Chalet Hosts / Chef Couples or Friends

Corvara, Italian Dolomites
December
April
Competitive weekly wage + full season Superski Dolomiti Ski pass + ski and boot hire + all meals (except on your day off) + accommodation + travel to and from resort + medical insurance + ten-day period of orientation and training at start of season

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Description

Our Chalet Host/Chef Couples play a key role within our chalet teams and are absolutely pivotal to the success of our holidays. The combination of warm, engaging personalities and an eye for detail is essential. The Chalet Host/Chef positions are open to couples and pairs of friends. Our Chalets are based in the ski resort of Corvara, at the heart of the Dolomiti Superski area and on the famous Sella Ronda circuit itself.

Chalet Verena sleeps between 22 and 28 guests, and would entail cooking for up to 35 people, including staff.

Chalet Angelo sleeps between 26 and 30 guests, and entails cooking for up to 40 people, including staff.

The job involves the following and much more: welcoming guests and settling them in, ensuring the well-being and comfort of guests at all times, making packed lunches, breakfast and a three course evening meal six days a week, bedroom and bathroom cleaning, changeovers and other general duties pertaining to the domestic management of the chalet (food ordering, simple chalet accounts, laundry etc.).

Each chalet is run by a team of six or seven people. This is made up of the Chalet Host/Chef Couple and four or five Ski Host/Walk Organisers who accompany our guests on Organised Snowshoe Walks and Ski Days. They are also your fellow Hosts in the chalet, with as much responsibility to the day to day domestic chores and hospitality as you. On a day to day basis they take it in turns to help with the domestic management of the place: cleaning, washing up, dinner service etc., but not the cooking. One of these Ski Host/Walk Organisers is also the Chalet Manager.

As a team the emphasis is on creating a home from home atmosphere, and looking after your guests like they were staying in your home.
Throughout the week we would expect you to take an interest in your guests, ensuring their well-being and comfort throughout their stay and being interested in them and the progress of their holiday. The hospitality we offer in the chalets is at the core of what we offer as a company. On the whole our clients really are delightful, but very occasionally an ‘awkward rotten apple’ comes along and we expect diplomacy and good manners at all times. It’s part of the job and other guests (understanding your predicament) will admire you for it.

Requirements

Chef / Cook training, qualifications or experience desirable but not essential.
If no qualifications then good experience of cooking for numbers in a similar setting.
It is however essential that you have a passion for and understanding of food, cooking and sharing this with other people.
We pride ourselves on serving excellent quality, home cooked food, well presented and balanced throughout the week, abundant enough to satisfy the hungry walker and interesting enough to impress the food enthusiast.
We also cater for special dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, gluten free etc.), so flexibility and an ability to adapt your dishes is essential.
A natural willingness to do an early supper for children is important.
The job requires good organisational skills and forward planning, as well as an ability to think on your feet and adapt your menus at the last minute.

About us

Work a season with Collett's in the beautiful Italian Dolomites.

Working in one of the world's most spectacular alpine environments might turn out to be one of the most cherished experiences of your life, but only if you fully understand Work a season with Collett's in the beautiful Italian Dolomites.

Working in one of the world's most spectacular alpine environments might turn out to be one of the most cherished experiences of your life, but only if you fully understand what we expect of you on a day to day basis.

WHAT WE DO

Collett's is a small, independent holiday specialist, offering half-board, bed & breakfast and self-catering accommodation in three neighbouring villages, each one stunningly set in the spectacular Dolomites of North Italy. People come here to walk at high and medium level altitude, or go even higher on the celebrated Via Ferratas (high level scrambling routes on wires, ladders and bridges). Others come to paint or admire the flora… or just relax in alpine splendour.

WHAT ARE OUR GUESTS LIKE?

On the whole our guests are easygoing and united by a passion of the mountains. In the main, they are British, from all walks of life and across a wide age range. They come mainly as couples, but also as groups of friends or families (sometimes with children), walking clubs or individuals. In recent years, we have built up a much valued 'Repeat & Recommended' clientele, which represents more than 50% of the 3000 visitors we welcome to the area each season.

WHO AND WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

Each year we recruit people to join our resort teams on a seasonal basis. Ideally, you will be available from mid-November to the end of April or early May. You must have a love of the outdoors, a genuine interest in (and enthusiasm for) new areas and the ability to contribute positively to a team environment. You must also enjoy people. A polite, sociable and obliging character is essential. Collett's is justly proud of the outstanding quality of its past resort teams and we owe much of our success to their hard work, attention to detail and, most of all, their friendly and engaging characters. If you are the type of person who naturally enjoys the company of other people and enjoys looking after people, whether as a cook or walking companion, then read on.

The following qualities are absolutely essential:

Polite, responsible and helpful nature. Engaging and generous personality.
Passion for a mountainous alpine environment.
Keen interest in walking in the mountains.
Respect for and interest in people, places and local culture.
Positive energy, hard work and a willingness to get stuck into a range of day to day domestic and menial resort chores.
Team skills /compatibility - a tolerant, flexible and supportive attitude.
The willingness to do jobs over and above a timetabled schedule.
Focus on and interest in the well-being and safety of others.

To get the most out of this experience, we cannot over exaggerate the importance of having a keen interest in the alpine environment and mountain activities, especially walking or climbing. There is very little to do in the villages in which we are based unless you are an outdoor enthusiast. If you are looking for a lively nightlife, forget it! We tend to socialise in the chalets or in a local bar with our guests or other members of the staff team.

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

As with most seasonal work within a holiday company, renumeration has a reciprocal nature. The pay represents a typical resort wage, and we endeavour to ensure all members of our resort team get as much from their time in the Dolomites as we get from their hard work. To this extent, we guarantee that, whilst some days are characterised by domestic and/or menial chores, such as kitchen assistance or room cleaning, others will be spent in the great outdoors and will be memorable for their enjoyment and exhilaration.

Most, if not all, members of our previous resort teams have cherished their time in the Dolomites. This, we believe, is due as much to the friendly working relationships, which develop within the team each year, as it is to the beauty of the area and the potential for walking and outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy it.

As for the package, on top of a weekly resort wage (between €120 and €160 a week), we provide your food, insurance, accommodation (room sharing with one other person is normal), as well as your travel expenses to and from UK. All members of our resort team are sub-contracted and get one day off per week.

TRAINING

We dedicate the first two weeks of the season to 'Staff Training & Awareness' and 'Local Orientation.'

All of our staff, especially our Walk and Via Ferrata Organisers, must offer accurate and suitable advice to our clients at all times and so, once in resort, everyone is required to nurture a good level of local information and to take an interest in the local geography.

Much of this 'Training & Awareness' period therefore includes an extensive familiarisation programme of the local area with a series of walks, talks and drives. It is essential that, within as short a period as possible, you can talk about the area with knowledge and authority.

Of equal importance are the procedures and techniques that apply to the safety, efficiency and success of both Outdoor Days and Domestic Days.

The following areas are covered - (With areas such as First Aid, Food Hygiene and Driving etc.. we cannot provide certified training as such, but we do raise your awareness of the relevant safety issues as much as we can).

'Organised Walks' - procedures and safety.
Hosting, Hospitality and Guest Wellbeing.
Local Knowledge, the Walks & Neighbouring Valleys.
Office Hour.
Cleaning, Changeovers & Chalet Kitchen Assistance.
First Aid.
Food Hygiene.
Driving in the Mountains.
Airport Transfers.
Packed Lunches.

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