Seasonairing
A Day In the Life of a Chalet Host:
I worked for a company called VIP in Val d'Isere. They are a Chalet Hosting company that caters towards the upper end of the market and also employs people in various positions in other French alp resorts as Snowline. Here is a typical day in my life as a Chalet Host in a chalet called the Farmhouse.
My morning would start at about 7am when I would get up (usually after less sleep than would be ideal), get dressed and go and make sure my chalet partner was awake. We would then head off to the Farmhouse. One of us would normally go straight to the chalet to get things started for breakfast and clear any mess from the previous evenings meal while the other went to the bakery to get the baguettes and croissants for breakfast.
We would then set the table as quietly as we could and then from 7.30-8am would deliver tea and coffee in bead to the guests. While the guests were getting up we would be preparing the jams, scrambled egg, bacon etc ready for 8am. Around 8, the table would be set and breakfast ready and while one of us would take care of cooking whatever was needed for breakfast and made sure the guests were happy, the other would set about baking a cake for afternoon tea and doing any prep that could be done for the evening meal. This would probably include things like baking the dessert and preparing vegetables ect for the starter and the main meals.
After breakfast, the guests get ready for their day on the slopes. A chaotic time in the morning where parents are looking for lost kids cloves and hats and people are bustling from room to room. While the guests are occupied, the hosts clean the table and kitchen and start to wash everything.
After about 9am most of the guests will have left and the host who has been prepping and baking food continues in the kitchen while the other goes to clean the rooms. On a Saturday, the chalet change-over day, the chalet clean is a 2 or 3 hour affair, but during the week, it can usually be done in 30 mins to an hour. You just quickly run round the rooms making beds, wiping marks from surfaces in the bathroom and tidying up any mess. Meanwhile, the other chalet host will have almost finished clearing the kitchen and setting up tea, coffee, plates, bread and cake on the table for afternoon tea. So by about 10-10.30am, you are free to go out and ski until the lifts close.
After a day of skiing, we normally return to the chalet at about 6pm. The guests will normally have returned from skiing and demolished the afternoon tea which we tidy away. We then set about finishing the preperation, cooking the main meal and setting the table for the evening meal.
The evening meal is 3 courses followed by cheese and biscuits with tea and coffee. Normally it is scheduled for 8pm when the guests come down for their starter. We serve the starter and while that is being eaten the finnishing touches to the main are being done. We then serve the evening meal and with the guests and chat about their day over dinner. After that we serve the dessert and clear up the kitchen while they eat. To finish, the cheese, biscuits, teas and coffees are served, we say our thank you's and excuse ourselves for the evening at about 10pm. We are then free to do as we please until the following morning so head back to the staff accommodation to relax for the rest of the evening or head out on the town with friends.
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A Day in the Life of a Chalet Host
