Dick and Angel Strawbridge give major show update as they share jaw-dropping Christmas plans

For fans of deed TV bid Escape To The Chateau, it would beryllium a imagination travel existent to bask the lavish hospitality of super-hosts Dick and Angel Strawbridge astatine Chateau-de-la-Motte-Husson successful north-western France.

Now, successful their caller publication A Taste Of The Chateau, they instrumentality readers connected a travel done the seasons, sharing the family’s favourite celebrations, recipes and rituals, culminating successful Christmas.

The mates spent 7 years transforming their derelict 45-room chateau into a glamorous wedding destination and enviable household location which they stock with their children Arthur, 11, and Dorothy, 10. “Christmas is astatine location for us,” says Dick. “It’s usually conscionable the 4 of us. But the tally up to Christmas is arsenic peculiar arsenic Christmas for us.”

The festive season’s starting doorbell rings with the family’s yearly travel to bargain oysters from Brittany. “Seafood is simply a large portion of what the French bash astatine Christmas and that’s america truly successful the mood,” says Angel. They’ll invitation friends circular to bask the oysters with champagne. Another large time comes with choosing a Christmas tree, arsenic the household visits a Christmas histrion workplace successful aboriginal December.

“We person an statement betwixt each 4 of america to get the champion 1 possible,” says Angel. “It goes successful the salon truthful it’s got to beryllium big. But we person a ballot truthful it’s precise democratic. The Christmas histrion that the radical of Norway springiness to Trafalgar Square is the size of the histrion that Angela wants,” says Dick.

“Then we enactment Christmas tunes connected and get our Christmas decorations out,” says Angel. “We marque a large happening astir putting up our decorations, Dick ever gets the larboard out. Since Christmas crackers aren’t disposable successful France, Angel and the children marque their own. “And each twelvemonth since the children person been wee, I’ve made Christmas presents with them. They’ve made Dick a glasses lawsuit oregon we’ve covered representation frames successful fabric.”

Angel volition besides decorate the eating array with a Christmas chandelier. “It’s truly beauteous and truthful simple. You connect it connected a clamp implicit your array and tin bent lights oregon small decorations from it." On Christmas Eve, they marque their ain mince pies – you can’t bargain those successful France, either – past ticker a festive film, possibly Arthur Christmas oregon The Christmas Chronicles. “We person a locomotion extracurricular astatine astir 6pm and enactment carrots and apples retired for the reindeer,” says Angel. “Both kids constitute Pere Noel a letter.”

The Strawbridges similar an aboriginal nighttime connected Christmas Eve – understandably, due to the fact that Dorothy mightiness aftermath astatine 2am from excitement. “Pretty overmuch each year, our Christmas starts betwixt 2-4am,” says Angel. So Dick and Angel portion java portion the children unfastened their stockings. “They get very, precise excited, there’s a batch of craziness.”

Then they each spell downstairs for breakfast. “I ever cook a ham due to the fact that we person sliced ham connected toast with homemade chutney for breakfast,” says Dick. They’ll portion buck’s fizz with Christmas carols playing. “We person this ritual wherever we locomotion astir our bound arsenic a household each Christmas morning,” helium adds. “So we’ve been retired successful the caller air. And we travel successful and it’s lunchtime. We spell into the sitting country and commencement present-opening. It’s dilatory paced. If the kids get a contiguous they similar and commencement playing with it, we don’t unfastened the adjacent present.”

“We instrumentality it truly dilatory and gentle,” says Angel. “We conscionable devour erstwhile we’re ready. There’s ne'er immoderate stress.” The mates portion sloe gin cocktails from their ain sloes, oregon snowballs (advocaat and lemonade) - the second a contented passed down from Angel’s gran. They’ll besides bask reddish vino with their Christmas meal, which they service up mid-afternoon. They usually roast a turkey but sometimes person goose.

There’s ever achromatic sauce, too. “My mum ever had achromatic condiment astatine Christmas clip and it has to beryllium made with margarine, not butter,” says Dick. “And we whitethorn person fractional a twelve antithetic vegetables. “We ever usage existent linen array napkins astatine Christmas, too, and necktie them with Christmas foliage oregon evergreens. It truly brings your array to life.”

The Christmas pudding has been made successful beforehand with Dick inviting each the household to disturbance it and marque a wish. “We besides marque our ain brandy food with treble cream.” Then the household usually ticker a movie oregon play a crippled – Uno is simply a large household favourite. The kids volition beryllium exhausted and successful furniture by 7pm. Dick and Angel are shattered too. The kids are successful our suite with their ain furniture each. We’ll chat and snuggle. But the 4 of america are dormant rather quickly.”

Dick and Angel are looking guardant to this year’s festive interruption pursuing their fun-packed 33-night Forever Home UK tour. They called clip connected their Channel 4 bid Escape to the Chateau successful 2022, mindful of their children needing much privacy arsenic their teenage years loomed, truthful they disregard reports that the bid ended pursuing allegations of bullying from accumulation institution staff.

“We’ve ne'er been accused of anything, determination were conscionable rumours that weren’t nice,” says Dick. “There was nary antagonistic story, conscionable antagonistic comments.” Angel adds that the rumours came from idiosyncratic “we don’t adjacent know” who wasn’t portion of their loyal, long-serving team. Though the cameras volition nary longer travel the family’s each move, they've revealed that they plan “a small update and a Christmas special” successful 2025.

Then, it’s clip to spruce up the chateau and its grounds, and big fans and guests astatine Fun and Festivity days and Garden Days, earlier taking the Forever Home Tour to Australia successful summer. They’ll resume hosting weddings successful 2026. But first, they’ll beryllium recharging their batteries during an eagerly anticipated Christmas celebration.

“As a family, we effort our very, precise champion to cod the memories,” says Dick. “Christmas is special. It’s our accidental to halt and marque the astir of household time.”

A Taste Of The Chateau by Dick and Angel Strawbridge is retired present (Orion, £25)

RECIPE:

Savoury Mince Pies

Makes: 8

“The savoury mince pies are truly worthwhile. This mince pastry has lamb successful it and it truly does enactment with the sweetness successful there,” says Dick.

For the pastry:

100g (3½oz) lard

4tbsp full-fat beverage

450g (1lb) plain flour

2 tsp brackish

Icing sugar, to particulate

For the mincemeat:

700g (1lb 9oz) thin beef oregon mutton mince

100g (3½oz) beef suet

½ tsp crushed cloves

½ tsp crushed achromatic capsicum

½ tsp crushed mace

A pinch of saffron

A bully pinch of brackish

50g (1¾oz) raisins

50g (1¾oz) currants

50g (1¾oz) pitted prunes, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/400°F. You volition request 8 × 125g (4½oz) mini loaf tins.

2. Combine each the mincemeat ingredients successful a ample vessel and premix unneurotic until evenly combined. Set aside.

3. To marque the pastry, spot the lard, beverage and 150ml (¼ pint) h2o successful a saucepan implicit a mean heat, until the lard melts, past bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, adhd the flour and brackish successful 1 spell and bushed thoroughly with a woody spoon until wholly mixed. Tip the dough retired onto a lightly floured aboveground and knead until creaseless – I get Arthur to bash this but hold until the dough has cooled slightly!

4. Divide the dough into two-thirds and one-third. Cover the smaller portion and support warm. Divide the ample portion into 8 and rotation retired each portion to a bladed (about 2mm/1/16 inch) rectangle astir doubly the size of the tins. Repeat with each 8 pieces. Carefully manoeuvre the pastry into the tins, making definite you get it good into the sides. Cut disconnected immoderate overhanging pastry, past transportation the tins to a ample baking tray.

5. Spoon the mincemeat into the pastry cases, pressing down well.

6. Divide the remaining pastry into 8 and rotation retired each portion to beryllium a small spot larger than the apical of the tins. Dampen the edges of the pastry with h2o past apical the pies, pressing down astir the rim to seal. Crimp the edges and marque a mates of tiny slits successful the centre of each pie.

7. Bake successful the oven for 25–30 minutes until the pies are aureate and the filling is piping hot. Remove from the oven and chill successful the tins for 5 minutes, past cautiously region and permission to chill connected a ligament rack.

8. Serve astatine country somesthesia and particulate with a small icing sugar.

Recipe ©A TASTE OF THE CHATEAU by Dick & Angel Strawbridge published by Seven Dials, an imprint of The Orion Publishing Group