Hello Everyone !

This will be my 10th season running Chalet Chataigne and, as always (even with the strong Euro), I look to provide you all with a great value holiday, packed with fun and laughter.

This year I am really pleased to be joined by Henri and Graham. They have been running a luxury chalet in Chatel for the last two seasons and this year they are joining me at Skialot to run Chalet Chataigne (see opposite).

I have also got a Playstation 3 and a Wii for you, so you only need to bring your discs with you, the PS2 and XBOX are still setup in the den.

The Jacuzzi is available at the chalet this season, so don’t forget your swimming trunks ! As always, a trip to Lavey-Les-Bains Spa will also be available, if enough people are interested to go.

I have had quite a few emails and phone calls from people concerned about the snow conditions. So below I’ve listed a few facts which will hopefully help. At the end of the day, Mother Nature will decide. All I can guarantee is you will be in the best hands, whatever the conditions, for making the most of your holiday.

Look forward to seeing you all soon.

Stuey

Graham and Henri

Graham and Henri have been in Chatel for the previous two seasons they both know the resort very well, from where to ski and snowboard, to the best bars and restaurants around town.

They are both keen snowboarders (but can also ski too) and have spent last summer travelling around the Alps mountain biking, camping in their trusty camper van.

Henri has worked as a Holiday Rep for TUI for both winter and summer seasons and holds her CIEH Level 2 Award for Food Safety in Catering (2008-2011). Graham, who is an appointed first aider at work, was also vice chair (2006) of the UK Gravity Sports Association and has been involved in the organisation of races as part of the White Air Extreme Sports Festival.

When not working winter seasons or travelling around the Alps, both work as contactors in the audio-visual industry. Graham as a Project Co-ordinator for one of the UK’s largest audio-visual Companies (Graham has an HND in Video Production & Communication), and Henri as a freelance sound engineer (Henri has a degree from the London Central School of Speech and Drama in Stage Management & Technical Arts).

ˇ In 10 years we have always had plenty of snow by Xmas
ˇ It can & does dump 1m overnight in the village
ˇ We only need a couple of meters up the mountain to last many weeks
ˇ Chatel alone now has 173 snow cannons !
ˇ Most Chatel slopes are north facing so the snow stays much longer without direct sunshine

This Seasons Menu

A big part of your holiday is the food and drink and this year is no exception.

Henri and Graham have come up with a smashing planned menu to get your taste buds rocking ! (see below) This is a planned menu and is subject to change, but gives you an idea of what’s in store !

As always we will be using our local baker to provide French ‘pain’ and Malted Cereal loafs every day and of course our local butcher ‘Monsieur Touchet’ to provide you with only the best in local meats.

Fruit and vegetables are delivered every weekday from the wholesaler in Thonon ensuring only the freshest ingredients are used and our eggs come from a local farm.

As always we will be baking fresh ‘croissant’ and ‘pain au chocolate’ every morning in the chalet.

Please remember to let me know if there are any special food requirements in your group before you arrive so we can have plenty of time to make any necessary adjustments.

Also let me know in advance if you have any birthdays or anniversaries to celebrate whilst you are staying with us… We only need an excuse…

Wednesday night will be Graham & Henri’s night off, to enable you to sample the delights of Chatel’s restaurants. If you are in a large group and want to eat together we will need to book a table as soon as possible when you arrive.

Breakfast

• Freshly baked local french bread or English style toast, with a selection of jams, marmalade, marmite, peanut butter and nutella !
• Fresh chalet baked croissants and pain-au-chocolate !
• Selection of cereals including Cornflakes, Weetabix, Muslei and Special K.
• Apple & orange juice.
• Selection of yoghurts.
• Fresh coffee and a selection of teas including English Breakfast, Earl Grey and a selection of herbal teas.
• A selection of fresh fruit.
• Freshly cooked breakfast of the day

Tea, coffee and a selection of other drinks are available all day

Afternoon tea and cakes

Every afternoon, cakes or biscuits are provided to keep the hunger at bay before dinner.

Early supper for the children

An earlier children’s supper can be provided so they can play in the den while the adults get a little time to relax over dinner.

Canapés and an apéritif in the bar

The main adult meal kicks off with a selection of canapes and nibbles in the bar together with the evening aperitif !

Dinner for the adults

As the alpine cow bell rings, we move up to the dining room for starters, mains and desserts.  Cooked from fresh local produce and dished up so you won’t go hungry.

This Seasons Wine & Beer

As usual we have our usual selection of bottled red, white and rose wine with your dinner, and for those of you who prefer beer, then bottled Kronenburg or our local micro-brewery bitter ‘Frasses’ will be available on-tap from the bar.

We are still the only chalet to give you ‘FRASSE ON TAP’, and guarantee a trip on your stay to the micro-brewery to sample the real local bitter, larger, wheat beer and stout !

This season we have a number of specially selected wines from Paul Boyer.

These special wines will be available on selected evenings during the week. This year I asked him to give a few words about the wines selected, here they are:
 
I was born a few kilometres from Chateauneuf du Pape with a hungry nose and thirsty palate. Still at school but eager to experience and learn everything to do with wine, I volunteered my services to local domain owners. This was the best training I could possibly have received.
 
I formed Viniguide in order to provide excellent quality wines at affordable prices. For the chalet, I blend the best wines possible, Stuey tastes them and makes his choice. Simple as that !
 
Paul Boyer
 
All of the above ‘special’ wines are available on selected nights…. but extra bottles are available at a special price.

Paul also said he is happy to visit the chalet during the week to talk about the wines and answer any questions you may have, if you are interested, let me know.

This season we are proud to also offer our local ‘MARIN’ white wine again produced by Stephane PARIOT (his wife supplies the chalet eggs). Marin is a small village just above Evian where the vines look over Lake Geneva and produce the special characteristic of the white and Gamay Red wines of the region. Stephane has the closest vines to the chalet !

This seasons wines from Paul: (subject to availability)

Champagne – first night aperitif…
Champagne Prevoteau Brut Non Vintage
A blend of 40% Pinot Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. The vinification is traditional and the most natural possible (no acid citric, and the minimum possible of sulphites).
A fresh and elegant champagne with citrus fruits, fresh bread and white flowers aromas.
Stueys recommendation: yum, yum… This champagne is produced by hand, no gas lost and no frozen ice corks, so the bubbly is…. Unbelievably bubbly…
 
White wine
Vin de Pays de Mont Baudile Blanc Cuvee Felix 2008
A blend of Grenache blanc and Marsanne . Fruity and well balanced with citrus fruits, fennel and white flowers notes.
Stueys recommendation: fresh and wonderfully drinkableable…
 
Red wine
Vin de pays d’Oc La Calade 2008
A mix of Grenache and Syrah not extracted. Light bodied and very elegant red fruits, thyme and liquorice aromas.
Stueys recommendation: very smooth and light ..
 
Cotes du Rhone Terre de Mistral 2008
A blend of old Syrah and Grenache. No filtration and a traditional vinification. The result is a natural wine full of flavours, spicy and fruity.
Stueys recommendation: This is the once a day (or more) glass of red wine we need lads…
 
Domaine Paul Mas Grenache Noir 2007/8
Rich and smooth with aromas of chocolate, ripe black fruits and Mediterranean spices.
Stueys recommendation: Port and wine, forget it…. this wine will blow you away with a bit of English crackers and our local Abondance cheese !!