The Chateau Diaries #4 Jarvis in Jeopardy

[frenchessence]

My feeling is that Stephanie J. is a child.
She needs Mummy to get the chateau ready for the BnB season while she's on holidays somewhere around the world.
She plays with people (preferably young - the older ones never stay for long at the chateau), then forgets about them.
She gets excited for nothing and knows what to do to get it.
My opinion is that people need to be very strong and stable in their mind (if you can say this in english ?) to "survive" around her. Marie (Nick's Marie), Natti and Selmar belong to this category of people.
Not sure for the others (even Cat who's very young).
I enjoyed her first videos when everything was light, spontaneous, fun with "normal" people - I mean people of more or less her age, less influenced by her flamboyance.
This story with Brenda...not sure Stephanie has the good role in this TBH. It seems that she's good at sending her cannon fodders to the front line while keeping safe in her chateau.
I don't know how this will end up. But certainly not as it has started more than one year ago now. A shame.

I bow to your superior written analysis of SJ It’s everything I thought myself but was struggling to phrase. She constantly seeks parental approval from Isabel (& will rarely if ever receive it) She twirls like a five year old at the sight of the postman, a parcel or a dandelion shoved into a milk bottle. She seems to be regressing if anything - not maturing in way at all. This is both charming & annoying in equal measure.

Isabel had previously always prepared the chateau for her daughter to play ‘Bed & Breakfast’ and a lot of her frustration & pent up anger towards her beautiful daughter, must come from the fact that without her there to crack the whip and keep it all going, it simply falls apart, going back to where it was. Chateau de Lalande is like a glorious luxe Wendy House for Stephanie. I watched an old (as you say, light, spontaneous ) vlog yesterday where Isobel was fuming because she’d done nothing with the cherries & raspberries. Stephanie then made her a cake at 3.00 am ! Isabel pointedly told her daughter she ‘saw it at 6.00 am when I got up’ ... and said ‘very nice’ yet when SJ said ‘I hope it was worth it ....’ Isabel scathingly replied under her breath ‘I doubt it ...’

Her true playmates are the ‘Oxford’ crowd as someone here called them. Probably used to her exhibtionist tendencies, & happy to leave their own secure less flamboyant lives for a while to hang out & party at the chateau. Other younger helpers/outsiders are in awe of her & cling to her coat tails in the hope they’ll become a favourite. Which I doubt they ever will. This beautiful chatelaine collects people with the same gusto she collects porcelain. It shall be interesting to see in due course, if she handles them as carefully ....

 

[ChrissyNH]

@Calvignac absolutely, 100% spot on with your remark about early videos being spontaneous. A quite different "feel" then and an almost infectious sense of impromptu exuberance. Progressively, the CD vlogs seem to have become contrived set pieces.

I agree, however I suppose that it’s easier at the beginning to just film things spontaneously but as time goes on and topics and scenarios have been covered it must become harder to find things to film. I remember wondering about 6 months ago if they would run out of ideas, especially with doing 3 or whatever it is a week.

 

[C’est la vie]

SJ has turned into a caricature of herself.

 

[Viva La Loca]

Think she means this type of sugar which doesn't seem to be available in France

Cane Sugar vs Beet Sugar

French Sugar

Bakers who tackle French recipes get stumped by the sugars, which don't necessarily correspond to the sugars available elsewhere. All supermarkets in France carry white granulated sugar and there's often unrefined sugars, such as cassonade, which grocers stock and are widely-available. In...

www.davidlebovitz.com

 

[Calvignac]

Think she means this type of sugar which doesn't seem to be available in France
View attachment 317579
Cane Sugar vs Beet Sugar

French Sugar

Bakers who tackle French recipes get stumped by the sugars, which don't necessarily correspond to the sugars available elsewhere. All supermarkets in France carry white granulated sugar and there's often unrefined sugars, such as cassonade, which grocers stock and are widely-available. In...

www.davidlebovitz.com

All sort of brown sugar exist in France. If not in your supermarket, certainly in your Biocoop shop or other specialised shops which are numerous in every French town.
As the article you posted states, French brown sugars are very diversified : cassonade, vergeoise (soft), sucre de canne etc etc.
In French, it's called sucre roux (red colour sugar) not brown sugar. But I suppose that Stephanie's french is good enough to know this.

 

[ChrissyNH]

You know when people marry someone for particular traits eg.being sociable, carefree etc and then spend all their time either trying to change them or get fed up with them specifically because of those traits? Is something like this what’s happening with some people and our Stephanie? I’m as cynical as the best of us but I don’t see her as particularly different to how she’s always been. She’s always been slightly flighty, enthusiastic and at times disorganised but she has also managed to oversee the chateau’s transformation from a building site to what it is now. I still believe she’s genuine and honest (not that anyone on here particularly thinks otherwise) and she still brings me a lot of pleasure. Still love you al!

 

[frenchessence]

SJ has turned into a caricature of herself.

Hilariously true ! Love this commebt

 

[Viva La Loca]

All sort of brown sugar exist in France. If not in your supermarket, certainly in your Biocoop shop or other specialised shops which are numerous in every French town.
As the article you posted states, French brown sugars are very diversified : cassonade, vergeoise (soft), sucre de canne etc etc.
In French, it's called sucre roux (red colour sugar) not brown sugar. But I suppose that Stephanie's french is good enough to know this.

Good to know. Thought it was a cane vs beet difference going on DL's article.
It is then rather shocking that she does not know this.

 

[C’est la vie]

@ChrissyNH I hate to feel I’ve painted someone in a bad light or even tinted them slightly so after reading your comment I went back and randomly picked Diary no32 to rewatch. There is definitely a more laid back Stephanie (Gerry is still the same!) and the vlog is much more engaging, shorter I admit, but far more content, less name dropping/advertising, more about the stuff I want to see ie French chateau life. Channels have to move forward to keep interest but now it seems driven by other forces and somehow a switch has been flicked and all seems a bit more manic almost, less relatable.

 

[Calvignac]

Good to know. Thought it was a cane vs beet difference going on DL's article.

I've never been so interested in sugar in my whole life
So vergeoise is beet sugar (white and brown) and cassonade is cane sugar (brown).
Thanks to Stephanie, I always learn a LOT of things

 

[ChocLili]

The Christmas cake is doomed without brown sugar. Chateau de Lalande is doomed without brown sugar. Why, all of France is doomed without brown sugar. How can such a gastronomic country not have any brown sugar within its borders? Surely there is brown sugar elsewhere in the EU that could somehow be transported to Lalande (and the wider countryside) without too much fuss? Can an American superfan please send some trans-Atlantic brown sugar pronto in time to save the Christmas cake (and France). Thank you.

 

[Calvignac]

@ChrissyNH I hate to feel I’ve painted someone in a bad light or even tinted them slightly so after reading your comment I went back and randomly picked Diary no32 to rewatch. There is definitely a more laid back Stephanie (Gerry is still the same!) and the vlog is much more engaging, shorter I admit, but far more content, less name dropping/advertising, more about the stuff I want to see ie French chateau life. Channels have to move forward to keep interest but now it seems driven by other forces and somehow a switch has been flicked and all seems a bit more manic almost, less relatable.

Agree with you.
I started to watch Chateau Diaries because I live abroad and I enjoyed watching a vlog showing a lifestyle, a region and a chateau which reminded me my native country and region and how we, French, live our Art de vivre.
Unfortunatly, Stephanie seems to drift away from this more and more and only filmed what she thinks will get some positive reactions from her audience.

 

[C’est la vie]

America has Biden vs Trump
Tattlers have Beet vs Cane

 

[Calvignac]

The Christmas cake is doomed without brown sugar. Chateau de Lalande is doomed without brown sugar. Why, all of France is doomed without brown sugar. How can such a gastronomic country not have any brown sugar within its borders? Surely there is brown sugar elsewhere in the EU that could somehow be transported to Lalande (and the wider countryside) without too much fuss? Can an American superfan please send some trans-Atlantic brown sugar pronto in time to save the Christmas cake (and France). Thank you.

Don't joke with that : they will !

 

[ChrissyNH]

@ChrissyNH I hate to feel I’ve painted someone in a bad light or even tinted them slightly so after reading your comment I went back and randomly picked Diary no32 to rewatch. There is definitely a more laid back Stephanie (Gerry is still the same!) and the vlog is much more engaging, shorter I admit, but far more content, less name dropping/advertising, more about the stuff I want to see ie French chateau life. Channels have to move forward to keep interest but now it seems driven by other forces and somehow a switch has been flicked and all seems a bit more manic almost, less relatable.

I wouldn’t really disagree with you. Yes I think earlier vlogs were more relaxed and natural. I suppose I think the pressure of coming up with new ideas has slightly taken its toll but is understandable.

 

[truthsayer]

My feeling is that Stephanie J. is a child.
She needs Mummy to get the chateau ready for the BnB season while she's on holidays somewhere around the world.
She plays with people (preferably young - the older ones never stay for long at the chateau), then forgets about them.
She gets excited for nothing and knows what to do to get it.
My opinion is that people need to be very strong and stable in their mind (if you can say this in english ?) to "survive" around her. Marie (Nick's Marie), Natti and Selmar belong to this category of people.
Not sure for the others (even Cat who's very young).
I enjoyed her first videos when everything was light, spontaneous, fun with "normal" people - I mean people of more or less her age, less influenced by her flamboyance.
This story with Brenda...not sure Stephanie has the good role in this TBH. It seems that she's good at sending her cannon fodders to the front line while keeping safe in her chateau.St
I don't know how this will end up. But certainly not as it has started more than one year ago now. A shame.

My thoughts on your feelings about Steph.
We can't forget that it is her cheerful attitude and her zest for life that probably attracted us to CD in the first place. Steph was on holidays at this particular time (when Mummy decided to start getting the chateau ready) because Gerry had planned the holiday at that time as a gift so I don't think it is fair to make it look like she was trying to avoid the start up work with Mummy. The base of Stephs friends are her age...think Nick, M Potts, Oliver. The people attracted to workaway are mostly younger. She should be friendly to them while they are there but she also knows they will be moving on so why should she invest in them emotionally.

 

[Viva La Loca]

I've never been so interested in sugar in my whole life
So vergeoise is beet sugar (white and brown) and cassonade is cane sugar (brown).
Thanks to Stephanie, I always learn a LOT of things

Totally with you on that one
I felt the same about the faber castell pencils (although tbh I am very interested in pencils and graphite quality)
My learning curve from Stephanie has been the wallpaper and fabric companies and I thank her for that. I have champagne taste on a lemonade budget

 

[truthsayer]

All sort of brown sugar exist in France. If not in your supermarket, certainly in your Biocoop shop or other specialised shops which are numerous in every French town.
As the article you posted states, French brown sugars are very diversified : cassonade, vergeoise (soft), sucre de canne etc etc.
In French, it's called sucre roux (red colour sugar) not brown sugar. But I suppose that Stephanie's french is good enough to know this.

It looks to me that the regular grocery shopping is done by the ladies who cook. You often see Nati, Cat, Marie etc going off to shop. Steph does do special event shopping but the every day staples are not usually on her list. Maybe the small markets and stores they deal with do not carry brown sugar and Steph should make a list of these things for her trips to Paris.

 

[Calvignac]

It looks to me that the regular grocery shopping is done by the ladies who cook. You often see Nati, Cat, Marie etc going off to shop. Steph does do special event shopping but the every day staples are not usually on her list. Maybe the small markets and stores they deal with do not carry brown sugar and Steph should make a list of these things for her trips to Paris.

Brown Sugar is everywhere in France, in every supermarket. It's called sucre roux. It's not that hard to see it.
Besides, they did have brown sugar in their cupboard and she used it.
No Idea why she said what she said about it.

Isabelle always gets the chateau ready for BnB season. For her daughter.
That's not hard to check either (Facebook at the beginning of their vlogs for example)

 

[C’est la vie]

@Calvignac when you woke up this morning did you imagine you’d be ‘standing on a soap box’ shouting "Brown sugar is everywhere in France!"