Catered Chalet Meals and Chalet Cooking

1. Traditional catered chalets

The traditional catered chalet phenomenon has been around since the 60s and essentially means that you will have dedicated chalet staff to take care of daily housekeeping and prepare breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner during your stay.

The quality of breakfast varies tremendously from chalet company to chalet company. At the higher end, you should expect options such as eggs benedict, waffles, or pancakes, along with freshly squeezed juice, coffee, and fresh pastries. The more budget-friendly options offer ‘cheaper’ alternatives: basic continental breakfast, with fresh bread and a ‘cooked option’, which often consists of one egg per person, a sausage, rasher of bacon or small portion of beans.

As you head out to the slopes, your chalet staff will prepare you afternoon tea. From cakes and biscuits to flapjacks, the afternoon treat may vary each day. Your hosts will set up the tea on the on table, so that it’s ready for your return.

You will usually be served evening canapes before dinner. Again, this will vary from chalet company to chalet company, and the cheaper companies may just provide peanuts and crisps. If you have children in your party, your staff will ensure a high tea is made earlier for them. You should often expect a three-course dinner with complimentary wine. Again, this will vary, but we think by now you have a good idea of the huge difference between what the cheaper and the very best chalet holiday companies provide.

It is important to note that some companies only serve their complimentary wine whilst dinner service is in progress; once the coffee is on the table, the wine dries up. If your party enjoy drinking later into the evening, there are lots of companies that allow guests to help themselves to an endless supply of wine. So, please don’t hesitate to check with us, as we understand that the importance of this!

In case we haven’t mentioned enough, we truly believe that ‘you pay for what you get’. At the lower end, you will often have younger and perhaps poorly trained ‘gap year’ student staff. As you progress up the price scale, you will often get older and more professional staff.

It is also important to note that your staff will have at least one, sometimes two (depending on the operator) days off. On this day/days, you will have to book a restaurant, or (if the chalet company allow) you may be able use the kitchen to cook for yourselves.

The catered chalet means a true holiday experience. No cooking, cleaning, or washing up – what more could you want?

2. Catered chalets with a central resort kitchen

Catered chalets with central kitchens operate almost identically to what we have just described above, in fact, you probably wouldn’t even be able to tell the difference. The difference being that all the food is prepared by professional chefs in a central kitchen within the resort, and then distributed out to the chalets for your hosts to finish off and serve.

“Not going to be as fresh?” you may be thinking. Not to worry, as the food is still prepared on the day, but instead by professional chefs, who can ensure the quality and standard of the food remains high company wide.

This is very reassuring if you happen to have a younger ‘gap student’ as your host, whose culinary skills certainly won’t be up to the standard of the professional chefs in the centralised kitchen!

We have experienced the catered chalet with a centralised kitchen approach from the likes of Treeline Chalets and YSE Ski and can confirm it is a winner. In fact, since the food is prepared by professional chefs it is usually of higher standards that what your chalet staff would be capable of preparing.

3. Contactless catering

Contactless chalet catering really took off during (and post) covid, and is (more or less) what it says on the tin. A team of dedicated chefs will prepare delicious home cooked chalet style meals and deliver it to your door for you to heat up and serve when you are ready.

This is a great option for those who are unsure if they’ll be home from après in time for dinner, or if you simply like doing things on your own time schedule.

The standard of food is high, with centralised kitchens providing meals that are chef prepared and subjected to proper quality controls.

The only downside, in our opinion, is the clearing away and washing up!

Ski France Classic, Ski France Premium and Treeline Chalets offer contactless catering.

4. Pre-cooked meals delivered by a 3rd party catering company

Huski was founded in 2016 by 3 British skiers. Similar to contactless catering (discussed above), Hu.ski offer a pre-cooked meal delivery service throughout the French Alps. With a team of talented restaurant-trained chefs in their Bourg St Maurice kitchen, Hu.ski prepare delicious dishes, delivered to your door, so you don’t have to worry about meal planning or grocery shopping.

They offer a 3-course menu for just €30.00 per person per day, along with a 2 course children's menu for just €18.00 per day. If you are concerned that a 3-course menu might be too much don't worry. Hu.ski have you covered with their 2-course menu for just €23.25 per person per meal instead.

If you’re a family of 4 (assuming 2 adults & 2 children), you could be eating a 2-course meal every night of the week for just €495 in total. With the current exchange rate, this comes out as less that £450. This is a big saving on the cost of eating out in resort restaurants each night.

Huski is not only a great option for self-catered accommodation but also for catered chalet staff nights off. If you are staying in a catered chalet, your staff will have at least one, sometimes two, nights off a week, where you will have sort your own dinners. We believe Hu.ski is a great option for these nights, and of course, a cheaper alternative to dining out. Please note that you will need to check with your chalet company that it is ok to use the kitchen for heating up food before ordering from Hu.ski.

In their words: “There’s enough to think about when you’re booking your skiing holiday – seeing if last year’s salopettes still fit; everyone’s passport still valid?; where to go; transport; lift pass and insurance; ski and boot hire; plus the extra layers of post Brexit travel joy; if, on top of all that, you have to fight your way to the overpriced resort supermarket, buy everything, lug it home and then cook it, honestly, Huski is a complete no-brainer.”
And we agree with them!

From baked Camembert and Charcuterie to Boeuf Bourguignon and Thai red chicken curry, Huski has a range of delicious options to choose from. And what’s better, they can cater to all your dietary needs, be that: Veggetarian, Vegan, dairy-free, gluten free or full coeliac.

Visit the Huski website to make your booking. Don't forget to use our promo code at checkout: "alpineanswers".