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Being a Chalet Girl is hard work, so don't go out there thinking it's going to be a breeze.
Fussy punters, long hours and occasionally less than brilliant resources are all in a
day's work. However, a few tips from hardened ex-chalet girls will make your life a little
easier...
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Most guests only stay for a week. It is therefore advisable to get a menu plan for the
whole week (six days with one day off) and use it week in, week out. Doing this will usually
ensure that it's easier to stick to your budget. As weeks go by you will find the routine
gives you more time to ski, and with the turnover of guests no one is going to know that you
don't vary your menus. NB saying that, always have a second week's menu just in case someone
sticks around for another week.
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You usually do a shop once a week, make sure you buy everything you need in one go. Plan
your list - it saves you time when you are at the supermarket and it'll save you having to
pay inflated prices back at the resort. 'Bits' you've forgotton can often blow your budget.
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Plan your menu carefully. Don't cook a hot starter, maincourse and
desert. Before you know it you'll be spending twice the amount of time cooking and then run out of
room in the (often tiny) kitchen anyway.
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Often chalet girls are asked to offer guests dips and nibbles before dinner. Rather than having to
make a different dip each night there are some great dry packs that contain things like black
pepper and lemon which can be added to mayonnaise to make an instant dip. It's perfect with carrots
and crisps and will save you time and give your guests variety. And buy them before you go, they're
a life saver!
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On shopping day, your fridge is usually overloaded. If there's not enough room for
everything, window ledges make great alternatives - the snow outside stops food going off.
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Banoffi pie is a surefire winner. Fact. The only real pain is watching the tins for hours
to make sure you have enough water covering them (and be warned, if the water level drops too
low you'ill redecorate your kitchen in toffee!). Use the biggest saucepan you can find and
make five or six tins at once. You only need one tin per pie and it means for the next six
weeks you cut the prep time in half.
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Unfortunately, you won't earn much money out there (but you're not doing this to make your
millions, right?), and more often than not you're skint on your day off - good tips the week
before excepted. If you have a local take away pizza place, make an extra banoffi pie and
deliver to the guys that work there. Chances are you'ill be guaranteed a free pizza on your
day off (I worked in Meribel and it worked for me!).
If you need help planning your menu check out our
chalet girl's guide to menu planning!
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