Working in a ski resort

Chefs in particular are always in demand, they can make or break a chalet or hotel, and not only because so many depend upon repeat business from culinary satisfied guests to survive. Typically the chef is also in charge of ordering, budgeting and kitchen hygiene – which can bankrupt a business in an afternoon if not adhered to rigorously – and managing anything from a single assistant to a small army of staff. It can be a genuinely high pressure environment, but because of this there are almost always positions available. As Will Corder, who now runs The Ecrins Mountain Lodge by Les Deux Alpes, said: “That’s one of the best things about being an experienced chef, I love travelling and I love snowboarding, and I know that I can rock up pretty much anywhere and I’ll find work. I once went to Perisher Blue, with no contacts or job offers, and the same afternoon I arrived I was put in charge of a mountain restaurant and given my own flat and a lift-pass.” To move up to chef at a hotel may improve your bank balance, but it also ups those stress levels. Even working at a club hotel, where the food tends to be chalet standard, the sheer quantities and staff to control make for a more labourious living. And of course there are establishments scattered about the Alps where even the most highly skilled and experienced are likely to start only as a sous-chef or kitchen assistant. NanniesThe other key position for which demand always seems to outstrip supply is, perhaps surprisingly, the humble nanny. They are there ostensibly to look after the kids, but for parents to enjoy a guilt free ski, they have to believe that their children are having a good time too, and enjoying it in a safe pair of hands. The days have long passed when a nanny only had to be passably cheerful, over 16 and not totally hate kids. Katherine Last, Child Care Manager for Crystal Holidays France told me: “From the perspective of health and safety and insurance alone, but also for the peace of mind of parents, it is imperative that all our nannies have child-care qualifications, we insist they have CACHE or equivalent qualification and are CRB checked. We also follow the strictest UK regulations with regard to ratios of adults to children; which means that we need an awful lot of staff.” Good nannies can usually afford to be choosy, and the size of employer they want to work for is one of the key decisions they need to make. Katherine now manages a staff of almost 100, having started out as a nanny fresh from school. Whereas, though typically the job is much easier, when looking after the children of a single family there is little room to progress long term. Talent will sometimes find a way however, Lee Mann started working for Chalet Shiraz in Les Houches as a nanny for the owners, but after only one season is now running the marketing side of their business. Size makes a difference in the cooking world too; as a chalet host with the bigger tour groups, you don’t even need to be a qualified chef, simply knowing your way around the kitchen and attending the early season training will suffice. Of course, being trained makes you infinitely more employable, but be warned, it’s not unknown for the best cooks to be placed in the worst chalets, to even out the holiday experience. In small owner operated chalets, conditions, budget and pay tend to improve dramatically, so qualifications or a lot of experience are usually required. Damian Blanchard of Ice and Orange gave me their take on the chef’s role: “For us it’s quite simple: work for three hours in the morning, to make sure the guests are plugged full of delicious energy food. Then go and ski or board for the rest of the day. Return to lay on canapés and dinner by the fire. Have a few drinks in Cham and repeat for four months” For that unarduous sounding life, the remuneration package is €220 euros per week, all your food and drinks and a private, fully-serviced, one bedroom apartment. Bar staffIf you’ve left it till the last minute you are very unlikely to walk into a position in the top après ski joint; indeed any pub or club jobs are highly sought after. Many bars actively recruit staff at the end of the previous season, to get the comeliest and most charismatic staff on their books. The reason why bar tending is so scarce is quite simply because it’s one of the best jobs to have. A lot of places don’t open during the day at all, or with skeleton crews, which means plenty of time on the hill. Pay is usually better than with holiday companies, and with more consistent tips. Be generous with the right people and you should be able to eat and drink around town for free on your nights off. There are also good prospects for pulling more than pints, being the only person sober enough to remain charming and witty in the evening mêlée. The downside of this is a mirror of the up. Not working during the day means working late into the night. Give out a few gratuities and suddenly everyone wants them: the choice is offend them or really offend your boss. And being the only sober person in a dribbling orgy of indulgence is often not all it’s cracked up to be. Ski rep/escortWorking as a Rep or a Ski Escort is another popular choice, but sadly here too you have probably missed the boat. Most of the solely ski escorting jobs will go to returning staff and the new Reps will be getting stuck into their training courses any day now. Repping is not for everyone in any case, you need an abundance of confidence and patience to even consider it; sales skills, diplomacy and bluff, to be a success. Depending on the resort though, you should eat and drink entirely or mostly with wallet firmly pocketed. You’ll be paid a decent wage, in ski resort terms, with opportunities for commission. You get plenty of spare time if you’re organised, and you’ll party hard, whether you want to or not. You’ll also miss perfect powder days whilst guiding the ‘Blue Cruise group’ - unless you can pre-arrange an ‘emergency’ call from the office - hear more moaning and swearing than a film censor; and eat more humble pie than the Buddhist Desperate Dan. Les plongeursThe plongeur aka EPH and KP - ‘extra pair of hands’ or ‘kitchen porter’ - is either the lowest of the low or the best job in town, depending on how you view the world. It is also the only unskilled role you have a realistic chance of just turning up in the resort and picking up. Many hotels and larger chalets will not bother to advertise for KP’s and prefer to employ those who have already found their own accommodation. If you’re not big on client contact then this is definitely the role you want. At worst you might make a brief welcome speech appearance, largely so the rep can do his ‘underwater ceramic technician’ joke, generally you need never see the guests at all. Cutting vegetables and washing up in well run chalets or hotels is not taxing work, and it is generally agreed can be performed at a certain level of intoxication and any degree of dishevelment. It can even be fun. Getting in the way, being shouted at by chefs, carrying heavy boxes and barrels, clearing terraces and being whipping-boy to even the greenest waiter is no fun at all, however. It all depends where you end up, something over which you will have little control. And wherever you are you will never, ever, have any money.