year-old twins, Arrin and Jordin, alternate between watching Trevor cook breakfast and running outside to play on the green lawns that stretch down to a dam in front of the lodge.
“We have learnt to prioritise what’s important in life – that has been one of Dullstroom’s gifts to us – and nothing is more important than them,” Trevor says.
They did miss the beauty industry, though, and so decided to open a small salon three days a week, which offers style consultations, hair and make-up, and massages – one of Sue’s passions.
“Sue is an artist. She does everything with an artist’s eye,” says Trevor, while Sue helps arrange the breakfast on the antique Aga, the kitchen’s centre piece.
Trevor blesses the food and we sit down to eat. The meal is accompanied by a bottle of champagne and followed by cherries dipped in chocolate and freshly brewed coffee. The couple dream of one day supplying the lodge with fresh eggs, milk and vegetables from the farm, and fruit from their peach, pear and walnut trees.
“Of course some days on the farm I do think God has a sense of humour. I’m a make-up artist, not a farmer,” Trevor says. “One morning, I had a sick sheep, no vet and a wedding to do. The bride’s brother-in-law was a vet, though. He came out to farm at 6am, fixed the sheep, and by 9 I was doing the bride’s make-up.”
Sipping a cup of coffee while the kids finish their food, he explains that the breakfast has become a tradition in this kitchen.
“Whenever we have friends over, like at our annual gathering just before Christmas, I make this breakfast. It’s not because I love cooking, or want to impress them. It’s because the people we’re with matter. And we matter to them.”
And this is what’s special about Trevor Conn’s breakfast. Not only is it delicious, it’s made with one eye on eternity.
Eternal Eggs
Trevor’s Breakfast, courtesy of Jamie Oliver:
Get the biggest non-stick pan available and preheat it on the highest heat while you gather your ingredients. Use what you’ve got – tomato, bacon, peppers – it doesn’t matter, so long as you have eggs and mushrooms. Cook the ingredients in the pan, moving them to one side of the pan as each item is done.
On the other side of the pan, put in a tablespoon or so of oil and place a pile of mushrooms over it. Shake the pan about a bit to coat the mushrooms and season with some salt and pepper.
At this stage you should respect the rustic and authentic look of the meal and shuffle everything about so that it’s all mixed together. Then add two or three eggs at different ends of the pan. The whites of the eggs will dribble in and around whatever you have already cooked.
You can turn the heat down a little at this point and cook the meal for a few more minutes until the yolks are slightly soft or to your liking. The finished product resembles a frisbee and should slide on to a plate with no trouble at all. You can top it with cheese, salmon or other condiments.
