Anna and Mundo Farrera’s meet cute: ‘Our eyes locked on the dance floor’

Anna and Mundo Farrera met in London and have made their home in Aotearoa. Photo/ Jason Oxenham

Anna Farrera is a director of public relations company Pead and Mundo Farrera is a sommelier. The couple co-own wine and mezcal bar La Fuente in Snickel Lane in central Auckland and are planning to open a taco eatery called Tacoteca with business partners. The Farreras met in 2008, married in 2012, and have two sons, Orlando, 8, and Alessandro, 5.

Anna says …

After uni I lived in London, as many people do. I grew up in Wellington but was born in the UK, so I had that passport and wasn’t pressured to leave. I ended up staying in London for seven years, working in PR. I had a bunch of great friends and we used to enjoy spending a lot of evenings and weekends in nightclubs.

That particular night [I met Mundo] was the farewell for some really good friends. We ended up at a nightclub called Egg London in Kings Cross. It wasn’t a nightclub we went to very often. I think it was only the second time I’d been there. Mundo and I didn’t know each other, but we had mutual friends DJing there. [We weren’t introduced to each other] We literally met on the dancefloor – our eyes locked across the room, and I saw this guy strutting around in cowboy boots and this cool black shirt. He just caught my eye. I remember he had quite a cool presence. It was instant attraction, and pretty funny being surrounded by friends. There were other rooms there and I remember Mundo telling me I should stay there, and he would come back. I remember thinking, ‘Who’s this guy to be telling me to stay there?’

It was just by chance we were both there, but we lived our lives in quite a small circle in East London. I lived in Dalston and Mundo was in Brick Lane. I worked in an agency in Shoreditch. We both spent our weekends at Broadway Market and Brick Lane. We ended up going home with each other that night, so we laugh that it’s a one-night stand that turned into a marriage.

We just started seeing each other from that night and it was really easy and there was no game playing. It was lovely and so refreshing.

We met in November and then it was my birthday in January. Mundo went to an amazing effort to make a couple of Mexican dishes that were special to him, ceviche and manilla with crab. He went out and sourced all the ingredients – they were things that at the time I hadn’t had. It was really special. Good food and wine have always been important to us.

What do I love about Mundo? There’s so much – his passion and enthusiasm for everything he does, his energy. He’s great to be around. I love that he’s not conventional and boring. Mundo is always ahead of the curve with his style and always has the best outfits. He is just a stylish guy. He’s also got an incredible memory of people – what they drink and what they eat. He thrives on it.

We’re very much the yin to each other’s yang. I am naturally more cautious. He is the cowboy boots and the fun and lots of other things as well. We do encourage each other and we are a great team. Mundo’s endlessly positive and will always make me laugh. Our lives are full – we make it work together.

Anna and Mundo Farrera on their wedding day. Photo/Supplied.

Mundo says …

On the dancefloor we kissed quite quickly – we started making out. It happened quite spontaneously. I was going for my flatmate’s birthday. And my other friend was playing in the same room. It was my second time at the club, too, and we never went there again.

I don’t know who saw whom first, but we definitely saw each other at one point. I just remember walking up to her, having a very small chat and then having a massive kiss.

It was very easy – we had great weekends together – eating Argentinian steak sandwiches in Brick Lane – hanging out with each other and enjoying good food.

The first time we went to Mexico, my mum, Anabella, and all of my aunties, each one, they said to me, “We like her, we really like her”. That had never happened before.

I proposed in our garden [in New Zealand at the beginning of 2011]. I like surprises, but I think I picked the wrong moment – it was just after we put down the last box after moving in. We probably didn’t look our best, we were covered in dust and all of that, but I thought it was quite symbolic of putting down roots.

We had a fantastic wedding at Abbeville Estate in Auckland. It was important to have a venue where we could bring our own wine. My mum came with three magnums of tequila – really special tequila. Just to let you know how delicious it was – we actually had a cocktail station but, being in hospitality, at the end I went to check on the guys and they said, “We literally made three cocktails, because everybody was drinking the tequila”.

We had the most incredible sunset. For a moment the wedding paused and everyone was taking pictures of the sunset.

Anna’s got integrity. Her ethics are something I admire in her – to always do the right thing. Watching her interact, I have tried to make that part of my life. She also works so hard. She is such an awesome mum. It’s good to witness that.

We’re both very caring – we make a real effort.

As told to Penny Lewis. This interview has been edited for clarity.