Question for catered chalet users

[BaggyAndWrinkled]

15 off us (all friends and family) are off to a catered chalet during half term in France.

Never been before - always self catered or hotel.

Can we use the kitchen when we want? Store our own wine etc? Planning on taking a bottle of squash that DD likes too and tons of biscuits. Will we be able to take them and store them there? Or do we have to eat only when we are catered for?

I doubt they would object to you storing your own food/drinks, as long as there’s enough space (chalet kitchens are tiny).

I’m not sure if you’d be allowed to do actual cooking though, as insurance may not cover it. Also the kitchen will be in use in the mornings and from 3/4pm ish - I’m sure you’d be able to grab something quickly, but again the kitchens are tiny.

might work better to store stuff in the living area tbh, hopefully there will be a cupboard or shelves of some sort and it’ll be bigger. Or even in your room.

have fun!

It depends... some chalets would happily let you store wine etc, in others it would be a definite no. And I'm pretty sure using the kitchen would be a no too.

Where we are at the moment, we wouldn't officially be able to store wine, but it's the chalet host's day off, and there is a spare fridge in the lounge (which they use on other days for pre-dinner drinks), so we have put a couple of bottles in there and are meeting some of the others for a drink before we head our separate ways for dinner. But any other day we wouldn't be able to do that.

We haven't been in a chalet for years, but I'd forgotten it can be great fun! We bumped into a couple of the others this afternoon and skied with them for a while and then went for a drink before they twisted my arm into a nice long black to end the day 😀 😉.

Have just come back from a week in a catered chalet, it was great. We didn't need to use the kitchen most of the week BC they organise breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner for you.

They told us we were allowed to use the microwave/toaster on their day off but that they weren't insured for us to use the hob.

We stored all our own extra drinks on the balcony (it's like a fridge outside after all!) and bags of crisps etc in the living room.

I have done a few seasons as a chalet chef, would have been more than happy for wine/squash but generally the fridge is the chefs domain. They are in charge of organising, cleaning, keeping order so I wouldn’t have been thrilled with guests in and out of it other than for milk or drinks. If you want to go out and by special yogurts etc then not a problem to store and be served at breakfast.

I had one guest return at lunch to cook her whole family scrambled eggs and toast using most of the next days eggs and all the baguette for that day (a shared chalet!). Afternoon tea is laid out if you are hungry. After that I turned off the gas to the oven.

I would store biscuits/ski snacks in your room or the communal areas rather than in the kitchen also. It’s the chefs work place as well as your chalet and important to keep on top of stock/order.

Sorry to add on again, but if the service is good then please remember to tip at the end! It’s customary to do it as staff are mostly on low wages (other than very fancy chalets with high end chefs) and sometimes peoples first catered chalet stay, they don’t realise!

Honestly you won't want biscuits. There's tons of food. You won't go hungry! But I kept things for us in my room. Just ask. A bottle of squash won't take up too much room.

Sure they'd appreciate a glass of your wine too - the stuff they supply is usually pretty rough!

The squash and biscuits should be fine but I've never stayed in a catered chalet where you could use the kitchen. Most places let us store wine and beer though. Usually in a separate fridge.

Thanks everyone!
That's so useful.

Last time I stayed in a catered chalet was in 1999 and I think I spent the holiday high on adrenaline and Sauvignon blanc! I hardly remember a thing.

We have an amazing chalet all to ourselves but will definitely listen to what you've all said.

@Rainydayparade we will tip but how much is generous without breaking the bank?

My last season was around 6 years ago, in a mid range chalet and an average good week was €20 per guest (always very appreciated!). So around there plus a little more for inflation/excellent service? For a chalet of 15 around €400 ish?

I’ve been a chalet host quite a few years ago. If your solo occupancy in the building the host can be a bit more flexible but please don’t help yourself to food that’s not laid out. We had a strict budget to keep to. I also had the guests who took all the eggs and bread not realising that was their breakfast gone and I just didn’t have the budget to cover it! There was plenty of cakes for afternoon tea. Please leave a tip if you can as I got paid very little but of course lived in an amazing place but honestly I’ve never worked harder than I did that season cooking solo for 12 every day

I think this depends on the chalet? The one we’re staying is all booze included and will provide whatever we want food or drink wise so I’ve asked for specific snacks for the kids, it doesn’t cost extra unless you ask for something overly outlandish. And with permission chef leaves lunch for the toddler and the nanny heats it up so the kitchen isn’t totally off limits. We tip 100EUR pp but the chalet has a dedicated staff of 5.

Just use the balcony/outside for a fridge it's cold enough!
It also depends on the host some get a bit funny about it as they are allowed to keep the extra cash from drinks in the evenings above the wine at dinner (unless all drinks are included).
We tend to just stick it on a balcony.
Squash would be no issue, biscuits just keep on a table etc.

Tips depends on if you have a good chalet host or not! We had a amazing one gave her a tip but also sent her a box of stuff after that she was missing from the UK and gave her our supply of ibuprofen (it's bloody expensive in France!)

We generally tip 40 euros per adult usually. We did have 1 crap host who was hungover every day and gave us dry burnt cake so we didn't bother with that one!

Thanks everyone!

So it's acceptable to rock up with my bottles of gin from duty free? I'm pretty fussy with my wine!

...and am now wondering whether I'll get away with packing a few bottles of my favourite and significantly cheaper NZ Sauv B in the case.....

Definitely acceptable to bring your own wine/gin, just ask the chalet host if that can be served at dinner etc. Some companies will accommodate if you want to order in specific wine or drinks as well, worth an ask!

The company I worked for was a small, mid range outfit but they would order in specifics for guests if they were requested no problem.

You are taking NZ Sauvignon blanc to France?!
At half term your wine will probably stay cold somewhere outside, out of the sun.

I know I know.
It's the only wine that doesn't give me a blinding beach ache! Not sure why!

Beach ache in the mountains must be the worst

Aaaahhhh why do I insist on typing without my glasses on 🤣