the calm after the storm

The end of the french school holidays is here accompanied by a huge sigh of relief from everyone working at the chalet.  It’s been a tough four weeks all in all.

Busier with guests than ever before, an additional lunchtime challenge of feeding between twenty five and forty kids who arrive at 12:00 midday with their ski school instructors for a meal before our normal lunchtime restaurant service.  One, then two missing from the team rather than an extra one that we had hoped for at the beginning of the season, so four doing the work of six/seven, then on the second week some guests brought a flu virus with them that they promptly shared with everyone.  Mark the chef was laid up for 24 hours the same time as I couldn’t get out of bed for the day, I have no idea how the others managed but they did. Both Clare and Jessie were rough with colds that have gone on for ages.  I  was knocked for six and have very little recollection of the following ten days or so and a good two weeks later am starting to feel on form again, perhaps it was a good thing to have done the most challenging part of the season without much of a memory, but I think that I’d rather have been there.  

Still, guests have arrived and departed without major hitch, everyone has been fed and accommodated and enjoyed their holidays seemingly as much as usual.  Plenty of folk staying elsewhere have returned time and time again for lunches and occasionally evening meals and our Sticky Toffee Pudding is becoming famous throughout the resort.  Clare should publish a chalet cook book, it would make a small fortune, as everyone wants the Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe.  It’s a secret!

Now we have two nights with absolutely no guests. Peace and quiet, no one to look after and only a smallish pile of washing and ironing to get through.  Maybe even that will be forgotten for a couple of days.  There is enough food and drink in stock to keep us going and nothing pressing to do.  It’s not often that I relish the thought of being lazy but for the moment, I can’t wait to do nothing.  Sleep perhaps or maybe a good book, I might go out and ski for a bit if the weather is nice, but even the thought of exercise is tiring today.

A couple of days reprieve will be enough to charge the batteries.   With the knowledge that there will be fewer guests from now on and no more huge lunchtimes it’s time to enjoy the slopes again.  It’ll be good to get outside in the sunshine and fresh air again, which is the main reason that I am here.