 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I was wondering if any-one had experience working as a chalet host/chef? Or, indeed, going to do a ski season as a couple?
My boyfriend and I are keen to do a ski season in France but after an interview on Friday for a children's rep job where I realised that I would be sharing a bedroom with 3 other girls and could be moved resort at any time, we decided that a job as a couple running a chalet would be the only way to go out there together and maintain our relationship.
However, whilst we're not scared of hard work it would be great to get a realistic view of what a typical day is like before we apply for any jobs. Also what experience and/or skills would make our application stand out, or make the season easier if we get a job!
Thanks a lot!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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OK typical day for chalet couple;
06:30 get to chalet and prepare breakfast
07:00 Serve breakfast (cook hot option etc etc etc)
08:00 Start running shuttle to lifts from Chalet.
09:00 Clean chalet from top to bottom // prepare afternoon tea and dinner
12:00 Down time
16:00 start running shuttle from lifts to chalet // Serve tea
17:30 Finish prep for dinner
19:30 Serve dinner
21:30 Clear up after dinner
22:00 Down time
Once a week forget the 12:00 downtime as you'll have to go to the valley to buy everything for next week.
At weekends pretty much forget any timings as it will depend on when your current clients depart and your new clients arrive plus you need to "deep clean" the chalet changing all bedding etc etc
So a working week will typically be;
2 possibly 3 days of the above schedule
1 day of shopping added in without changing the times of the schedule for the clients.
1 possibly 2 days changover
1 day where you can scratch the prep and serve dinner activities
1 day off (possibly)
How you divi up the tasks is up to you.
As for what will help secure the job... at least one of you go on, or commit to go on one of the specialist chalet cooking courses.. cost about £600? but will teach you how to be efficient in giving a dinner party 6 days a week for 20 weeks!!
The other (non cooking role) is basically the chalet bitch and needs no training other than learning to clean, scrub and say "yes dear"
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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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Reading that back it all seems like hard work and wonder why you'd bother for what you'll get paid.......... We up our careers in the UK to do it and people thought we were mad.... would we do it again? Hell yes!!
To be able to wake up every morning in some of the most picturesque scenery in Europe, pretty much able to ski whenever you wanted for 20 weeks a year, throw a dinner party every day why wouldn't you?
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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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LPB, first off welcome to Snowheads.
My son has now done 4 winter seasons and a couple of summer ones, whatmarcellus, has put is correct, but it maybe viewed as a worst case, for some companies.
For couple jobs, one of you will need to be at a very good cooking standard or a chef, it helps if you go on a Chalet chefs course, plus get your Food Hygenie cert here in the UK.
There are some companies who take on couples and then do a training course in the Alps for the cooking side for the first week to 10 days of the job. Plus how they want the chalets cleaned.
The shopping trip is only with some companies others, you order from a supplier and they deliver to you.
A good skill is budgeting for food.
Once you master the breafast and afternoon tea bit you can be on the slopes for 9.30 to 10.00 and if you can chef well, then its quite easy to do a high standard of evening meal starting on prep and cooking at 5.30pm, but you need to be good to do this.
Change over day is 100% busy as mentioned above.
You will get one day off per week, and then there is the nightlife
SOme seasonnaires party every night so be prepared for it.
Also you may find that some weeks, if your working for a good sized company you have no guests, not every chalet is full every week of the season.
For the non cooking role it helps if you have been a waitress, bar staff or front of house.
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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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FWIW, when I was working in St Anton there were quite a few couples running chalets together for Powder White, who seemed to be pretty keen on that set-up.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just to add, that we used to swap roles for some things.. so some days used to do Breakfasts to give Mrs M time to get to the valley to do the shopping.
The 1st few weeks are the worst but you soon get into the swing of things and learn how you can make life easier for you such as;
> everytime you cook certain dishes cook double/treble/quadruple... then for a little more effort there's 2,3 or 4 nights dinner.
> seve the same food on a groups last night as you serve on the next groups 1st night.
> always double bubble on the cake for tea just make sure you don't serve the same one twice in the same week.
> deep clean one room really really well each day and do a general clean on the rest... means in a week each every room gets a deep clean on a day other than changover days which makes changover days easier.
> use left-overs/scraps for canapes/amuse Buches... they cost nothing, make a great impression and help you keep your budget down.
> feed kids early and give them what they want/like, saves budget and makes main dinner service easier.
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I'd be very careful how you present it to the TO. Some will be happy to have a couple that know what they are doing together, work together, know each others strengths, others will see a young couple and wonder whether the first argument is going to lose them one or both members of staff or create a load of headache for management.
Having worked in a similar situation with a few other couples, it was quite clear that some relationships were suited to working together. Others quite clearly weren't. The TO will be looking at that, as well as whether you are suitable for the particular job you are applying for, so make sure you present a professional and working relationship.
And one of you needs to be able to cook.
You could try with one of the big TOs to get placed in the same resort, however there seems to be no guarantee of this, and they won't necessarily like the lost flexibility of having you both tied to one place if they have a big demand in another resort and need to move you etc.
You will also find many TOs (as you already have I guess) that have rooms shared with 2-3 single sex in one room - as a couple that isn't going to work if you've got someone else sharing with you.
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LPB, Silverski, More Alps, and Ski World, seem to be keen on employing couples. we have had it where one has been the ski host on a couple of days and odd job man on others, with one of them taking on the cooking but both doing the cleaning.
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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 agree with everything said above. It can be bl**dy tough to start with. So much is determined by the size and location of the chalet. I think the menu plan is key to getting an interview but as Monium, says only do this if you think your relationship can survive it. I've seen several couples finished by a season. Wife and I share the cooking but she's the cleaner because she thinks I could never reach her standard even with training 
Our first season was in a very tough chalet for a long, long season in Val d'Isere right up in Le Fornet. The people you work with and the managers can make a big difference to how you'll enjoy your time. We've done three seasons of hosting and three of guiding for a Danish company and now we're back to hosting in a brand new chalet that one of our ex-Finlays guests has built for us in our favourite Les Coches!!!!
If you can hack it through the dark months and raise your game again for Easter then you can have a wonderful time for very little money.
Best of luck and if you need any advice just ask.
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Wow guys - thank you so much for all this info! Lots to think about clearly and we need to get our skates on if we're going to do this season!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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gravystuffing, I dream of the day I can persuade my hubby to drag himself away from the dispensary for the winter. He's very good at cleaning .
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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There are loads of Chalet Couple jobs - so you should find something. It is a massive pressure on your relationship - living, working and socialising together 24/7 can be pretty intense.
Beloved and I have got round it by working for different companies when we're out there so we have something to talk about 
Hells Bells, well you have the boots now - you have to go!
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Nadenoodlee, 
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi LPB ...A little late on the thread here but absolutely go for a chalet couple job rather that separate roles in a resort. check out chaletcouple.com for our view on the job and to help you with applications and interviews etc but remembers it actually never too late. Companies are still recruiting now and inevitably the people that said they would go are dropping out too which creates space for you guys!  Good luck with it all though!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@chaletcouple,
Hope you don't mind a bit of advice.
I think more people would prefer a new thread and by all means link and offer your website there. I'll look forward to having a browse later..
Resurrecting a 5 year old thread just seems a bit spammy and would put people off clicking your link.
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