Chalet Culture: What Is It?

Chalet culture is niche and can be difficult to understand if you haven’t been fortunate to experience it first hand. So we thought we’d break it down for you - it’s hard to deliver something if you don’t know what your product is! 

What do guests get when they book a chalet holiday? Quite a lot! Typically for a week, they can expect 7 days accommodation in a beautiful, mountain chalet, including daily housekeeping. There might be a sauna, steamroom, hot tub or swimming pool with the chalet as well; always a very popular way to rest after a day of flying down the pistes! You could think of a chalet as an Airbnb which comes with a host who cooks, cleans and hosts the guests. A great host can really make the difference between a good holiday and a great one!

Then there’s the catering. Skiing is hungry work, so good food is a major part of the package for most people. Breakfasts will usually offer both cooked and continental options, freshly cooked and served in time for guests to get to the slopes for first lifts. A lovely breakfast is a wonderful way to start the day and can be a great opportunity for a host or chef to show the guests what they can do. Homemade granola, perfect eggs just the way a guest likes them, or fresh ginger shots could all give that little wow! We have a full breakfast session as standard during a week’s tuition at The Chalet Kitchen, so you can go into service full of confidence, regardless of egg requests. 

Afternoon tea should already be laid out for when the intrepid skiers/snowboarders return. This might be a cake, scones, biscuits, flapjack, or petit fours. It’s a great opportunity to get creative with extra ingredients and play with different ways to decorate! There are plenty of weeks when it could also be a birthday cake for a lucky guest. 

Dinner usually begins with canapés, served in the living area, with a glass of something fizzy (champagne, crémant or prosecco). A cocktail might also be offered, so if you’re hosting, a foundational knowledge of the classics can be very helpful. 

No matter which course, if you’re the one preparing the meal, it’s good to remember that guests eat with their eyes first! Presentation is a key element to the process. Usually it will be a three course meal; starters, mains and dessert. However, a cheeseboard will almost certainly make an appearance, whether that’s daily or as a special guest star! And let’s be realistic, some of the best cheeses in the world are made in France, Austria and Italy. 

Housekeeping is not just the reserve of hotels. Each day the hosts work, guests can expect to have their rooms spruced, beds made, and all communal areas to be neat, tidy and, most importantly, clean. Those cushions should be plumped! But we’ll leave the debate over whether to “chop” them to you.

It’s not just the rooms most frequented by the guests. Food safety and hygiene is no joke, so the kitchen should always be spotless and well organised. 

New hosts can sometimes be nervous at the prospect of hospital corners, the horror of the flat sheet! We teach the best way to get the tightest corners at the Chalet Kitchen though, so our students have no need to worry, regardless of their future employers’ laundry choices. 

Guests may have sole occupancy, which means only they have use of the chalet. However, in bigger properties, there could be multiple groups sharing. Most of the time they won’t know each other before arriving, so it’s down to the host to create an open, friendly atmosphere to enable them to get to know each other. 

There are plenty of stories of folks meeting great friends or even future partners on a chalet holiday! It can be a delicate art for a host to set just the right tone across different generations or backgrounds. All tutors at the Chalet Kitchen have hands-on experience working in chalets, so they’re well placed to offer guidance on some of their preferred ways to bridge any gaps. 

If you’re thinking about what working in a chalet might look like, it can be a real home away from home. And while you’re helping guests become friends for life, you might do the same with your colleagues!