Self-catering - what does it cost in food...

[DaisyFitz]

Okay this is a bit general and I know everyone's different but just wondering what it might cost for Breakfast, Evening Dinner etc. We're looking at Mongenevre, France. According to review sites, we'd be looking at 9Eu for bottle of wine, 35Eu for 3 course meal (we;d only have one course though). But not sure about breakfast etc.

Hi Daisy - I'll watch this with interest as we're going to s/c in Italy soon.

Are you staying in s/c accommodation? In which case, will you really need to eat out for breakfast? You could venture out early for bread/croissants/pain au chocolat and eat in instead.

And if you're watching the pennies, you could always take a baguettes with you for lunch - lots of resorts have picnic rooms (marked on the piste map).

France has a reputation of being expensive, with the exchange rate making it worst.

If you are going to eat out, you'll find better value if you do that at lunchtime, although resort supermarkets tend to be very pricey. The tourist menus (2/3 courses) are usually fairly good value - I haven't been to France for a while so not sure what they may be now.

If you're driving down (which you're probably not), then of course you could either take some M&S-type ready meals with you or stop off in a French hypermarket to stock up.

If you're flying, some pasta and those pasta sauces in soft packets would make some meals.

(I'm assuming you're concerned about the cost, so sorry if this is all really patronising!)

Daisy - how many people are you needing to feed?

It is a very difficult question to answer tbh. There can be a fair amount of variety depending on how high profile or low key the resort is.

I haven't been to that particular resort but we were in a relatively cheap resort over Christmas and were paying approx 35 - 40 euros for lunch (2 adults, 2 DCs) at a piste based restaurant. However, we also had lunch in the village itself one day and that cost us 80 euros (2 courses each, wine, juice and coffee). Dinner - with full on cote de boeuf type meals - was more like 80 - 100 euros for 3 courses including wine, coffee & water/juices. Again, this was in a village restaurant that was packed out with other skiing families, so not some chic establishment! (altho food was excellent, I hasten to add!)

If you are s/c (which we will be next year, probably), I would buy breakfast in. Go to the local supermarket and buy cereal, bread & croissants. They will be lovely too and much cheaper than having breakfast out.

Also, if you have a cooked lunch, you probably won't want a cooked dinner or vice versa. I would also be happy to take it in turns with DH to prep dinner at the chalet. Will be much cheaper and probably more relaxing when you have knackered DCs

First of all are you driving out (which means you can stock up with some things here/other things at hypermarket at last big town before you get there)? Resort centre shops tend to be expensive - those a little further away are priced more reasonably.

If you're driving and have room - we usually drive out at Easter and although we take all our own skis and boots we have a roofbox which swallows all that and more - then take basics with you - rice, pasta, jar of bolognaise sauce, coffe, juice, etc and limit what you'll actually have to buy fresh locally. Last year we also took things like canned curry and long life naan bread, and even some long-life part cooked rolls for the first day or so until we's sussed out where local boulangeries etc are. If you've got or can get an electric coolbox that's helpful too as you can take things which need to be kept cold - we took a ready made Lasagne with us for the first night last time.

As above I'd suggest you out at lunchtime and cater for yourselves in the evening most of the time. You can always compromise too - most ski resorts will have a pizza takeaway place that you can use for a stay in but no cooking night.

Although it's France you'll probably find Montgenevre not as expensive as some as it's not the most fashionable resorts - and in any case you can ski from there into Italy for lunch at Italian prices, which will probably have an effect. I've not been there for a few years though, so don't know currnet prices.

Thank you all so much for your advice! It's really appreciated. We're still waying up, where to go, etc and have previosuly said no to SC. We're bravely/stupidly leaving our DD (who'll be 20m at holiday time) here with GPs - bit terrifying - so just DH and I to worry about. I'm trying to think of how it compares to a chalet holiday. This is what we were planning:

Flight to France (we live in Cumbria - drive too painful just to leave the UK!)

Breakfast in Apt - Baguette, coffee, bran flakes (latter brought from home). I have no idea how much milk adn bread are in france!

Lunch, if on a chalet holiday we would just have a soup or chalet-staff-side-line-baguette - or nothing as you get so well fed at chalets. Thinking similar for Apt holiday.

Dinner - so this would be our big expense. Eating out at least most nights. I'm on holiday so don't want to cook. But with exchange rate so pants, and me on P/T hours, we might have to at least 2x. We'll see.

Drinks - okay so this is our really big expense! Well mine anyway! lol. Total benefit of chalet to me is the free wine.

I think I have an idea now, though of what dinner might cost - helps a lot. Thank you!

Caroline

i take all my herbs and then it doesnt cost me a fortune to do a stew or curries.
We take lots of choc bars as mars bars are about £1.20 each. We also take hot choc,tea and coffee and canderel with us.

Some supermarkets let you order a cooked chicken in the morning and then you pick it up at the end of the day. Good cheap meal in so you can spend a bit more on the wine,
Hot chos and cappucino is 4-5 euros andhalf a lager is the same. Lunch on mountain for spag bol or similar 12-15 euros. bread slice 1 euro dessert 6 euros. Dinner could mount to anything depending on what you have...it is a bit of a rip off eating out. Make some stews,beef stroganoff,rice ,and pasta,buy some croissants for breakfast and put bacon and cheese on them.

Its nice eating in as you can have a soak inthe bath,put your pjs on and have a cosy meal and a few good glugs of wine

If eating out, I would always go for the pichet of wine. ie the petrol pump stuff. It will be drinkable and massively cheaper than a bottle - and probably as good as stuff at the cheaper end of the wine list. Also consider buying yourself a "bidon" - 5 litre box for drinking in the appartment. You can make very nice vin chauds for yourself on a hob / microwave - and it will cost pence, not the 5 euros or whatever you will pay in a restaurant.

There are big supermarkets in Briancon (15 mins?? in a car) but that might not be very helpful if you are carless. We stopped in Montgenevre briefly this summer and found it more expensive than our usual haunts further south (Risoul, Les Orres) but it does look wonderful and I am hopign to get a day's skiing there soon.

Thanks everyone - some fab tips! In the end we've found a cheap chalet deal in Monty with Zenith holidays. The Apts look much nicer, but someone to cook for me and give me wine is far too tempting!