The chateau was swathed in Turkish rugs, marten and lynx furs and tapestries from Flanders, the most famous of which later adorned the apartments of Cardinal Mazarin. The stables were home to magnificent mounts from different countries. When the marshal died, his possessions were sold off in "auctions one thought would just never end".
 Maréchal de Saint André 1510-1562
St André's opportunism did not hamper his extravagance: the marshal was to be sent to England as an ambassador, but his departure was going to deprive the court of a host of gentlemen and reduce the splendour of the festivities that Anne de Montmorency (the High Constable) intended to organise at Chateaubriand.
The High Constable asked if the marshal could delay his travel plans for a short time, to which the English court consented in all good grace. Saint André eventually set off somewhat behind schedule.
Imagine the surprise in England when Saint André turned up with a court of 400 people, including renowned musicians and singers!
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Saint André planted many vines all around the chateau at Vallery, sending carts drawn by oxen to fetch soil from the four corners of France. The king himself helped fill the chateau's wine cellars.
 Le Château de Vallery
 Le Palais du Louvre
The small village of Vallery was not forgotten during the festivities, and more often than not, the village folk enjoyed a rustic version of the feast: on the remains of Sardanapalian banquets they too indulged in wild revelry. Catherine de' Medici had introduced the use of the fork at court and Saint André also adopted this fashion. He took great pride in serving foods that were little known at that time, such as pasta, artichokes, melons, frangipane and chocolate.
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Saint André excelled at creating surprises for his guests during dinner, using concealed mechanisms instantaneously to transform the décor. "After the first course, by an admirable piece of ingenuity, the table split in two; one half glided as if unaided to the right and the other to the left. At that very moment, out of the ground rose a table bearing an exquisite display of all types of fruit, sugared almonds and preserves. And once that table had disappeared like the first, a third table appeared…"
The marshal called upon the services of "Sableurs" to conjure up icy snowscapes on sideboards and tables. As the meal progressed, optical illusions created the impression that the trees inside the ice were growing leaves, that fields were flowering… The kitchen staff designed triumphal arches in nougat, and almond paste replicas were occasionally hung from the fruit trees in the orchard, in a delightful and delicious fraud!
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