Last year, Larissa and I (Jennifer), both cheffes de pâtisserie during the summer months at Château de Gudanes, had an idea…
We knew that every year someone stayed and looked after the Château for a few months over winter so that Karina and Jasmine could return to Australia for Christmastime and also so that Karina could renew her three month at a time tourist visa. And so we thought, what if this year, we both stayed on?
Who, you may be wondering, are Larissa and I? What do we do as pastry chefs at Château de Gudanes? Well, if you would like to read a little more about our story and how we came to be at the Château, you may like to visit Part 1 of our adventure here.
After much thought, we approached Jasmine and Karina one day and to our delight, they were both very excited at the idea of us staying. However! They were cautious and so we all sat down together and they talked more about the realities and practicalities of what staying and caring for the Château in winter really entails.
Foremost we were warned… the Château has very little electricity, and only one fire in the kitchen in winter, so it will be very cold! Temperatures at the Château during the peak of winter can fall as low as - 20°C (- 4°F). Karina shared some of her winter experiences with us - one time she had to set up a tent inside her bedroom to survive the cold air and freezing temperatures. More often than not, it is far colder inside than out!
Looking after the Château, its parkland, and all of the Château animals (2 dogs and 6 cats), is no easy task especially in winter, and were we absolutely certain this was something we would be prepared for?
They asked us both to take some time and really consider if we were really willing to take on all of the responsibility. Because, while the Château covered in frost and snow is a beautiful picture as Karina says in reality fairytales are hard work!
Nevertheless, dreaming of the Château blanketed in snow, cooking with local winter produce and cuddling with the animals by the fire at night… we were both sure. We made up our minds that we would stay!
And so, after a wonderful summer season Karina returned to Australia. Both Larissa and I took some time to travel before returning to the Château for winter. Jasmine stayed at the Château and looked after everything in the meantime - preparing all of the furniture and wares for winter hibernation and caring for the Château menagerie.
Larissa went to stay with some of her family in Italy and after many trips to the prefettura, proudly received her Italian passport in November. I went to Portugal on holiday and consumed what can only be described as an obscene number of Portuguese custard tarts, all in the name of “research” of course.
With Jasmine holding down the fort on her own, we were gifted a wonderful surprise… Karina and Jasmine sent Larissa and I on a masterclass training course to Amsterdam, to learn how to make sugar flowers with the wonderful Cake Atelier Amsterdam (@cakeatelieramsterdam).
It was an incredible experience, and an opportunity for both of us to expand our pastry horizons with a beautifully artistic skill…
We chose to focus our masterclass on roses, and both learned how to hand-craft different varieties from scratch. We started with the making of the sugar-paste, then learned how to roll out and shape each individual petal, and finished with assembling and choosing our own colours to dust each precious flower to fully bring them to life.
It was the first opportunity for Larissa and I to travel together, we had the most wonderful time and our friendship grew even deeper. We often found ourselves lost wandering through the narrow laneways of Amsterdam, happening upon a music concert of a group we hadn’t known we both loved. And we even celebrated Halloween together!
We ate a box of the best cookies (hmmm) freshly baked out of the oven, and sat together by the side of one of the canals lined with picture-perfect houses. We stumbled across an incredible food market and tried one of everything. We even made some new friends, and as always, we danced and we laughed together.
After a wonderful break we both returned to the Château in November armed with winter clothes, and were taken through the entire Château step by step with Jasmine. Jasmine usually does the winter handover, and often spends about ten months of the year at the Château.
We went through all of the winter documentation and had an orientation walking around the Château together. There were the emergency protocols and numbers to memorise, as well as how to look after each and every Château animal, how to protect the Château in bad weather, how to keep us (and the animals) warm - the list goes on… But most importantly, how different it is to live in the Château while she hibernates through winter compared to summer when she is awake and lively.
It was a lot to take in, but luckily Larissa had arrived at the Château two weeks before and had started to learn the ropes. We were all set and ready!
Jasmine returned to Australia and then within two days Karina received news from the Australian consulate that her longterm visa (finally!) was ready. But, that she would need to return to France tout de suite to complete the finer details of her passeport talent. And so before long we were all at the Château together again.
Together we welcomed the changing of the seasons by trying and testing out recipes new and old in the cuisine. Secretly, we mixed and sprinkled away - hoping for the possibility of a Château Cookbook one day…
Everyday Larissa and I would collect firewood from the parkland and watch the yellow leaves of autumn fall as we took daily walks in the surrounding countryside…
Outside, the garden team was hard at work restoring the Château Jardins, and we all pitched in helping to clear overgrown ivy from the Château walls (the mayor was very impressed!) and planting 240 roses before the first snowfall…
Around the same time, the pastry kitchen was transformed by blossoms and branches as it was turned into a space for drying flowers and safe-keeping seeds to plant in the coming printemps…
As December came and Christmas drew closer, we filled the Château Kitchen with as many Christmas trees as we could possibly fit! And as we tinselled and trimmed we also put on our thinking caps (beanies!) as we talked about ideas for the annual Château Christmas video. The garden team was also excited to join in and before long we were all merrying about, along with the dogs and cats, in the festivity of filming together…
For some time, as soon as I knew that Larissa and I would spend winter at the Château, I had dreamed of making the ultimate Christmastime Gingerbread House… or should I say a gingerbread Château de Gudanes! It began with an architectural sketch of the Château, followed by countless templates cut and then kilos galore of gingerbread dough rolled, cut and baked. Until finally, all of the pieces were set down upon the table in the Salle à Manger ready to assemble…
At this time my boyfriend, who grew up in the Norwegian Christmas Kingdom of Lapland (or so I like to say) amongst reindeers and snowmen, joined us at the Château. Not only did he chop and stack enough wood for more than one winter but his expert architectural skills from previous years of Gingerbread House making were put to immediate use. Together we all built and baked and hand-decorated the very first gingerbread Château!
Meanwhile, time was ticking closer to Christmas. Karina’s visa was now being processed in the local prefecture which allowed her to return to Australia. But before returning, she invited the Château Garden Team and friends from the local village for a Christmas meal together.
Larissa and I set about to create a traditional French celebration for the occasion...
The delicious aromas of mulled wine spiced with local violette liqueur bubbled gently away on the stovetop and sweetly greeted our guests as they arrived…
The ovens were busily gently roasting locally-sourced chickens and vegetables while French Christmas carols played softly in the background. Of course, the Château Gingerbread House took pride of place as the centrepiece of the table…
It was a beautiful and memorable evening shared together…
Shortly after Larissa and I said our sad farewells to Karina, as did Alfie…
And then we welcomed Larissa’s family who travelled for their first time to Europe to stay at the Château for the holidays. A few days later I was joined by my sister and my cousin and together we all prepared for a truly special Château Christmas.
We felt so fortunate to have our families with us for both Christmas and New Year. We were even more fortunate, to have a surprisingly mild winter! Days were spent walking the dogs in the Château Parkland, basking in the sun, exploring the region and the wonderful markets and activities on offer on our very doorstep, and coming all together around the table as a family at each mealtime.
Larissa’s grandmothers and parents prepared traditional Brazilian dishes, my boyfriend prepared us trout from the local farm and Larissa’s younger sister saw snow for the first time at the Plateau de Beille. We even all played bingo together in the local village organised by one of the Château’s dear friends - Marie-Andrée. Luckily, numbers were shouted in French, English and Portuguese!
We celebrated the New Year in style, toasting marshmallows on an open fire with fairy lights tied up amongst the Château trees… along with a glass or two of local sparkling wine for apéro of course! We also tried a Brazilian caipirinha cocktail made by Larissa’s papa, and gathered round the kitchen table for a festive feast and abundance of dishes both French and Brazilian.
We laughed together, we danced, we raised glasses, we ate more than we should have and we shared all of our Christmas traditions. It was a wonderful time to be able to spend with family and with the Château. And, I cherished the opportunity to meet Larissa’s family and to understand more of her heritage.
When all of our family had left us Larissa and I found ourselves alone at the Château for the first time. But rather than feeling alone and isolated, we felt closer than ever. For the both of us, our winter months together had led us to appreciate even more the beauty of life at the Château, and to understand better how the Château adapts and changes all year round.
As things became quieter later in January and the Château Garden Team continued working in the park, Larissa and I also took on some more responsibility and expanded our roles within the Château Team.
Working closely with Karina and Jasmine this year, we have been starting to help with some of the everyday running of the Château. Larissa has been working with Jasmine on the Château Boutique. And I have been assisting to liaise with the French Garden team whilst Karina is offsite. I have also been helping to work through sorting out the French side of some of the administration (of which in France, there is plenty!). With daily phone calls from the Château to Australia, as part of the team I have been assisting in the planning of events and activities at the Château for this year and next.
To continue, at the beginning of February Karina once again made her way back to the Château to finalise the documents for her French passeport talent, and to make preparations for an impending visit from the Monuments Historiques (the visit was an all-round success by the way) and to look after the Château as Larissa and I planned to depart.
Larissa made her way home to see her family in Brazil, and I made my way up to Paris to see friends and then travelled on to Norway to see my boyfriend.
After three months looking after the Château, our time together had finally come to an end. Larissa and I said our goodbyes, looking forward to our reunion at the Château in May, and the prospect of another summer working together side by side in the Château pastry cuisine.
But, nothing would prepare us for what would shortly happen worldwide and as France quickly went into lockdown. I look forward to sharing with you more about living in France and at the Château in lockdown in Part 3…
Bisous,
Jennifer x
PS. In case you haven’t seen the Château Christmas Video I’m just sharing it here again…
