Chalet Host Cooking Course, 2 week

Our renowned Chalet Host Cooking Course is aimed at students wishing to complete a ski season as a chalet host/cook. We have been running this course since 2004 and have tailored it specifically to help those needing to gain the required skills to work in a Chalet or in other hosting jobs, covering all aspects including cooking, hosting skills, budgeting, shopping, menu planning and cleaning.

Our head chefs at The Avenue have completed their own ski seasons and are therefore very familiar with the demands of the job as well as the fabulous opportunities to be gained on the slopes. We have designed our Chalet Host Cooking Course to prepare you in the most professional, effective and exciting way to ensure that you have confidence in a chalet and therefore can complete your job to the best of your ability, while having fun doing it! Think of The Avenue Chalet Host Cooking Course Certificate as your passport to the mountains!

Each day of the course will begin with a demonstration of what you will be cooking in the morning, which will include your lunch amongst many other things. After lunch, you will have an afternoon demonstration followed by more hands-on cooking.
Each day’s layout is the same but will be filled with different recipes each day.
At the end of the course, provided you have reached the required Avenue standard, ‘The Avenue Chalet Host Cooking Course Certificate’ is awarded and we will help you to land your dream hosting job with our Ski Company affiliates.

You will also receive an Avenue Chalet Host Bible and the means to complete your Food Safety Level 2. Having been in the industry for years, we have excellent links with ski companies who provide us with the inside knowledge of what hosting skills are required.

Worried about missing jobs due to attending our course later in the summer/autumn? – Although we recommend to get in there early, if you book a later course don’t worry! There will be companies still accepting applications and having completed The Avenue Host Course your odds of employment will increase.

If you haven’t already, we highly recommend gaining some experience in the hospitality industry such as in a restaurant, bar or café before applying to jobs for the winter season as this will make you stand out amongst other candidates.

If you have already mastered the basics of cooking and just need to spruce up your already obtained skills, you can join straight into week 2 for our 1 week Intermediate Cookery Course for Hosts (see here). If you aren’t sure if you have enough experience get in touch and we can figure out which course is best for you.
If you want to take the full 2-week course but you can’t do 2 consecutive weeks, we can take split bookings for different weeks, again just get in touch.

To see more details about the course including the menu plan please click here.

N.B. Due to Brexit regulations are changing within ski companies. Some companies require an EU passport or French Carte de Séjour however, there are ski companies out there that you can apply to where they assist you with the visa process. This can take a few weeks to a month so bear this in mind. Although they will process the visa for you, you will need to be motivated and organised to get all the paperwork through and once in France there are several appointments and medicals to attend.
As we are a course provider and not a Chalet Host employer, sadly we can’t guarantee a Chalet Host position. We help as much as we can but don’t forget, securing a job is down to you and the work you put in! You will need to work hard and be proactive, but we will of course try our utmost to help you find that job!

What We Offer

• A fun, sociable, flexible and informative 10-day course
• Intensive daily cooking programme
• All equipment and food provided
• Interesting demonstrations
• Fun, warm and professional teaching
• Useful tips and tricks of the trade
• Tips on organisation and prepping your dishes ahead of time
• Hands-on cooking
• Mind-blowingly delicious recipes
• Delicious lunch every day
• Well-structured course
• Tips for hosting, cooking and cleaning
• Wine tasting and origins of alcohol talk
• Ingredients, aprons and equipment provided
• The Avenue Cookbook
• The Avenue apron
• The Avenue Host Bible
• Food Safety Level 2 Certificate
• The Avenue Chalet Host Cooking Course certificate
• Help in landing a job in the Alps
• CV check
• Your CV sent out to our 20+ ski company affiliates
• Accommodation as an extra for those that need (see details here)
• Deposit option – if booking more than 1 month in advance get in touch for more details

Skills Acquired

• Advanced knife skills
• Variations of baking
• Boning meat and handling fish
• Preparing and cooking a variety of vegetables
• Learning to cook international foods and different techniques
• Canapé making
• Rectifying dishes
• Catering for dietary requirements
• Variety of intermediate cooking skills and techniques
• Food presentation
• Knowledge of new intermediate recipes
• Avoiding waste and cooking with leftovers
• Time management
• Having fun while cooking!
• Anything extra that anyone wants to know, the list grows!

Course Timings

Monday – Thursday 9am – 5pm (lunch included)
Friday 9am – 4pm (breakfast and lunch included)
N.B. One agreed evening on the 2nd week will cover hosting skills

Catered for Allergies: Vegetarian, LF and GF dietary requirements can be catered for on request, but time restraints mean meal alternatives will not be covered in the demonstrations

Accommodation: For students who are looking for accommodation please see here.

Insurance – Consider adding our Avenue Cancellation Cover, to read more please click here.

‘Avenue Amigos’ – Get a ‘stamp’ for each class you book, each review you leave and for each friend you recommend. 10 stamps = a free class!

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