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00:00France is home to thousands of chateaux,
00:05with many left derelict and unloved.
00:11But some courageous individuals are reviving these old buildings...
00:17I knew it would be dusty, but, oh, my God, this is so bad.
00:21..and bringing them back to life.
00:24Oh, my God.
00:25It isn't always a smooth ride.
00:28I will never want to do this again ever in my life.
00:31..when restoring historic castles...
00:33Now I can visualise more what it's going to be like.
00:36But there's a mountain to climb yet.
00:38..into fairytale homes...
00:40This is really stressful, guys.
00:44..and thriving businesses.
00:46I need a stitch.
00:47What a day for a tent to fall over.
00:50But those that have the ambition and drive...
00:53And relax.
00:56..often get to enjoy the rewards...
00:59Just take it all in, mate. No, it's beautiful.
01:01..as they get to live out their dreams...
01:04It's hard to pick the one thing that made me fall in love with this place.
01:07..as keepers...
01:09Cheers.
01:10..of their very own French chateau.
01:17Today, one chateau owner suffers technical difficulties...
01:22So, to have that straight, that's got to come that way,
01:25but then if I come that way, then it's not straight here.
01:28..another is feeling the pressure...
01:31Our first wedding is in a week's time.
01:33You've got people coming in with new fridges,
01:36the bar to be stocked,
01:38the carpenter's here, the electrician's here,
01:41and I'm going, ah!
01:43..and in the Pyrenees,
01:45some unexpected guests gatecrash an inaugural event.
01:50Come on, girls. This isn't your party.
01:56Amongst the vineyards of the Languedoc in the south of France
02:00is the glorious 19th-century Chateau du Puy-et-Pras.
02:07Set on a former winemaking estate,
02:10the chateau boasts 39 rooms
02:13and sits around a central courtyard.
02:18It was bought for £390,000
02:22in 2003 by Londoners Tim and Sasha...
02:27Good morning.
02:29Yes, that's my fingers.
02:32..who run it as a thriving wedding business
02:35with their daughter Lily and son-in-law Luke.
02:39Little did we know when we found the chateau
02:43that it would change our lives completely.
02:46It came along with this beautiful,
02:50It came along with this beautiful wine barn,
02:53which was one of the first things that Tim actually designed and renovated,
02:59and that has been the basis now of our whole existence, I suppose.
03:05It opened our lives to, creatively, a blank canvas
03:09that we had never, never imagined.
03:13The chateau is located an hour-and-a-half's drive from Toulouse
03:18and just 30 minutes from the Mediterranean coast.
03:23With the wedding business going from strength to strength,
03:26they're focusing on enlarging the bar area in their reception hall.
03:33Tim has already transformed one of the huge barrels
03:37into a unique, entertaining space.
03:42The last time we saw them, Luke was extending the old wine press bar...
03:48Yeah, that'll look really good.
03:50..and Tim's joined the jet set...
03:53Here we go.
03:54..giving a second barrel a first-class upgrade...
03:58Another step for mankind, another step for my private jet.
04:02..to turn it into a wedding drink store.
04:06His problem is the thick oak doors are too heavy to fit in.
04:11His walls are too heavy to open by hand.
04:14But he's got a plan.
04:16It's like Christmas Day for me today.
04:18What I've been waiting for, they just arrived yesterday,
04:21are my gas struts for the doors on the barrel.
04:26It's the same principle as if your car's got a tailgate,
04:31it will use a gas strut.
04:34So this will be interesting.
04:37Tim's gas struts work by using compressed air
04:40to take the weight of the doors so they can be opened effortlessly.
04:46The first thing I'm going to do is fit the bracket on the door itself,
04:50because that's the easy bit.
04:53To spread the load, I'm attaching the bracket to this piece of metal.
05:01There is a lot of trial and error here.
05:04So when this comes down,
05:06this gas strut will compress into the cylinder above here.
05:10How are you getting on?
05:12Hello, darling. Welcome to my gas strut.
05:15My gas strut world? Yes.
05:18Do you know if it works yet?
05:20No, no, no. I've got to get the other one done.
05:23They really are fascinating, these...
05:26Well, my gas struts. No.
05:29Not your gas struts. Look at it all.
05:32I think my gas struts are fascinating.
05:34The material, it's just so...
05:37..encrusted with age and...
05:40No, that's me.
05:45Tim's come up with these highly intelligent ideas.
05:49Careful.
05:55He's a bit of a mad professor.
05:57The only problem is that Tim's inventions
06:02take an awful long time to get to fruition.
06:07Other people dream of really interesting things.
06:10Tim dreams of nuts and bolts and gas struts and things.
06:17The highly engineered solution Tim's dreamed up
06:21will take some finessing,
06:23but time is in short supply
06:26before the fast-approaching wedding season.
06:33Tucked between the soaring Pyrenees of south-west France
06:38is the 14th-century Château de Gères.
06:43The medieval five-bedroom hunting lodge
06:46is complete with metre-thick stone walls,
06:50an ancient tower,
06:52and even arrow slits.
06:56Today, it's home to Connecticut-born marketing consultant
07:00Trish.
07:02The château itself is just so unique,
07:04especially where I come from.
07:06Something like this doesn't exist in America
07:08because it's older than the United States.
07:10I mean, it's crazy.
07:14Just 18 miles north of the Spanish border,
07:17Trish bought the château in 2020
07:21for £512,000.
07:24I'll tell you what, waking up to these gorgeous mountain views
07:29every day, it does not get old.
07:31I've been here three years,
07:33but I don't think even in ten years it'll be old.
07:36The last time we saw her,
07:38Trish renovated the pool and pool house...
07:41They might need a little bit of an adjustment,
07:43but I'm hoping that I can just make these work right here.
07:46..for a 4th of July celebration with her family.
07:50Thank you to my wonderful brother for all of his hard work.
07:54And Trish now has even grander plans for the château.
07:58This year is going to be particularly exciting
08:01because I am leaving my corporate job
08:03and I'm starting a business to host small group retreats
08:06here at the château, so major life change
08:08and I'm really excited about it.
08:14Today, Trish is getting ready for a crucial test
08:18of her new business, her first event for paying guests.
08:23All right, generously butter le moule à brioche.
08:29My muffin tin.
08:31My big muffin tin.
08:33Today I'm going to be making a torte de pariné,
08:37which is kind of like a big muffin pound cake,
08:41is the only way I can think to describe it.
08:44And I'm making this because tomorrow
08:46I'm hosting a watercolour workshop,
08:48which I'm very excited about,
08:50so we have about a dozen people coming over.
08:53So I'm going to put that in the fridge here...
08:58..and move on to the next step.
09:00The torte de pariné is an iconic cake of the French Pyrenees.
09:07An airy sponge baked in a fluted brioche tin,
09:11this regional delicacy has been enjoyed
09:14at local celebrations for centuries.
09:17I need to add sugar to my egg yolks.
09:22My grandmother was an excellent baker.
09:25Every time we went over her house,
09:27she had something baked for us,
09:29or we went and cooked with her.
09:32Look at all that beautiful butter.
09:35Everything tastes better with butter.
09:40This is the first time that I'm hosting an event here,
09:45and now that my business is underway,
09:48so I really want to make sure I do this right.
09:51And I really want the cake to taste delicious too.
09:54My well-buttered, big-ass muffin tin
09:57that's been chilling in the fridge.
10:02All right, I think this is looking good.
10:04I'm going to pop it in the oven,
10:06and hope it turns out good.
10:12I'm feeling good.
10:14I really want everything to go smoothly.
10:16I mean, the big thing for me is,
10:18I want everybody to have a great time
10:20and come back and want to do this again
10:22and tell their friends about it.
10:24This event will be the first test of Trish's business plan,
10:28and the proof will be in the pudding.
10:35Coming up,
10:36Sasha unleashes her creativity on their bar renovation.
10:41It's like a blank canvas to me.
10:43Ha-ha, what can I do with this?
10:46And one chateau owner's laying the foundations of a big idea.
10:52It may not look it now, but that is brilliant.
11:05Nestled among the stunning valleys of the Dordogne
11:09is the picturesque 14th-century Domaine de la Barbe.
11:16Comprised of 18 elegant rooms and numerous outbuildings,
11:22it's home to Tim and Chris,
11:25Owen and baby Ollie.
11:30The great thing is we've got the countryside,
11:32the beautiful chateau,
11:34but also we're just walking distance to our friends,
11:37distance to the school, going to the shops,
11:40going to the restaurants.
11:42It's the dream that we've always wanted.
11:47Located just 30 miles east of Bergerac,
11:51in the town of Le Bugue,
11:54Tim and Chris bought the abandoned chateau in 2020,
11:59with plans to turn it into a B&B and cookery school.
12:04They're going to completely redo that garden, aren't they?
12:07Yeah, that's a big job.
12:09Since then, they've worked tirelessly
12:12to transform the property inside...
12:16..and out.
12:19Turning the old blacksmith's forge and walnut mill
12:23into holiday apartments...
12:26..whilst also creating Chef Tim's dream kitchen.
12:31The Mandela Bar gives us a beautiful family home,
12:34it's a big family home,
12:36but with its annexes and extra buildings,
12:38we also can grow the type of business that supports our family
12:42and our lifestyle, really.
12:49Today, Tim is tackling the next stage
12:52of turning the chateau into a culinary hotspot.
12:57We've got five rental apartments, so what we want to do is build,
13:00a nice big communal barbecue area,
13:02where guests can get together, share a bottle of wine
13:05and cook some delicious food.
13:08The area outside the guest apartments
13:11hasn't been touched since they moved in,
13:13and Tim hopes to transform it
13:16into an outdoor kitchen fit for a chateau.
13:20We'll put the border in, we'll backfill with concrete,
13:24and then we'll build a nice big stone barbecue,
13:29new trees and shrubs, gravel.
13:33It'll be magical.
13:36But first, he and his friend Steve
13:39need to turn a patch of mud into solid concrete.
13:44We're just getting the corners in to establish the height,
13:47make sure we've got everything level.
13:49And then when we've done that, we can then throw mortar in
13:52and just tap them in, nice straight lines,
13:55and it's all level, basically.
14:00But that's all good, I think.
14:06While Tim and Steve start laying the blockwork
14:09for the bespoke barbecue,
14:12Chris and her boys head into town.
14:18One of the pleasures of living in France
14:20is always getting fresh bread.
14:22Say bonjour, madame.
14:24Bonjour, madame. Bonjour.
14:27Bonjour.
14:40How about you, Owen?
14:42Bonjour.
14:47Merci, madame.
14:50Bonne journée.
14:51Bonne journée.
14:55Going to eat that all by yourself?
14:57Yeah.
14:59All by yourself?
15:01Back at the chateau, working up an appetite,
15:05Tim and Steve have finished the stone edging
15:08for the barbecue base.
15:11I'm pretty happy with that.
15:12Very good.
15:13Fill it up?
15:14Yep.
15:15Seems to be perfect,
15:16so I think we might even try and fill this with concrete,
15:19all in one hit now.
15:28For Chef Tim, barbecuing is a serious business,
15:32and the metal rebar will ensure nothing cracks under pressure.
15:37The blocks are all level, so we know that...
15:40..we know that it's going to be level,
15:42so we just keep adding the concrete
15:45until we get to the top of the blocks.
15:49Once the concrete's level with the edge,
15:51Tim removes any air bubbles.
15:55We're almost there.
16:00It may not look it now, but that is brilliant.
16:06Here we go.
16:07Oh, hello.
16:08I am being nosy, but I've got you some treats.
16:11Oh, you've been shopping.
16:12They're yummy.
16:13Look.
16:14They're good.
16:15I really can't wait to see what you've been up to.
16:17Show it to me.
16:19Come have a look.
16:20Yeah.
16:21It almost looks like a pool, like a dip pool.
16:27Looks nice with this edging stones.
16:30Oh, yeah.
16:31Yeah, I'm very happy with it.
16:32It will be a big deal to have this finished in time
16:36before we open for the summer,
16:38and I think the guests would love it.
16:40It's a solid start, but with the barbecue itself still to build,
16:45Tim had better pick up the pace
16:47before the holidaymakers start to pull in.
16:56In the Pyrenees, Trish is gearing up to host a painting event,
17:02her first ever for paying guests.
17:05It's my first event as a business,
17:07and I'm really excited about it.
17:10With just a few hours before it's due to begin,
17:14there's still plenty on the to-do list.
17:18Bonjour!
17:19Bonjour!
17:20How are you?
17:21I'm looking forward to today.
17:23Yes!
17:24You're looking wonderful.
17:25You do as well.
17:27Trish has arranged for artist Christine
17:30to teach a watercolour class,
17:32inspired by the breathtaking landscape around the chateau.
17:38Now that I'm running this as a business,
17:40you know, I really want to make sure
17:42that I can take things to another level
17:44and, you know, really just provide an amazing experience for people
17:47so that they'll want to come back.
17:49Here is the wine.
17:51Nothing happens without wine in France.
17:54Exactly, I like the way you do things.
17:57So I've set up these tables here, and then I have a few other ones.
18:01No painting class in France is complete
18:04without a glass of wine,
18:06and what better use for a mountain stream
18:09running through your garden?
18:12So, now maybe...
18:14You should find the right place.
18:16Yeah.
18:17Actually, yeah, right down here I think is good.
18:21That works. I like it.
18:26This is an old coffee maker that I had,
18:28and the last time I used it, it worked,
18:30but for some reason I can't get it to turn on.
18:32There's a button right here, but it doesn't seem to be working.
18:35Why is that not going on?
18:37You would think this is idiot-proof, but clearly...
18:41All right, well, too bad on the coffee, but...
18:45It just went on.
18:56We've got a full house planned.
18:58We had planned on about 12 people coming,
19:01and right now we have 12 people signed up.
19:04In fact, I think we had to end up turning people away.
19:12There's a lot to prepare,
19:14and the local flock aren't helping matters.
19:18The thing is, is that that front gate needs to stay closed
19:21when the sheep are grazing,
19:23because otherwise they'll run out and who knows where they'll go.
19:26So once people start arriving,
19:28that's going to be a little bit of a problem.
19:32But guests are already pulling in,
19:35and it's down to Trish to ensure the sheep don't escape.
19:40I'm going to try to clear the sheep away.
19:42Come on. Come on, girls.
19:45This isn't your party.
19:47Go on.
19:49You've got a whole field.
19:51There you go.
19:53It's not your everyday hosting hiccup,
19:55but with the sheep cleared, Trish can welcome her guests.
20:26OK, super. Merci.
20:30With her cake given the seal of approval,
20:33Trish just has to hope the rest of her event goes as smoothly.
20:45Near the Mediterranean coast, at Tim and Sasha's,
20:50having made progress on the barrel door mechanism,
20:54Tim is shifting gears
20:56to focus on the renovation of the reception hall bar.
21:01This is the extension to our bar
21:03that used to just be a circle following the shape of the press,
21:07so we've got a greater space to serve cocktails.
21:11What we're trying to do is to have a curve all the way round,
21:15a very straight line,
21:17a curve all the way round, a very fluid-looking shape.
21:21This curve's looking so good.
21:26Meanwhile, Sasha is enlisting Luke's help
21:29for a project to create an eye-catching feature for the new bar.
21:35Yay! I thought I'd lost this.
21:38It was right tucked up in the back behind loads of bits and pieces.
21:41It took me ages to find.
21:43It's been up there for 20 years, I think.
21:46I've been through at least five houses.
21:49This fireplace goes with me every time.
21:53And, yeah, we're going to use it again.
21:57They plan to upcycle the fireplace around
22:00into shelving for bottles of spirits and mount it behind the bar.
22:06So I need to measure the bottles,
22:08but I think I'm probably going to do two shelves
22:11and create some kind of splashback
22:13to finish off the back end of the worktop.
22:17And Sasha is creating a brand-new artwork
22:21on a pair of glass panes to sit inside the surround.
22:26So I thought what would be quite nice would be to have fleur-de-lis.
22:31So I've drawn out by eye a fleur-de-lis pattern
22:36and I've put it in all four corners.
22:41And I'm just doing a massive fleur-de-lis in the middle,
22:45and then after that I'm going to lay the glass
22:48straight on top of the template
22:52and then I start painting the design,
22:56and it's back to front.
22:59Sasha's chosen lily flower or fleur-de-lis motif
23:03is an historic emblem of the French royal court.
23:07Luke would like it to look like really old glass,
23:12so I want to have sort of cracks in it and things.
23:15And my next stage now is to start putting the basic lines down.
23:23Luke, meanwhile, is fitting the shelves.
23:27So Sasha's glass is just going to sit in here,
23:30just behind the back frame, and it's going to look great.
23:36So this is the beginning of my inks
23:40and my beautiful gilding silver.
23:44That's lovely.
23:46That's what will go on the back of the silver leaf.
23:53They don't trust me to give me a wall to paint
23:56because I'll go and paint a mural on it or something.
23:59It's like a blank canvas to me.
24:01Ha-ha! What can I do with this?
24:04Oh, well.
24:06Sasha's multi-layered work of art is going to take days,
24:10but Luke's frame is ready to go.
24:14Brilliant. Lovely to see you back again.
24:17Bottles, bottles, bottles, bottles.
24:20Done, done, done.
24:22Beautiful, but that's going to look so nice.
24:24I know.
24:25Thank you for finding it, my darling.
24:27That's all right, Sasha.
24:29Yeah.
24:30It's going to look good. It's going to look really good over there.
24:33It's shaping up to be an exciting feature for the bar.
24:37But with Tim's barrel project still in progress,
24:40they've got their work cut out before wedding season begins.
24:50Next, one Tim's feeling the pressure...
24:53We've just got to build it up the best we can.
24:56Remember, the cement will dry pretty quick.
24:59It's got to come down loads.
25:01..and has another Tim's ingenuity finally run out of steam?
25:06Let's see what happens now.
25:10Not a lot.
25:19200 miles away, at Tim and Chris's chateau,
25:23the concrete pad for the barbecue has now set.
25:27It's pretty solid, that.
25:29Yes, indeed. I'll go put the mix on.
25:32With the help of his friend Steve,
25:34Chef Tim is creating a barbecue big enough for all their guests to use.
25:41To me, cooking's a great thing to do and it's a fun thing to do,
25:44so I wanted to build something that would bring people in
25:47and they could talk about what they found at the market that day.
25:51We've got a nice barbecue here.
25:54Nice barbecue here, glass of wine.
25:56Oh, did you go to the aquarium? Oh, it's lovely, isn't it?
25:59You know, that kind of thing.
26:04But there's a lot to do before they can get the coal sizzling.
26:10Remember, the cement will dry pretty quick,
26:12so you need to get a pretty good speed away.
26:17It's got to come down loads.
26:21It probably isn't 99% cut straight,
26:24so to have that straight, that's got to come that way,
26:26but then if I come that way, then it's not straight here.
26:29So, really, we've just got to build it up the best we can.
26:34Tim's passionate about using sustainable, local produce in his cooking
26:39and he's gone for the same approach
26:41by sourcing sandstone from a nearby quarry...
26:47..which has the added benefit
26:49of blending seamlessly with its surroundings.
26:53This was the old walnut mill and blacksmith's forge in the estate.
26:59I want it to feel like sort of where the workers that lived here
27:02would have sort of gathered and cooked lunch, like it was always here.
27:10I hope that in 50 years' time,
27:12you'll be able to see the little bits that we added
27:15and Owen will be telling his kids that we did that
27:18and this is the barbecue my dad built
27:21and, you know, just leaving our little stamp on the world when we're gone.
27:25Just, you know, why not?
27:29To ensure Tim's barbecue really does last,
27:32Steve is adding metal rebar to the stonework.
27:40A wonderful brick wall.
27:43Have you come to help us?
27:45OK.
27:47There you go.
27:52All right, stop.
27:55Oh, so close, just here.
27:58OK, listen.
28:01Excellent.
28:03That is excellent.
28:06Clean that up.
28:08No, I want to do that.
28:10Yeah, then just scrape it along the edge there.
28:14Very good.
28:16This is so satisfying.
28:18It is.
28:19All right, well done.
28:20This is why I like it.
28:21You're now a master bricklayer.
28:23High five.
28:24Hello, hello.
28:25Don't leave me hanging.
28:26Don't leave me hanging.
28:27Yes.
28:29With the last block of the day laid,
28:32Tim and Steve call time.
28:35Maybe I'll buy you a pint.
28:37Excellent, I'll have two, please.
28:40I am very happy with how today's gone.
28:43We've got the excellent makings of a beautiful big stone barbecue.
28:48I did optimistically think it would probably be a lot quicker than it has been,
28:53but life is such.
28:57As guests will soon be arriving keen to light up the coals,
29:01Tim's got a mammoth task ahead.
29:11In southern France, at Tim and Sasha's,
29:14it's time to test the door mechanism for Tim's unique barrel drink store.
29:20I'm now getting ready to release the pressure in the traction struts for the bottom door.
29:25The critical thing is to release just the right amount of pressure for the door
29:31so that we can just pull it and it will slowly come down without us taking the weight.
29:37The pressure can only be released from inside the barrel with the doors closed.
29:44This is my ultimate opportunity to get him to be nice to me
29:49because he can't get out without me.
29:52So this is crunch time.
29:54This is where I've got to release the pressure a second at a time
30:00so you don't release too much pressure.
30:02He always has the most peculiar ideas, like things that not many other people would think of,
30:07and, yeah, then we spend however many days, weeks, making his visions a reality.
30:14Oh, yeah, how you suffer. Right, here we go.
30:20Oh, it's starting to move.
30:22Is it?
30:23Yeah, it's starting to move on its own.
30:25It's getting exciting.
30:27I just want to get it absolutely perfect.
30:29OK, looky.
30:31Give it a pull.
30:33I think that's nice.
30:35That's it.
30:36You can gently lift it up, you can gently put it down with minimal pressure on either side.
30:40That's exactly what I wanted.
30:43Tim's perseverance has paid off.
30:46Hello, sweetie. How have you been getting on?
30:49You've come just at the right time.
30:51Oh, let me put this down.
30:53Just like my kitchen drawers were.
30:57And the bottom door.
30:59Oh, beautiful.
31:03Well, I love Tim's inventions.
31:07By doing this, he's created space to make a wine store for the new bar,
31:15By doing this, he's created space to make a wine store for the new bar,
31:23and it's not wasted space anymore.
31:26And it keeps the integrity of the original, wonderful, huge barrel.
31:33And that's the point, really, is keeping the integrity of the building.
31:38He's brilliant. He's done brilliantly.
31:41Thank you very much.
31:45The barrel doors are testament to Tim's private jet fantasy.
31:51But the rest of the bar area still needs to be given the same first-class treatment.
32:03Over in the Pyrenees, Trish is embarking on a new business, hosting events at the Chateau.
32:11And the first, a watercolour workshop inspired by the surroundings, is just about to begin.
32:19Ah, Christine. Cheese.
32:23More than one glass at one time.
32:26Christine, I'm hoping that just like with my French, that my watercolour painting will get better with wine.
32:31We will use wine also.
32:33Oh, OK.
32:34Everything helps us to paint.
32:38Je m'appelle Christine Cricombe. My name is Christine Cricombe.
32:43What we are approximately going to do, you can see this improvisation.
32:48Are we going to be able to do it like that?
32:50Oui, oui, oui.
32:52In the beginning, it will be small, petite aquarelle, comme ça.
32:56Après, quelque chose comme ça.
32:58OK.
33:01You can start to make the clouds.
33:05The clouds.
33:07We've got a major storm going on here.
33:16Everyone is getting stuck in, and even Trish is brushing up her skills.
33:22I've got a yellowish-orange sky.
33:26I'm going to now try to...
33:29Oh, gosh, that's way too much.
33:32I kind of want a blue sky, but I might need to have some storm clouds.
33:37Now we will prepare ourselves for the mountains.
33:42I take credit card, and now I start to...
33:50Yes, when you have good credit card, it's very easy.
33:55But you need a good one, don't you?
33:59I'm really pleased with how it's going.
34:01We've had some challenges in terms of the sheep, the coffee machine.
34:07But those are all minor things.
34:09Everybody seems to be enjoying it.
34:11So far, so good. I think it's off to a good start.
34:15In the Vallée d'Orsay, inspiration is all around.
34:20You have time to time to look at your work outside, from the distance.
34:29Some of it's too dark, some of it's too light. What do you think?
34:33I think that it's perfect. We just add a little bit structure.
34:38Soon, their Pyrenees-inspired watercolors are finished.
34:44So here's my finished product.
34:47Christine helped make it a little bit better.
34:49Initially, I was thinking I was going to have to hang it in the closet,
34:52but I actually might hang this on a wall where people can see it.
34:57After admiring each other's creations, the guests can take their handiwork home.
35:04I mean, it's just the most amazing thing to be able to sit on a Sunday afternoon
35:09outside a chateau with a glass of wine and just lovely people
35:13and just paint the mountains.
35:16I have to say, I think the first event was a success.
35:20Everybody seemed to have had a great time as they were leaving,
35:23and I had a lot of fun as well.
35:25I'm feeling really even more excited than I was before
35:28about going forward and doing more things like this.
35:33It's been a successful first venture for Trish's new business,
35:38but with bigger events on the horizon, she's only just getting started.
35:47Coming up, could Tim demolish all his hard work?
35:52Kind of all this has got to come out,
35:54but I don't want to go too aggressive with the angle grinder.
35:58And it's all hands on deck.
36:00I'm feeling a little bit nervous.
36:02I do not want it being dropped on the ground.
36:05As Tim and Sasha race to get their bar renovation over the line.
36:11MUSIC
36:20Back in the Dordogne,
36:22Tim is attempting a decorative flourish to his communal cooking station.
36:28What I'll do is I'll just cut out big chunks,
36:31and then when we're kind of near there, just start filing it
36:34and try and get it more precise and detailed.
36:37MUSIC
36:44Kind of all this has got to come out,
36:47but I don't want to go too aggressive with the angle grinder
36:50and remove more than I need.
36:54So I'm just going to chip away delicately like a master craftsman.
37:01LAUGHS
37:04MUSIC
37:11Yes, getting there, getting there.
37:13If I take a bit too much off, then it's going to be irreversible.
37:20In the middle, that's where it becomes a struggle,
37:23cos it's getting that down to the same depth.
37:28While Tim painstakingly chips away...
37:32Oliver!
37:34I know.
37:36..Chris hopes that his plans aren't too ambitious.
37:40I have been taking a lot of bookings from guests for this season,
37:44for this summer,
37:46and they all have been asking if there will be a barbecue facility.
37:50And Tim promised me that he will get that done,
37:53so I have been saying yes to everyone that's been asking for it.
37:57But as a chef, Tim's not planning a typical barbecue.
38:02It's going to be quite a big in-your-face cooking area,
38:05but I want it to be quite sort of sympathetic
38:08and feel reasonably original and sit in its environment
38:12like it was here 100 years ago and people used it then.
38:16So I don't want to go too over the top
38:19and make it too, you know, kind of flamboyant.
38:27That's the last block in.
38:29That's it all constructed.
38:33Coir goes in there.
38:35Flip from underneath.
38:37Flipping burgers, steaks, duck breast, sausages.
38:41Ah, a glass of wine.
38:46Marvellous.
38:48His vision is certainly clear,
38:50but Tim still has an enormous amount to do
38:54to turn his fantasy into reality.
39:04In the Languedoc, Tim and Sasha are up against it
39:08to finish their bar renovation
39:11before the wedding season begins next week.
39:15That's not going anywhere.
39:17Tim has added shelves to his spectacular drink store...
39:21..and Sasha's work of art is almost ready to unveil.
39:26OK, so...
39:27So this is the one we're turning.
39:29We've got to turn this.
39:31This will be the first time I've actually seen the back of this.
39:35OK. Ready?
39:37Yeah.
39:38Oh, my goodness.
39:40It's a relief.
39:42Sasha's intricately painted panels
39:45will form a focal point for the new bar.
39:49I tried to make it really 1920s,
39:51so, for example, if you have a bottle of blue gin or Chartreuse
39:56or what have you in front of it, it's going to look quite funky.
40:02This is when I look like a daft idiot.
40:05There are just a few final touches to apply.
40:11Very, very fragile.
40:14You need the patience of a saint to do this, I tell you.
40:19It's not the Sistine Chapel, but it takes a long time.
40:24I've known Sasha's art all the time we've been together,
40:27and this has got to be up there at the top.
40:30It's stunning, stunning what she's produced.
40:36Just let's slide it.
40:38Sasha's creation is going to be framed
40:41by her cherished fireplace surround.
40:44You take the weight, I'll just push.
40:49Ah!
40:52I'm feeling a little bit nervous as they carry them across.
40:56At this point, I do not want it being dropped on the ground.
41:02Gently down. Gently does it, gently does it.
41:05This is the moment of truth.
41:19It's great to see it in place.
41:22It just works.
41:25It's good to see them up.
41:27It brings a certain cocktail bar quality,
41:30which is what we're looking for.
41:32You ready, Tim? Yeah.
41:35With the artwork installed, it's time to stock the barrel.
41:41Our first wedding is in a week's time,
41:44and you've got people coming in with new fridges.
41:48Just hold it so you don't fall back on it.
41:51The bar to be stocked.
41:56The carpenter's here.
41:59The electrician's here.
42:01And I'm going, ah!
42:05Amidst the hubbub, they've finished.
42:09The bar around the old wine press, in their reception hall,
42:14was tired and too cramped for their busy wedding parties.
42:23Luke has extended the circular bar.
42:28Chris has added a new window.
42:32Luke has extended the circular bar...
42:37..creating more space with a sweeping ash wood worktop.
42:45The fireplace surround has been brought back to life...
42:50..with Sasha's exquisite hand-painted fleur-de-lis design,
42:55serving as an illuminated centrepiece.
42:59The old fireplace works well, doesn't it? It does, it does.
43:02Lovely to see it back.
43:04Looks like a bit of vaudeville with all the lights going on.
43:14The age-old wine barrel had lain empty and unused
43:19since they bought the chateau.
43:28By opening it up with two automatic doors,
43:32Tim has transformed it into a spectacular walk-in wine store...
43:40..offering them over 300 bottles of additional storage,
43:44as well as another unique conversation piece
43:47for the lively weddings to come.
43:50This has been my bit of fun.
43:53Standing on the other side of the bar,
43:56you look over and you can see the wine store in a wine barrel.
44:01It's a little bit of ingenuity with gas struts.
44:07I'm your captain.
44:12Do you want to baptise the bar, maybe?
44:14Yes, please. Yeah?
44:17Oh, well done, chaps.
44:19Don't have to paint any glass any more.
44:22That's your choice, Sasha. Oh, I know.
44:26It's a stunning culmination of their hard work and creativity.
44:31But living in a huge chateau
44:34means the next project is only ever just around the corner.
44:44Next time...
44:46..an epic suite renovation is hanging in the balance.
44:52What if I fall through, Phil?
44:54Tim gets thrifty with inventive upcycling.
44:58This is great, to be able to repurpose something that's a gift.
45:02It's really expensive stuff as well.
45:05And this pair's dining room refit...
45:08Oh, it's a disaster.
45:10..doesn't go to plan.
45:12I think we've just realised there's no easy way to strip wood, is there?
45:24Subtitling made possible by Acorn Media