Before the age of 30 I was very much of the opinion that lunch on the mountain was for wimps. What was the point of queuing at a crowded cafeteria and then eating expensive, luke-warm spaghetti bolognaise (of dubious quality) when one could be out on the mountain skiing instead. Between the ages of 30 and 40 – the off-piste years – my attitude towards lunch began to change a little. Skiing with a rucksack now meant that a baguette sandwich could be made up in the morning and then squeezed in the backpack somewhere amongst the safety kit. Serious amounts of food joy were to be found after a hard morning of touring and back country skiing. After finding a sunny rock to sit on nothing quite hits the spot like one of those baguettes – when you are tired and seriously hungry the simple pleasure of French bread, Parma ham and conichon is very hard to beat.  The years immediately following my 40^th birthday saw a genuine ‘sea change’ in the way that I looked at enjoying a ski holiday. Sure, I still enjoy challenging myself on the mountain and am quite prepared to hike for my thrills but I have learned to appreciate the other side of a ski holiday – the dining!

The restaurants mentioned below are not necessarily the best in the Alps (there are plenty of guide books and articles on those). Instead these are simply the eateries that have given me the most pleasure over the last decade or so.

La Bouitte, Hameau de St Marcel (3 Valleys), France. Much has been written about this extraordinary restaurant over the years but then again how many 2 star Michelin restaurants can there be in the World where guests dine in their ski boots? This is the kind of place where a lunch becomes an event. There is absolutely no rush – the staff there if you need them but otherwise seemingly not there at all. As a result lunch here will last several hours – every mouthful of delicious food and wine can be savoured to the max. True, a meal here doesn’t necessarily come cheap but when a distinctly average plate of chicken and chips in Courchevel 1850 (less than a hour’s ski away) costs pretty much the same you can start to appreciate the true value of La Bouitte.

The delicious Foie Gras at the superb La Bouitte, St Martin de Belleville

La Marmite, St Moritz, Switzerland. This has been a long standing favourite with the glitzy and glamorous holiday set of St Moritz. With commanding South facing views the main terrace and the large windowed dining room seem literally to be filled with sparkling mountain light on a sunny day (probably helped by the reflections from all the diamonds on display!). The meal to enjoy here is tagliatelle with truffles and truffle oil. It’s not the most expensive on the menu but it is one of their signature dishes – and boy! The memory of that delicious heady flavour will be with you for life. La Marmite is voted as one of the ‘The World’s Ten Best Mountain Restaurants’ by The Telegraph.

Tagliatelle with truffles and truffle oil at La Marmite, St Moritz

La Perla Hotel, Corvara (Dolomites), Austria. The Dolomites and in particular the Sella Ronda ski area must have more fantastic restaurants per square mile than anywhere else on the planet. The region is literally stuffed with truly great mountain dining – San Cassiano, a small village just over the hill from Corvara, has three separate Michelin starred restaurants on its own! The Hotel La Perla in Corvara is one of those romantic hotels you stay in when you have left the children back home with their grandparents. The main hotel dining rooms (shown below) are actually a series of interconnected small and very cosy, wood panelled rooms. The atmosphere is intimate and charming. There is also a Michelin starred a la carte dining room which is decorated and furnished in much the same theme, although is more discreet and formal. Definitely the hotel and the food should be on everyone’s bucket list.

The intimate dining room at Hotel La Perla, Corvara

Chez Vrony, Zermatt, Switzerland. This majestic archetypal Swiss resort is without doubt the fine foodie capital of the Alps. Between Cervinia, on the Italian side of the boarder, and Zermatt on the Swiss side there are at least 10 World class eateries to choose from. Franz & Heidi’s, Zum See, Stafelalp and Furri are all delightful but my personal favourite is Chez Vrony. When you are relaxing on one of their sheep skin clad recliners, cool drink in hand and enjoying the fantastic views of the iconic Matterhorn then you know you are in one of the World’s special places.

Lunching at Chez Vrony - one of the World's special places

Chez Merie, Le Miroir (Ste Foy Tarentaise), France. I was lucky enough to eat here last March when I was on a boys’ ski trip in the area. I must admit that we felt slightly incongruous as a group of three men in their mid forties when all the other diners that night were lovey-dovey couples but it was a privilege to eat here none the less. Drinks are enjoyed before dinner on the squishy shaby-chic sofas around the roaring open fire and then one goes through to the main dining room to eat. It’s all wooden beams and low ceilings and the atmosphere is cosy and cosseting. Steaks are the mainstay of the menu and these are simply seared on long iron spits and forks which are set up over the open fire place. Washed down with some good claret these steaks are simple but utterly delicious.

The sitting room at Chez Merie, Le Miroir (Tarentaise)

Hotel Weisses, Bergun (St Moritz). Accessed via the 6kms Preda to Bergun toboggan run. At approximately 7pm take the 30 minute train ride from St Moritz to Preda where you and your friends/family can hire old fashioned wooden toboggans from the railway station toboggan store. The run starts directly from the train station at Preda and over the course of 4 miles descends 400 vertical metres through the beautiful forests of the Albula Valley. The gradient of the toboggan run varies over the course of the four mile ride and in some sections it can get truly challenging – expect a spill or two. However, the knack to steering an old style toboggan is soon learnt and crashes should be kept to a minimum. Check out this YouTube footage.

The toboggan trail takes you eventually down to the charming mountain village of Bergun where, in the centre, you’ll find the Hotel Weisses. The dining room is warm, wood panelled and totally Swiss mountain authentic – the cheese fondues are delicious. After dinner simply take the train from Bergun back to St Moritz where you can drop off your toboggan at the station there. The Preda to Bergun moonlit toboggan run followed by dinner at the Hotel Weisses is a truly fantastic experience.

These days I view the quality of the dining on my holiday as being as important as the quality of the skiing. Of course these long lunches mean that I get less turns on the hill than before. However, if I can enjoy my skiing AND dine well then surely this is the same thing as having my cake and eating it. And that doesn’t sound so bad at all.

If you like to dine well in your chalet then check out this selection of chalets where the cooking will be superb.

To discuss any of the restaurants above or how to book a holiday in any of the resorts please do not hesitate to call me. T: 020 7801 1080.

Everybody remembers the moment when they first managed to properly link their turns in deep powder snow – an altogether unforgettable and highly exciting rite of passage.

As a recent graduate from Exeter and unsure of what I wanted to do with life I was working a ski season. This one (my second) was for Bladon Lines in Meribel as their MBO (maintenance and building officer). I had to change light bulbs, replace blown fuses, mend broken beds (!!) and generally make sure that the luxury ski chalets of the day were fit to receive guests each week.

My first winter season was taken on my gap year after leaving school when I ‘pot washed’ for a small hotel in Sauze d’Oulx, Italy (well… we all have to start somewhere). Although great fun I didn’t manage too much skiing during that first season – the working hours were somewhat draconian and there was no day off during the week.

So back to Meribel, February 1988…

I used to ski more or less on a daily basis with a small band of fellow seasonaires. We were the type who took their skiing seriously. Sure, we liked to party but we never missed a ski day and a powder day was something to get very excited about. Since the beginning of that winter we had been trying to crack the deep snow thing but it was harder than it looked – these were the days of skinny 2 metre skis don’t forget. The Rossignol 4S were pretty good on piste but like any skis of the day they took some not inconsiderate skill to master off-piste. Since December we had been dabbling with the off-piste beside runs but had yet to venture further afield. However, that day in February was different, and it was to change the course of my life.

As early as we could we took the Creux Noirs chair to the ridge that divides the Courchevel and Meribel valleys and then we climbed and walked and stepped our way South East along the ridge line for about a mile. For the first time ever we were a long, long way from the nearest piste or lift. There was no turning back – the only way was down.

The Aiguille du Fruit is an imposing cliff face that rises to a height of 3,000 metres. Immediately below the cliff face and facing due West is a mile long perfect even steepness powder pitch which ultimately leads down through the Plan de la Tueda Nature Park to the back of Meribel Mottaret , some 3 miles away.

It had snowed a lot that night, two feet or more, but the sun was out and our spirits were high. Of course we were a little scared too – could we? Should we? Dare we? However, like I mentioned it was too late for questions. We were going to ski this slope and that was it. So the four of us made the long traverse through the knee deep snow from the ridge line to the foot of the Aiguille du Fruit cliff face where we stopped and spread out. We were the first skiers there that morning and what lay before us is not experienced that often, even by experienced skiers in Europe. A mile long slope of untouched, pure and pristine deep powder lay before us.

This was the Aguille du Fruit powder slope on a revisit - January 2003

It’s hard to put into words the feeling of one’s first proper fresh tracks powder run. However, I do remember whooping a lot and I also remember my mate skiing beside me saying ‘hey! Simila’ – you got it!’. And get it I did.

Since that February in 1988 there has been no looking back. Off – piste has been the only way to go. I have been lucky enough to complete two further seasons since that one and have taken countless ski holidays around the world over the subsequent two and a half decades. I have been to Alaska twice and also to most of the other off-piste meccas (St Anton, Engelberg, Alagna, Andermatt, La Grave, Verbier, Val ‘Isere, Steamboat, Klosters etc).

I have skied steeper and faster since that day in February 1988 but I will never forget that first time!

Skiing in St Anton with Piste to Powder