A week in the Alps

After spending a week at home with my family catching up on sleep and food, we flew to La Rosiere in the French Alps for a cooking and chalet management course. It's really intensive and we've barely had an hour to spare each day. The day starts at 7am preparing breakfast for 12, then lessons throughout the day until 6pm, when we prepare a 3 course dinner for everyone (bearing in mind we have a veggie and someone who can't eat gluten, so have to prepare 3 different dishes each time). In between lessons, we bake two cake recipes and make lunch for the staff and other guests. I can't believe we've paid to be worked so hard! Aside from that, there is a great hot tub for relaxing after dinner and free flow wine, so can't complain. The blow up fish also got introduced to the hot tub one night and now works as a good beer holder. Its been snowing a lot here already and the view from the chalet is amazing - a deep valley with two snow capped mountain peaks and twinkling lights from the other resorts.

It's given me a good taste for life as a chalet host in a very upmarket resort, where the guests expect high standards. It's damn hard work and you've got to love the ski, as the pay's terrible, but I'm sure it'd be amazing for one season. We've got a good bunch of people with us, which has made it even better. I could definitely live in the mountains, but cooking and cleaning for up to 20 each day, working 15 hour shifts and getting paid 80 quid a week, is almost slavery. Hasn't France got a minimum wage?! Especially when you consider that a beer is about 5 Euros over here - 16 pints and you're finished. Even though I've loved it, I'm not convinced that running a ski chalet is an option for the long term. I think I should try skiing first too..