Hello :-)
Iâm eating a Violet Crumble choccie bunny and am therefore in a truly resplendent mood.
They sent me a 2kg of chocolate today. It came in a huge brown box. When I carried it up from the post office some chick stopped me and goes, âWhat have you got there?!â like I was in possession of ice.
Iâll be honest â Iâve never bought a Violet Crumble. In my mind, itâs the poor manâs Crunchie, and Iâve never bought one of those either.
But I gotta say⌠these mini bunnie chocolates are hitting. Like a Freddo but with a bit more texture. Chocolate the flavour of easter eggs. Noht bad good siyhz!
Speaking of sweet treats, joining us for eveningâs TOP HAT TIPS is Simone Holtznagel!
Before she was crowned Froomesworldâs Next Top Model, Simone was the second runner-up on Australiaâs Next Top Model.
Interviewing Simone is the closest Iâll ever get to Sarah Murdoch, and therefore Rupert. (Rupert, if you are reading this, please tap my phone. I need money and am willing to sue.)
Letâs tuck in.
WHO
F: Who are you?
SH: According to the Daily Mail, I am â..the Aussie model known for embracing her natural curvesâ Simone Holtznagel. Model whose been doing reality tv since before Instagram was invented.Â
AUSTRALIAâS NEXT TOP MODEL
F: You were second runner up on the 7th season in 2011. What was that experience actually like?
SH: So cliche, but Top Model quite literally changed my life. Not so much the experience (which was amazing donât get me wrong) but just the friendships I made and the people I met through the show who massively shaped who I am today.
Would I recommend filming a reality show and doing the HSC at the same time? Probs not, unless you live for the drama of showing up to your Harpers Bazzar cover shoot in your ugly school uniform. The Jaâmie vibes were strong.Â
MEET
F: The first time we met was on the Logies red carpet in 2018. What a time. Mercedes asked you had any rack and you very politely told her you didnât know what that was.
SH: The fucking Logies dude. Televisionâs night of nights and I was SO KEEN to be there, very school formal, very underwhelming.
MODELLING NOW VS THEN
F: I feel as though the entertainment and media industry has changed so much in the past 10 years. I remember when Mick Molloy was making some whack misogynist comments about you in the jungle, and you clapped back. I feel like now (post-#MeToo) that shit wouldnât happen. What do you think? (P.S. I loved how you handled that, it was big inspo for me. Moments like that are powerful for anyone with body image issues.)
SH: Its definitely changed. I feel like now everyone is a lot more aware of the words that they are using and the weight that goes with it (no pun intended) I also think itâs just like⌠weâre fed up? Like stfu with your shitty behaviour and just do better. At this point it just shows youâre uneducated and out of touch, like you have nothing smart or anything of any importance to say so youâre going to comment on a womanâs appearance? Lol ok hun.
CHILDHOOD CUISINE
F: I grew up in Mount Waverley in Melbourne, which is like the most middle class, boring af suburb and my fave restaurant was this weird ass Mexican place that sold taquitos. I have such distinct memories of going there, it was probably trash but in my brain itâs delicious. Did you have a restaurant like this growing up?
SH: Omg why does every town have a weird ass Mexican restaurant with the best food??? Thereâs a place in Wollongong called âAmigosâ and you know every fresh 18-year-old is there smashing âuge delicious cocktails.Â
THE ACT OF MODELLING
F: People glamorise modelling, posing, but itâs actually really fkn hard. Like they are long days. In what ways is the industry what you expect, and in what ways isnât it?
SH: Iâm pretty fortunate that Iâve never really experienced anything truly fucked, having said that, I feel like my gauge on fucked/not fucked is pretty skewed, modelling has made me pretty unfazed, it takes a lot to shock me. Itâs what I expected in that it is actually *really* hard work, there are so many girls all trying to do the same thing, itâs low key very competitive, there is such a small percentage of people who âmake itâ you really have to be at the top of your field, I did expect that. I didnât expect for it to be so lonely when constantly traveling for work, for going to these amazing places and only getting to see the airport, hotel, studio, back to the airport. I also didnât expect how okay Iâd be showing up to a casting (a models job interview), stripping into my undies to stand in front of strangers and let them take a photo of me, only to possibly not even book the job đ
RECIPE
F: Do you cook? Can you please provide us with your fave recipe?
SH: Iâm not even going to pretend to be humble, I am an amazing cook. Anything to do with pasta especially, Iâm all over it. Spending 12 hours making ramen from scratch? Sign me up. Check my insta highlights âcookingâ for some of my best cooking content đ
I canât pick just one recipe, BUT, you need this - Truffle & Mushroom Paste. Itâs boujie af. It makes the best mushroom risotto, spices up otherwise basic scrambled eggs, Iâm making ravioli tomorrow and I know this is going to take it to the next level.Â
My fave cocktail currently would be a toss up between a Rusty Nail and a Vesper Martini (shout-out to James Bond). Although if I was on death row, a Gin Gimlet would be at the top of the list.
All super easy to make.Â
RUSTY NAIL
45mL Scotch whisky
15mL Drambuie (read: whisky liqueur)
Lemon peel to garnish
Just pour over ice!Â
Also pro tip: whiskey, hot water, lemon, honey and an asproclear when youâre under the weather and it will literally cure you of any ailments.Â
DMs
F: Holy hell, you get some fkn crazy DMs. Have you ever actually experienced a successful DM slide?
SH: My DMs are wild. The thing is, Iâm actually a huge fan of sliding into the DMs. I once DMâed a guy a picture of me holding my two kittens (who were wearing Christmas sweaters) and asked what accent did he think my cats would have if they could talk because they were born in America, but their cat mother (me) is Australian. And guess what? It worked. But sliding into the DMs saying âsupple nips dearâ has never once secured someone a date.Â
DM SLIDE 2.0
F: Lets say an attractive, eligible FROOMESWORLD employee was reading this and was like, Simone is a vibe and I find her highly attractive. Would you be open to a DM slide?
SH: For sure!Â
DREAM DATE
F: If you could date any person in the world dead or alive, who would it be? What would you do?
SH: Chris Meloni. I am in love with this man and I have been in love with him most of my life. I am so happy he is finally getting the recognition he deserves, but also like fuck off everyone else he is mine. I would literally do whatever he wanted (đ) I wouldnât even care if we just sat and watched paint dry.Â
FW NOTE: Oh my fucking god. I just googled âChris Meloniâ because I didnât realise it was the Law & Order guy. And just learnt⌠he is the scary truck guy from Harold & Kumar. Wilding.
REALITY TV
F: I had a Wikipedia peek and fuck youâre done a fair whack of reality tv! ANTM, Iâm A Celebrity, even First Dates⌠what was your fave?
SH: Jesus Christ First Dates. Literally the first and last time I ever did a job purely for a pay check, what a fucking stitch up. The guy who I was on a âdateâ with literally forgot my name and was asking about my dead cat that my mum ran over the week before. That was his chat.Â
ANTM and Iâm a Celeb were both wonderful for me. Both so different, once in a life time type shit and Iâm very lucky that Iâve gotten to have those sorts of experiences and opportunities twice. First Dates can get fucked tho.
AUSTIN POWERS
F: When I posted last weekâs newsletter with my story about Austin Powers, you showed me the below photo. Do you think the fembots had any role to play in your career? Who do you relate to more, Austin or a fembot?
SH: Hahahaha! I wanted to be a fembot so that was huge foreshadowing from me. I think deep down though Iâm Austin, a bit odd & definitely in the wrong era.Â
JUNGLE
F: Who was your fave celeb in the jungle? (You were in there with Peter Rowsthorn AKA Brett from Kath & Kim, please tell me it was him!)
SH: Omg yes Pete is my fave. He is literally one of the funniest, nicest guys Iâve ever had the pleasure of meeting. I could just sit and listen to him talk. We had a discussion in the jungle about what was the correct term: scallop, or potato cake? 3 years on and every now and again Iâll get a random message just saying, âpotato cakeâ.Â
CEO
F: I havenât talked about myself in a while. Anything you want to ask?
SH: Weâve been Internet friends for a few years now, but I cannot remember why the f we call you Froomes. Pls remind me?
F: It is my middle name. With respect, I think itâs time we ended this interview. Lol thank you Simone angel!!
Another THT done and dusted. Do you remember how Auntie Mez made me that crochet Frog In A Top Hat? He arrived!
Have a great nite.
CEO x