Monday, 24 December 2012
Oh what a race.
Transfer day is like no other day in the seasonaire's week. The mere mention of the day is enough to bring even veteran hosts and reps out in cold sweats. The day is unpredictable, unplannable and capricious in its deliverance and yet the premise is simple; old guests leave, new guests arrive. Now factor in baggage, equipment, diverse travel itineraries, french drivers, mountain weather, french traffic and general all round sods law, it soon becomes as mysterious well something really mysterious.
The best way your host can describe it, is as a race. A race between the reps and the hosts, set over the distance of a marathon while run at the pace of a sprint. The hosts win if they can escort old guests out, clean the chalet and cook food before the new guests arrive. The reps win if they can surprise the hosts with their new guests before they're at all ready. A race your host nearly won but the mountain gods have seen fit to with hold snow, it rained yesterday, and present another batch of really nice guests, including grandmothers, so some things do work out for the better.
Week two is rhythm week, its the time to find the routine. That winning combination of time management and corner cutting that allows for the maximum slope time. Its about honing the hospital bed fold, its about finding a hoover that works and keeping it hidden from all others, it about breaking down the work into its tetris like building blocks and then rearranging them into the optimal pattern.
Bring on the turkey.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
First Guests
So we rejoin the action halfway through the first week of paying guests, those who bought discounted holidays chancing green pistes and greener hosts. So far so good, just about. We are finding our hosting feet gradually, fortunately no major cock ups as yet. And perhaps more miraculously no green pistes, the snowfall here has been relentless. But the seasonnaire gods must have been smiling for on the Wednesday us hosts rest. And on this Wednesday the sun came out and kissed the slopes, revealing the majesty of the Tarentaise Alps.
With such heavy snowfall the pisteurs have constantly battled the threat of avalanche, leaving many of the runs closed due to maintenance. The morning chorus of dynamite blasts and helicopter blades echo through the valleys as huge shelves of snow are cleared from the mountain side. So while one sector of french alpine staff works tirelessly (or so it seems) to ready the mountains for the hordes of brits. A second sector, the french handimen, slack off every day leaving your host with a number of issues unfixed.
Issues which the guests love to bring up, such as the lack of heating in the communal area and the poorly designed chimney that shoots ash and soot and smoke back into the chalet. What they fix with one hand they tend to break with the other thus maintaining a steady supply of issues, perhaps this is why they are called maintenance. Perhaps they are charged with some holy equilibrium of dilapidation that at all costs must be maintained.
It is a sobering thought that each guest will have paid around £1000 for the privilege of eating your food and sharing your company, and skiing in one the largest ski areas in the alps I guess. Standards are high and rules are set in stone. And yet we must be water, adaptable and pliant to the whims of management and guests. Your host will be vigilant for the erosion of the rules, but maybe this is where efficiency stems from, the erosion of those rules which are more akin to limestone than granite. Who knows, your host is no geographer.
With such heavy snowfall the pisteurs have constantly battled the threat of avalanche, leaving many of the runs closed due to maintenance. The morning chorus of dynamite blasts and helicopter blades echo through the valleys as huge shelves of snow are cleared from the mountain side. So while one sector of french alpine staff works tirelessly (or so it seems) to ready the mountains for the hordes of brits. A second sector, the french handimen, slack off every day leaving your host with a number of issues unfixed.
Issues which the guests love to bring up, such as the lack of heating in the communal area and the poorly designed chimney that shoots ash and soot and smoke back into the chalet. What they fix with one hand they tend to break with the other thus maintaining a steady supply of issues, perhaps this is why they are called maintenance. Perhaps they are charged with some holy equilibrium of dilapidation that at all costs must be maintained.
It is a sobering thought that each guest will have paid around £1000 for the privilege of eating your food and sharing your company, and skiing in one the largest ski areas in the alps I guess. Standards are high and rules are set in stone. And yet we must be water, adaptable and pliant to the whims of management and guests. Your host will be vigilant for the erosion of the rules, but maybe this is where efficiency stems from, the erosion of those rules which are more akin to limestone than granite. Who knows, your host is no geographer.
Friday, 7 December 2012
Waiting for Paradiski
Sometimes time moves fast, at other points it drags and sometimes stops altogether. You don't have to be patient to work here but it helps. From the embarkation point in the car park of the Madjeski Stadium we have become well practiced in the mysterious and tedious art of waiting. Waiting for the coach, waiting to board the coach, waiting for one driver to break his wrist, waiting to find out whether we wait for a replacement. And then there was the waiting for the Ferry, waiting to get off the ferry, waiting for the replacement driver at Charles De Gaulle. Not to mention the waiting at various stops, snow chains on, snow chains off, snow chains on again.
This is a big operation by any means, when you transport of hundreds of mostly green season staff in tens of coaches over hundreds of miles something is bound to go south somewhere. Yet at each point the wait and lack of knowledge becomes more grating and harder to bear. So far the staff have proved brilliant, relaying information when they receive it themselves. Yet the French Alps are a law unto themselves, and when it comes to it, so are the French coach drivers.
Your host's accommodation is a step above basic perhaps, 4 guys will eventually fill the apartment leaving very little room for movement or breathing. The apartment is in a block away from the chalets, which has its positives and negatives. On the up side, we can make noise, we can drink and do what we like within reason. On the downside, its a 10 minute trudge through a warren of buildings and corridors to reach the chalets where we will ply our trade. When you factor in the walk to and from, with skis and such it soon eats into any planned ski time during the day.
And so while your host has waited outside coaches, inside coaches, on ferries, in youth hostels and apartment foyers, there is still one thing which we are all waiting for. We wait for the opening of the chair lifts, for the powder and pristine pistes. Oh and the guests of course.
This is a big operation by any means, when you transport of hundreds of mostly green season staff in tens of coaches over hundreds of miles something is bound to go south somewhere. Yet at each point the wait and lack of knowledge becomes more grating and harder to bear. So far the staff have proved brilliant, relaying information when they receive it themselves. Yet the French Alps are a law unto themselves, and when it comes to it, so are the French coach drivers.
Your host's accommodation is a step above basic perhaps, 4 guys will eventually fill the apartment leaving very little room for movement or breathing. The apartment is in a block away from the chalets, which has its positives and negatives. On the up side, we can make noise, we can drink and do what we like within reason. On the downside, its a 10 minute trudge through a warren of buildings and corridors to reach the chalets where we will ply our trade. When you factor in the walk to and from, with skis and such it soon eats into any planned ski time during the day.
And so while your host has waited outside coaches, inside coaches, on ferries, in youth hostels and apartment foyers, there is still one thing which we are all waiting for. We wait for the opening of the chair lifts, for the powder and pristine pistes. Oh and the guests of course.
Monday, 3 December 2012
Remember the Mussels?
Today we bring you the soup which follows so well from the Moules Marinier the other week. This is a dead simple and tasty soup, be sure to have loads of crusty bread to soak up all the flavour. As with any leftover dish you can add whatever you have the flavours in this soup are fairly strong, if it tastes nice with spice or white wine you should be fine.
You will need. - Serves about 4, 5 at a push.
The cream and wine stock from the Mussels. I had about 1 litre
1 Fennel bulb
1 Leek
Paprika
Chilli Powder
Method.
1. Finely shred the Fennel and Leek. Sweat until soft in a large sauce pan.
2. Add the Paprika and Chilli Powder. Start with 1 teaspoon of each. You can always add, its more tricky to take out.
3. Once the spice has cooked into the greens, and before it all starts to burn, pour in the stock. Add in any cream and/or leftover wine.
4. Bring to the boil, make sure it is boiled through. Leave it a few minutes, might need stirring.
5. Add in some fresh parsley.
6. Serve with oven warmed bread.
You will need. - Serves about 4, 5 at a push.
The cream and wine stock from the Mussels. I had about 1 litre
1 Fennel bulb
1 Leek
Paprika
Chilli Powder
Method.
1. Finely shred the Fennel and Leek. Sweat until soft in a large sauce pan.
2. Add the Paprika and Chilli Powder. Start with 1 teaspoon of each. You can always add, its more tricky to take out.
3. Once the spice has cooked into the greens, and before it all starts to burn, pour in the stock. Add in any cream and/or leftover wine.
4. Bring to the boil, make sure it is boiled through. Leave it a few minutes, might need stirring.
5. Add in some fresh parsley.
6. Serve with oven warmed bread.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow...
Time is a funny thing. There, now that's out the way. Months of planning and organisation (and a couple of days where everything actually got done) are well behind your host now. Ready to board the bus to pistures new.
Like any good trip, your host has put in the minimum required planning and research. This not only cuts down on effort but it allows for the place to unfold by itself. Of course a bit of back story can transform an experience, too much though and it begins to prejudice the eyes of the beholder. At least that is how your host is justifying it.
So, fully equipped and awaiting the final embarkation, your host sits on the event horizon ready to tip forwards and fall feet first into the new. I wonder how big the coach will be?
Like any good trip, your host has put in the minimum required planning and research. This not only cuts down on effort but it allows for the place to unfold by itself. Of course a bit of back story can transform an experience, too much though and it begins to prejudice the eyes of the beholder. At least that is how your host is justifying it.
So, fully equipped and awaiting the final embarkation, your host sits on the event horizon ready to tip forwards and fall feet first into the new. I wonder how big the coach will be?
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
7 Day Countdown
Well here is where it starts to get real. As always too much to do, not enough time in which to do it and no idea what to do first. Ah that familiar feeling, as always it should all be all right in the end. A few things might help though.
They must have on file for each employee their date of departure, place of work etc etc. So why not make that accessible to the employee? Everything is second guessed to the point where it is only confirmed a couple of days before departures that yes every staff member should bring their own towel. Now the staff have been great but they are hindered by the fact that the online resource the "staff room" sucks absolutely. The one strike and you're locked out password policy is lunacy, the user experience is as far from intuitive as it is possible to get.
What kind of website is best viewed in Internet Explorer anyway?
- A personalised itinerary and travel schedule
- An online "staff room" that doesn't suck seven shades of ass
- No I think that is pretty much it.
They must have on file for each employee their date of departure, place of work etc etc. So why not make that accessible to the employee? Everything is second guessed to the point where it is only confirmed a couple of days before departures that yes every staff member should bring their own towel. Now the staff have been great but they are hindered by the fact that the online resource the "staff room" sucks absolutely. The one strike and you're locked out password policy is lunacy, the user experience is as far from intuitive as it is possible to get.
What kind of website is best viewed in Internet Explorer anyway?
Monday, 26 November 2012
Lets Cook Mussels
Until a couple of years ago I was not a big fan of anything that even resembled something which came from the sea. Battered fish? Great. King prawn heads? An alien from another world which should be picked up by Moulder or Sculley right about now.
It was on a holiday to Cornwall when I first encountered this dish, one of the great classics of all time, and it staggered me, the simple combination of white wine, cream, garlic, parsley and mussels; absolutely smashing.
Seafood can be intimidating to prepare, especially shellfish. Constant worries over the cleanliness, the saltiness, the 24-48 hour critical food poisoning period. In reality this dish could not be much simpler.
Moules Mariniere - Feeds 4(Mains) / 5(Starter)
3 kg fresh Mussels
1 Onion
1 clove garlic
1 handful chopped parsley
1/2 Bottle of white wine
500ml stock
100ml cream
Pepper
1. Prepare the mussels. A bit of foresight is needed, we left ours in cold fresh water for a couple of hours to draw out the salt, do this if you have time, if not sod it and move on. At this point discard any mussels which are cracked or already open. They are dead and possibly have been for a while. Scrape the shells either with the back of a knife or a metal scourer. Chip off any barnacles and pull off the hairy stuff protruding from the shells.
2. Make the sauce. Dice the onion and garlic, soften in a large stock pan with some oil. Give the pepper grinder a few twists for seasoning.
3. Add in all the wine. Simmer for a few minutes, let the alcohol evaporate.
4. Add the stock and stir in the cream. Bring to the boil. Taste the sauce, you are looking for the cream to balance the wine, and the onion and garlic should give it some depth of flavour. It shouldn't leave you with that filmy mouthfeel that cream on its own gives, but equally it shouldn't just taste like the £3 plonk you've used instead of the nice stuff. Don't be tempted to add salt, the mussels will provide all the salt this dish needs.
5. Once the sauce is boiling carefully pour in your cleaned mussels. Stir so that the mussels are nicely covered.
6. Lid on and leave to steam for a couple of minutes. Remove the lid and make sure the majority of the mussels are now open. If not, replace the lid and have a quick glass of wine. Mussels do not take very long to cook.
7. Throw in the parsley and serve immediately with some rustic crusty bread. Don't be afraid to really cover the mussels in the sauce.
We made this for four people as a starter, in the end it could have been a starter for 5 or a main for 4. Don't worry if you are left with a lot of sauce at the end. This makes a brilliant soup for the next day. It is a hands on dish, paper towel is advised and the empty shells make great spoons.
It was on a holiday to Cornwall when I first encountered this dish, one of the great classics of all time, and it staggered me, the simple combination of white wine, cream, garlic, parsley and mussels; absolutely smashing.
Seafood can be intimidating to prepare, especially shellfish. Constant worries over the cleanliness, the saltiness, the 24-48 hour critical food poisoning period. In reality this dish could not be much simpler.
Moules Mariniere - Feeds 4(Mains) / 5(Starter)
3 kg fresh Mussels
1 Onion
1 clove garlic
1 handful chopped parsley
1/2 Bottle of white wine
500ml stock
100ml cream
Pepper
1. Prepare the mussels. A bit of foresight is needed, we left ours in cold fresh water for a couple of hours to draw out the salt, do this if you have time, if not sod it and move on. At this point discard any mussels which are cracked or already open. They are dead and possibly have been for a while. Scrape the shells either with the back of a knife or a metal scourer. Chip off any barnacles and pull off the hairy stuff protruding from the shells.
2. Make the sauce. Dice the onion and garlic, soften in a large stock pan with some oil. Give the pepper grinder a few twists for seasoning.
3. Add in all the wine. Simmer for a few minutes, let the alcohol evaporate.
4. Add the stock and stir in the cream. Bring to the boil. Taste the sauce, you are looking for the cream to balance the wine, and the onion and garlic should give it some depth of flavour. It shouldn't leave you with that filmy mouthfeel that cream on its own gives, but equally it shouldn't just taste like the £3 plonk you've used instead of the nice stuff. Don't be tempted to add salt, the mussels will provide all the salt this dish needs.
5. Once the sauce is boiling carefully pour in your cleaned mussels. Stir so that the mussels are nicely covered.
6. Lid on and leave to steam for a couple of minutes. Remove the lid and make sure the majority of the mussels are now open. If not, replace the lid and have a quick glass of wine. Mussels do not take very long to cook.
7. Throw in the parsley and serve immediately with some rustic crusty bread. Don't be afraid to really cover the mussels in the sauce.
We made this for four people as a starter, in the end it could have been a starter for 5 or a main for 4. Don't worry if you are left with a lot of sauce at the end. This makes a brilliant soup for the next day. It is a hands on dish, paper towel is advised and the empty shells make great spoons.
Friday, 16 November 2012
If it is worth doing well...
Then it is worth procrastinating until the last possible moment. Your host's embarkation date is the 4th December, your host's to do list is still longer than Don Quixote and possibly a worse read (possibly).
Having said that a remarkable amount has been ticked off this list. Granted your host should probably write this list down somewhere, but had your host written this list down then some items would already be reassuringly struck through.
And yet the impending weight of the deadline hangs heavy over your host's head like the old friend that it is. This exercise merely highlights the recurring theme of "sorting ones life out" so when your host tells you he still doesn't know what else he needs to do, he is well aware of the exasperation. He has lived it for too many years already.
Also this Movember/not shave thing is getting long, might be time for a trim....
Having said that a remarkable amount has been ticked off this list. Granted your host should probably write this list down somewhere, but had your host written this list down then some items would already be reassuringly struck through.
And yet the impending weight of the deadline hangs heavy over your host's head like the old friend that it is. This exercise merely highlights the recurring theme of "sorting ones life out" so when your host tells you he still doesn't know what else he needs to do, he is well aware of the exasperation. He has lived it for too many years already.
Also this Movember/not shave thing is getting long, might be time for a trim....
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Todays meal. Leek, Potato and Kale soup.
Ingredients.
1 leek
1 large onion
1 stick celery
Potatoes
Kale
Some chorizo - important
Salt
Pepper
Chilli powder
Chicken stock
Garlic Puree
1. Finely dice the leek, onion and celery and sweat in a large stock pan. Add salt, pepper and chilli powder. Use oil or butter.
2. Peel and dice the potato, fry in another pan with the chorizo and garlic puree.
3. When potatoes are browned and the chorizo has imbued its flavours and colours add the potato and chorizo to the sweated vegetables
4. Stir in the chicken stock and leave to simmer until the potatoes are soft.
5. Roughly chop the kale, discard the stalks and stir in.
6. Simmer for another 5 mins.
7. Using a hand blender, liquidize the soup until smooth.
And one tasty soup.
Muddle and Faith
Outdoor gear shopping is confusing. There are all kinds of kit to cover and protect you from head to toe, for all different conditions and activities. I am by no means an enthusiastic shopper, retail tires me out and too often your host is easily swayed by even the most simple sales pitches. So when faced by an entire hobbies worth of kit to buy your host naturally put it off.
Enter the internet the most wonderful of things, a place where one can browse and research uninterrupted. Only there is no official start point, no shallow end. Instead you plunge into a world of goretex's and primalofts and thinsulates and softshells. Between brands there are no standards for direct comparison, each have their own proprietary insulations and breathable fabrics and whatnots.
These items are all bought on faith and recommendation, there is no real way to tell whether a £100 jacket will perform as well as a £300 or a £30. Since I'm not a big fan of high street shopping, this is how I must shop, trusting in product descriptions and customer reviews. So far so good, still waiting on the delivery of one item, albeit a fairly crucial one; the ski jacket. Gloves seem to me to be the most confusing all different size scales different padding and insulation and designs. What is a host to do?
Size guides that go beyond small medium and large are an absolute godsend, for online shopping these should be mandatory. The best include detailed measurements in centimeters for torso lengths, chest widths and so on. But moving on swiftly, after a couple of days spent very enjoyably in the Lake District, your host can say with confidence that soft shell jackets are very much worth the investment. Layered up in my own take on the 3 layer system, (thermal underlayer, mid insulating layer and top wind&rain layer). Your host wore a t shirt a soft-shell jacket and a soft-shell gilet, with a shell waterproof over the top. In days full of walking in wind rain and hail, these layers kept me dry, warm and free from sweat.
For all you try on in shops and buy online, the only way to really appreciate kit is to use it in the extreme conditions for which it is designed. Not so much of an issue perhaps for an odd day walking or a week's skiing, in this host's case this kit must withstand the rigors and tests of a full season.
If your host ever gets his head round the ins and outs of outdoor gear perhaps there will be less of a whine and more of a guide. But sometimes it is nice to have a good moan.
Enter the internet the most wonderful of things, a place where one can browse and research uninterrupted. Only there is no official start point, no shallow end. Instead you plunge into a world of goretex's and primalofts and thinsulates and softshells. Between brands there are no standards for direct comparison, each have their own proprietary insulations and breathable fabrics and whatnots.
These items are all bought on faith and recommendation, there is no real way to tell whether a £100 jacket will perform as well as a £300 or a £30. Since I'm not a big fan of high street shopping, this is how I must shop, trusting in product descriptions and customer reviews. So far so good, still waiting on the delivery of one item, albeit a fairly crucial one; the ski jacket. Gloves seem to me to be the most confusing all different size scales different padding and insulation and designs. What is a host to do?
Size guides that go beyond small medium and large are an absolute godsend, for online shopping these should be mandatory. The best include detailed measurements in centimeters for torso lengths, chest widths and so on. But moving on swiftly, after a couple of days spent very enjoyably in the Lake District, your host can say with confidence that soft shell jackets are very much worth the investment. Layered up in my own take on the 3 layer system, (thermal underlayer, mid insulating layer and top wind&rain layer). Your host wore a t shirt a soft-shell jacket and a soft-shell gilet, with a shell waterproof over the top. In days full of walking in wind rain and hail, these layers kept me dry, warm and free from sweat.
For all you try on in shops and buy online, the only way to really appreciate kit is to use it in the extreme conditions for which it is designed. Not so much of an issue perhaps for an odd day walking or a week's skiing, in this host's case this kit must withstand the rigors and tests of a full season.
If your host ever gets his head round the ins and outs of outdoor gear perhaps there will be less of a whine and more of a guide. But sometimes it is nice to have a good moan.
Monday, 8 October 2012
Here we go.
Welcome, this is the first post in what will be part travel diary and part work journal. The account from just one of the hundreds of seasonaires. The mad souls who for sixth months make snow sport holidays work, they clean your chalets, cook you food, pour your drinks, drive you to and from the airports.
But of course I write this as a rookie, not even out of training, hundreds of miles from the closest Alp. So welcome, settle down in a nice cosey chair, open a good bottle of red and let us see where this will take us.
But of course I write this as a rookie, not even out of training, hundreds of miles from the closest Alp. So welcome, settle down in a nice cosey chair, open a good bottle of red and let us see where this will take us.
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