 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, sorry if this has been asked before, but I want to work my first season this year and I know that I'm applying late so need as much help as I can get!
I'm a very confident cook and have applied to be a chalet host with the companies on workaseason and a few other places through natives, but I want to know, should I wait for them to get back to me (if they get back to me) or should I bite the bullet and do the workaseason cookery course? It says a guaranteed job at the end of it but I'm unsure if I should do it now that I've applied or what I should do.
Any tips at all would be appreciated but I don't really want to fork out £600 odd if I'm not going to get a job!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@alice07, If you can cook then you should have no problem getting a job. My son was offered two cooking jobs on the 4th November the year he did his season. So you are not too late.
He had done a cookery course but was also a good cook. If you do a course then you would be pretty sure of getting a job.
Best of luck. Both my sons worked a winter season. They had a great time. Don't forget to organise something for the summer. Camp courier?
And welcome to Snowheads.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@alice07, don't worry, you're applying in loads of time. A lot of companies are actively recruiting at the moment. If I can shamelessly plug my own site we're advertising for companies that I've spoken to in the last couple of weeks with vacancies in chalets.
AktivExperience, Ski Beat and Ski Famille have all gone on recently. The biggest piece of advice I've picked up from them on why they haven't fully recruited yet is that applicants aren't doing what's asked of them. If you do apply make sure that you send photo, CV, menu plan etc if asked for them. If you need any advice on those bits then send me a PM.
All the stuff we have live is here:
http://seasonnaireweb.com/jobs/
Good luck and don't feel you need to pay £600! You will get a job without if you can already cook.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@alice07, You don't say how old you are. My son and his girlfriend wanted to do a season winter before last, when they were both 18. Girlfriend was a good cook, but had no way of proving it, and they applied for loads of stuff but got told to come back when they had some more experience, or when they had done a cookery course. They then did the workaseason course, were told it would guarantee them a job, and it did - they spent the winter running a chalet in Alp d'Huez.
So what I'm saying is that if you are 18 or 19 and can't prove to employers that you are a good cook, you may need to do a course, and the workaseason one will guarantee you a job.
My daughter is now on the same merry go round for the coming winter and is doing a cookery course next week, but she is also viewing it as being useful in the long term in that she will learn to cook, which is always a useful skill!
Good luck.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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sorry for the late reply everyone and thanks for all the really helpful info! I've got 2 interviews coming up for a chalet host so fingers crossed not having done a course won't work against me! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@alice07, I'm sure you'll get a job if you're a half decent cook. Even more so if you're a little older, organised and bring a mature approach to the chalet.. Bear in mind however, that there is confidence in cooking for 6-8 people and then confidence cooking for 14-18. It is just question of scaling things up, but you have to know what can be done with limited time, help and oven space and what should not even be attempted. I have eaten in chalets when someone has done a 4 week course, and frankly, if they were a poor cook to start with, it didn't seem to have had much impact on their limited skills!
Some chalet companies tell you what to cook and have a set menu across the board, others will let you cook your own menu within a budget that they set. Make sure that, even if you don't do a course, you can create a menu with variety, no repetition of vegetables for example, different protein for each night. Think about what is doable course by course without you ending up making it too complicated . Good recipes are the ones where you can do much of the prep well in advance, or dishes that slow cook in the oven and don't need to be timed to the second. Buy yourself a gluten free cookbook (we had a coeliac in my first 2 weeks as a chalet host) and a good vegetarian one too. If you didn't know already, cake baking is more tricky at altitude as a classic sponge rises too much and then collapses. That is a chalet staple-yoghurt cake- but think along the lines of flapjacks, biscuits, brownies for a bit of variety. When you do get a job, see if they can tell you what equipment is in the kitchen- they can be a bit lacking, and if you have some kit of your own, be prepared to take it if you can (I was bussed out for my season so luggage space was not too much of a problem). To be properly cheffy-a really decent chef's knife (Victorinox do a decent one for about £25) and a steel to keep it sharp and a £3 speed peeler would come in handy. Chopping onions for 20 is bad enough, but having to do it slowly with a rubbish knife is soul destroying!
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Bit late to the party here, but give Family Ski a try. Worked for them last season as a resort assistant. Great management team, great resorts and mostly great guests  oh and the pay is good too!
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@Perty, As a skier you just put goggles on when chopping onions and your soul is saved
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I don't think you're late. I've been to the ski and snowboard show at Earls Court and come home on the train listening to people discussing what job they got. I know Esprit Ski were recruiting there because I talked to a lad on the train.
And have you tried them? I've skied with Esprit for years and the food's always good. They're part of a bigger company now so that may have changes things but the staff always seem happy.
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