Bérengère CASAMAYOU-BOUCAU (Le Mortier) et Mascha KEERN (Les Belles Ruries)

Coffee Break at the Château

Society EN ↓ 4 episodes

Welcome to Coffee Break at the Château, the podcast that opens the heavy oak doors and lets you see what’s actually happening behind the closed shutters of the Loire Valley. Hosted by Mascha (Les Belles Ruries) and Bérengère (Le Mortier), this is the English-language sister to our French podcast "Pause Café Au Château" -but with a twist. While our French episodes dive deep into various topics (heritage, businesses, farming, forestry...), our English version is a shorter, punchier, and more spontaneous look at the absurdity of our daily lives. Expect wit, a bit of grit, and plenty of "Château r...

Author

Bérengère CASAMAYOU-BOUCAU (Le Mortier) et Mascha KEERN (Les Belles Ruries)

Episodes

#4 Chainsaws, YouTube Tutorials, and Pre-Opening Meltdowns 04.06.2026 5:22

The countdown is officially on! On Sunday, June 7th, Château le Mortier is throwing open its gates to the public for the "Rendez-Vous aux Jardins" event. The only problem? With just days to go, the estate looks like a wild jungle, the weather is making venue prep a soggy nightmare, the chainsaw is broken, and the wood shredder is making demonic noises. While Bérengère is running on pure stress and...

#3 The Empire Illusion – High Ceilings and Frozen Toes 09.05.2026 5:57

In this episode of Coffee Break at the Château , Mascha and Bérengère pull back the velvet curtain on the "glamorous" springtime reality of living in a 19th-century masterpiece. While the exterior of Les Belles Ruries looks like a dream of white and pink blossoms, the interior has become a literal ice-box. When the estate’s temperamental boiler, "The Beast," enters a permanent coma, Mascha is forc...

#2 Monnaie - A History of Horses, Highways, and Heartaches 19.04.2026 5:46

Join Mascha (Les Belles Ruries) and Bérengère (Le Mortier) as they dive into the surprisingly gritty history of their home village, Monnaie . While the name might suggest a town built on gold, the duo discovers that Monnaie’s legacy is actually paved with mud, exhausted horses, and the "petites pièces" of 18th-century travelers. From its origins as a vital "service station" on the road between Par...

#1 Welcome to a coffee break at the Château 01.04.2026 4:40

Based in the village of Monnaie (which literally translates to "Money"—the ultimate irony), Mascha and Bérengère introduce you to their respective estates: Les Belles Ruries and Le Mortier . In this episode: Mascha explains why her life is less "silk gowns" and more "searching for WiFi." Bérengère reveals why a château is actually a sentient being that eats money. We discuss the "Instagram vs. Rea...