The Chalet Host's Bible
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The Chalet Host’s Bible By Anne and Jeff Pratt Coco Cookery www.CocoCookery.co.uk Get Cooking Get Skiing Get a Life What is ‘The Chalet Host’s Bible’? If you’re dreaming of doing a season as a ski chalet host then this book is for you! It’s the definitive indispensable guide to all you need to know about chalet hosting. It assumes you can already cook beans on toast and know a saucepan when you see one, but everything else is explained. It’s crammed full of tested recipes, of course, but that’s just the start. It covers breakfast, afternoon tea, dinner, wine, cheese, kids’ food, vegetarians, special diets, Xmas, presentation – everything. There’s a pile of advice and tips-of-the-trade about managing the chalet including cleaning, budgeting, shopping, storage, log fires, saunas etc. It even covers guest relations – dealing with ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’! Minimum effort, maximum impact – maximum skiing. Written in an easy chatty style by chalet hosts with over 10 years of experience, and we’ve run a cookery school so we know a thing or two about cooking, and about teaching. The only thing better than this Bible is actually being there... working as a chalet host. ‘The Chalet Host’s Bible’ together with our other publication, ‘How To Get A Ski Job’, will help make your dream come true. You can find photos & videos of many of the recipes in this book at www.cococookery.co.uk/foodpics Students’ comments on Coco Cookery ... I didn't realise how easy it is to follow a recipe - IF YOU READ IT !!... Georgie, got a job with GoSkiMeribel. ... delivers everything as stated on the tin! Rob, now has to convince his wife to do a season! ... wicked food... keeps it all simple... Cara, ready for those job interviews. ... feel ready to run my own chalet... Georgia, secured job with SkiVal in St Anton. ... now feel VERY confident as a chalet host... Amelia & Joss, it's difficult for an 18 year old couple to get a job together but they impressed SkiBeat. ... the Bible is brilliant... Lewis, secured job with SkiBeat. ... gold mines of all things ski hosting. Jonathan & Amy, secured job with SkiVal. Contents Introduction Hygiene & Safety Menus Menu planning Menu timing Terminology & Techniques Basic Cooking at altitude Knives & chopping Pots, pans & dishes The oven Cook thoroughly Frying & sweating Oils, butter & grease Measuring Scaling Seasoning, herbs & spices Rice Pasta Thickening sauces Roux sauce Chocolate Eggs Cream Onions Cheese Flour Pastry Preparing to cook While you’re cooking After cooking Recipes Breakfasts Porridge Croissants Scrambled Eggs Boiled Eggs Fried Eggs Poached Eggs Ouefs En Pain French Toast Bacon & Sausages Tomatoes, Beans & Mushrooms Apple Rings Pancakes (Crepes) American Pancakes Cakes Yoghurt Cakes Simple sponge cake Lemon drizzle cake Chocolate cake Coffee and walnut smiley cake Date and walnut loaf Marmalade cake Apple and cinnamon cake Coconut ski cake Carrot and ginger cake Country Fruit Loaf (All Bran Cake) Fruit & Nut Bars Banana Chocolate Brownies Chocolate Krispie Cakes Flapjacks Coconut Macaroons Flourless Chocolate Brownies Ginger Snaps Banana Bread Moist Carrot and Ginger Cake Diabetic Fruit Cake Shortbread Aperitifs Kir Royale Canaletto (Raspberry fizz) Champagne Cocktail Buck’s Fizz Mock Bellini Calimocho Vin Chaud Mulled White Wine Canapes Cucumber Cups With Smoked Salmon Tartare Smoked Salmon Blinis Honey & Mustard Glazed Sausages Cream Cheese And Pepper Wraps Cheese And Olive Scones Spicy Smashed Chickpeas Blue Cheese And Walnut Crostini Goats Cheese Crostinis Pissaladiere Marinated Olives Pesto Whirls Cheese Straws Devils And Angels Stuffed Mushrooms Cheese Discs Frogs’ Legs Snails In Garlic Butter Tomato Bruschettas Sauces & Dressings Sweet Chilli Sauce Mustard Mayonnaise Dressing Marie Rose Sauce Balsamic Jus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Balsamic Vinegar Dressing Starters Salad Savoyarde Chickpea And Ginger Salad Roasted Tomato, Mozzarella and Pesto Salad Rocket, Pear And Parmesan Salad Prawn Cocktail Salmon Mousse Margherita Salad Apple & Reblochon (or Brie) Bruschetta Caramelised Red Onion Tarts Crispy Duck Salad With Spicy Plum Sauce Cheese Risotto (and Mushroom Risotto) Baked Camembert With Crusty Bread Thai Fishcakes With Sweet Chilli Sauce Penne Alle Salmone Cheese Fondue Seafood Gratins Fish Finger Gratins Artichoke Heart & Parmesan Gratins Soupe du Jour Soupe du Savoyarde French Onion Soup Leek and Potato Soup Quick Tomato Soup Red Lentil Soup Carrot And Coriander Soup Tuscan Bean Soup Main Courses Chicken Recipes Chicken Basque Chicken in Cheese and Cider Sauce Coq Au Vin Slow-roasted Chicken Hunter’s Chicken (Chicken Chasseur) Chicken Montagnarde Thai Curry (Red or Green) Chicken Provencal Moroccan Chicken Turkey recipes Turkey Stroganoff Turkey and Mushroom Pie Creamy Lemon Turkey Fricassée Pork Recipes Pork Stuffed With Apricots (or Prunes), Cooked In Cider Normandy Pork Chops Roast Pork Lamb Recipes Roast Lamb Lamb & Apricot Tagine Lamb Shanks Beef Recipes Lasagne (With Coleslaw & Garlic Bread) Boeuf Bourguignonne Duck Recipes Confit De Canard Salmon Recipes Salmon With Pesto And Parmesan Salmon En Croute Oven Baked Salmon With Chilli And Ginger Savoyarde Specialities Savoyarde Chicken Tartiflette Vegetables Olive Oil & Sea Salt Baked Potatoes (Hasselback) Gratin Dauphinois Potatoes Boulangere Mustard Mash Lyonnaise Potatoes Roasted Sweet Potato Chips Sweet Potato Rostis Couscous With Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables Vegetable Pilau Rice Orange Braised Red Cabbage Savoury Spring Cabbage Wilted Spinach ‘Vichy’ Carrots Oven Roasted Root Vegetables Pan Fried Leeks Desserts Lemon Posset Banana Bakewell Black Forest Pavlova Caramelised Apples Tarte Tatin Citrus Apple Flan with Syllabub Baked Bananas Jaffa Pudding White Chocolate Cheesecake With Raspberry Coulis Lemon & Lime Cheesecake Lemon Tart Apricot Crumble Banana Brioche and Butter Pudding Sticky Toffee Pudding with Orange Toffee Sauce Mango (or Apricot) Fool Forest Fruit Crisp Tiramisu Galets aux Fruits Confit Chocolate Mousse Petit Pots Au Chocolat Quick Chocolate Sauce Butterscotch Sauce Special dietary requirements Chick Pea Tagine Mushroom Ragout Stuffed Pepper Melanzane Roasted Peppers With Beans And Goats’ Cheese Lentil Roast Surprise De Legumes Chilli Beans Cream Cheese & Roasted Red Pepper Parcels Asparagus and Red Pepper Filo Parcels Chick Pea Patties With Raita Hazelnut Roast Vegetable Tart Tatin Kids Fish Pie Chicken Goujons Potato Wedges Nikki’s Mash Mountains Beef Burgers Sweet And Sour Chicken Spaghetti Carbonara Cottage Pie Spaghetti Bolognaise Macaroni Cheese Pork Schnitzel Pasta With Pesto And Parmesan Spaghetti With Marmite Spaghetti With Spicy Sardines Pizza Kids Desserts Cheeseboard Wine Christmas cooking made easy Food presentation Garnishing Table laying Afternoon tea Napkin folding Money Matters Cleaning Guests Miscellaneous Leftovers Coping with disasters Log Fires Honesty Bars Saunas and Jacuzzis And finally… making the most of it Check lists Things to take with you Driving to resort Leaving your house empty French Translations INTRODUCTION Would you like to spend five months in the mountains? How about skiing or snowboarding almost every day? Swapping the miserable British winter for sun and snow? Then why not be a chalet host for a season? You don’t need to be a cordon bleu cook, or have any previous ski-related experience to be a chalet host; nor do you have to be on a graduate gap year! All sorts of people become chalet hosts. The key skills required are enthusiasm, organisation and an empathy with (or at least, a tolerance of!) your guests. A winter season is an unforgettable experience. Yes, of course it is hard work, but the payback is great. You will gain valuable organisational and culinary skills while having the time of your life. It will count as a plus on your CV for almost any future job. We are about to return for yet another season as (mature) chalet hosts in the French Alps, having done our long stint in the rat race while raising a family. We owe it all to our daughter, Ruth, who firstly introduced us to the joys of skiing, and then sowed the seeds of a hankering for a mid-life gap year! One year was simply not enough; we are hooked and over 10 years later, it has become a great lifestyle. We don’t want to upset those who have crossed to the dark side (i.e. boarders), but we are skiers and so for the rest of this book, please take ‘ski’ to mean ‘ski or board’. We believe that this book will tell you all you need to know about doing a successful winter season; it contains lots of easy tried and tested recipes, plus tips on running the chalet and making the most of your time. It was originally written to accompany our chalet cookery course and serve as a reference book for our students, and we have now augmented it and made it available to those hankering for a chalet host job but who may not need a chalet cooking course. WARNING: ONE SEASON MAY NOT BE ENOUGH How this book is arranged We assume that you know a little about what a chalet host is, and a little about the ski scene in general, otherwise why would you be reading this book? So we don’t go into lots of detail about things you probably already know. We concentrate on the ski chalet culture in France because that’s where the vast majority of chalets are found, and where we have amassed our experience. This book is not designed to be read end-to-end; dip into it as you need, whether it’s for an exciting recipe, or how to clean the toilet. The first part of the book covers basic cooking stuff: hygiene, menus, terms, techniques and ingredients. Some of this you may know already but it’s worth repeating and we emphasise where this may differ from your normal home cooking. We assume you will have read this section before using any of our recipes.