Archive for June, 2009

Alice’s blog…

Monday, June 29th, 2009



Alice De Pree worked for us as Chalet Chef in Chalet du Guide. Having spent 6 seasons in the Alps Alice and her soon to be husband Marky (our F&P driver) were a huge asset to our team bringing such experience as well as a lot of laughter. We cannot wait for their wedding in September and we wish them all the luck in the world for their future as Mr and Mrs Thompson

We started our season, excited to be with a new company but perhaps a little tired and stale from 6 previous winter seasons. However from the beginning Fish & Pips were like a breath of fresh air, inspirational from day one. I really enjoyed our week of training (very rare) and it was great to see everyone cemented into a really strong team.

We enjoyed fantastic dinners with plenty of wine flowing, team games with Matthew, eyebrow raising conversations and we all felt like we were on holiday! This was a very different experience from any training weeks I’d had in the past and I really felt that is was the best, not just for the plentiful wine but also for the opportunity for the team to bond so early on, a bond that would carry us through to the end of the season.

With such a great start, from the fun week of training to fresh powder and blue skies on our first day on the slopes, things were looking pretty promising! We were assigned to our chalets and I was given the lovely Chalet du Guide, where I already felt at home, as it was where we’d spent the last week. Plus, Victoria Spofforth or Spoff as she is more affectionately known, was to be my host, which was great as we had loads in common and already got on really well.

Hard work ensued almost straight away, with our first week entertaining Rupert and friends from the Guardian. This was followed by Christmas week, where the chalet was filled with noise, laughter and hundreds of people, just the way I like it! The Breightmeyers are a wonderful family and the owners of Chalet du Guide. They made us feel welcome and Christmas felt like a great team effort, with gossiping and veg peeling in the kitchen.

Then New Years week rolled around and my season got better. We had the Donaldson family staying, such a wonderful South African family, who we felt really at home with. Then onto New Years Eve, where we all went to the Chaudanne to watch an amazing fireworks display exploding to music with fat flakes of snow falling. As if an evening could not be more perfect, then Marky proposed to me! What an amazing start to 2009 and what an awesome season so far. Life was pretty good!

The months rolled on, all flying by, with plenty of wonderful snow falling and great powder days to be had. All our guys were absolutely dedicated to the skiing/snowboarding. Kev, who’d never seen snow before, was never far behind us, often panting and red in the face but determined to keep up, and keep up he did until the day he started passing me!!

Cracky was the fastest down the mountain and always knew the quickest route to all the bars, closely followed by her wonderful chef Vinnie who joined the team later, when we sadly lost Jen to a broken ankle. He slotted into the team so seamlessly you forgot he hadn’t started with rest of us and he soon became a core member of the team. Fi and Spoff, could be seen carving up the mountain with their new found brilliance and confidence to try anything.

Nick annoyingly dislocated his other shoulder, while doing a cool trick in the park but he’s not one to stay still for too long and was soon to be seen skiing with one pole and a dislocated shoulder strapped up! Abi, the legend, won her first competition in the snow park and was rewarded with a very bling pair of new skis, used everyday from then on. And then there is the old boy Marky, quiet simply the best snowboarder on the slopes, in my opinion!!

I spent many a day skiing with Holly, gazing at her elegance and ease on her skis. Multiple seasons have proved their worth to Holly and Philippa, who both ski brilliantly. However if skiing was not to be the flavour of the day, she kindly entertained me in their apartment in Les Allues, where we righted wrongs, drank coffee and gossiped!

The girls have found an amazing balance. Work hard and play hard, a cliché but true. I’m so impressed with what these two have built. To the outside eye a seemingly easy and smooth running machine, but we know how hard the girls work, how well they get on and how they both breath magic into their company.

I feel privileged to have been a part of such an exciting new company. I’m so sad not to be joining them again, but due to our next adventure to be had in Meribel, it’s time to move on.

September 2009. Watch this space! We’re having a huge Fish & Pips reunion, plus around 80 or so family and friends, for the very first Fish & Pips wedding to be held on the lovely terraces of Braye, Aurigny and Corbletts and surrounded by the wonder that is the Meribel Valley. The perfect end to a perfect season.

Thank you to all of you who made it so special!

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Matthew’s blog…

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009




Matthew Draper first found F&P in 2007 and since then it has developed into a friendship for life. A professional musician by trade, Matthew moonlights with his coaching business helping corporate teams to get along. Along with being a very keen skier, Matthew can often be found leading Holly and Philippa astray with our usual steak and red wine – this week upgraded to oysters and champagne (!) in his home town of Brighton.  As the unofficial ‘Head of Staff Training’ - here is Matthew’s story…

Having been on lots and lots of chalet holidays and witnessed firsthand the horrors of bad chalet hosts over the years, I was interested to see if I could apply my newly learnt team coaching skills to working with the scandalously good new company shaking up the chalet world of Meribel Village. After chatting to Holly, I eventually persuaded a slightly reluctant Fish and Pips to let me loose on their team.

To be honest the harsh reality was that they didn’t really need me. The team were already properly trained, and there were no horrors in Meribel Village that season but faced with the comfy sitting room in chalet Le Christophe and the whole team around the table, we set to work on building the Fish and Pips ‘Village’ which has now become part of the pre season ritual.

Holly and Philippa know how important chalet hosts and chef’s are in the whole ski holiday experience, and this is demonstrated by the time and effort they put in to training and looking after their staff. Not only do the team learn how to clean to within an inch of their lives, how to drive you safely back from the Ronnie after you’ve mixed grape and grain, how to prepare and serve top end restaurant food, and how to host spectacular dinner parties six nights a week, they also learn how to function as a team, who they are as individuals and how they can help each other to stay focused on giving their guests the best possible mountain holiday experience. At Fish and Pips training is far more than canapés and cleaning.

Encouraging a unique mixture of work hard, ski hard, work harder, and then play even harder, Holly and Philippa lead strongly by example. Catching up with the gang through the winter is always one of the best parts of visiting Meribel. Seeing the team taking such pride in maintaining the high standards of service they set and watching them support each other though the ups and downs of the ski season is a great reward. (As was playing ‘snog marry throw off a cliff’ in the kitchen at Chalet du Guide, and catching up with all the ‘news’ in the adjoining cellars of the three linked chalets!) I toured the chalets before dinner as self appointed ‘head of team training’, and I met countless guests who were genuinely delighted at having found a company that feel like new friends who actually enjoy looking after the people they have staying.

Much as I’d like to take all the credit for the outstanding record Fish and Pips have with staff, (all staff complete the season and some return for a second and even third!), I agree that some credit has to go to Holly and Philippa but, the lion’s share of praise has to go to the incredible individuals themselves who make up the team, do all the hard work and give guests holidays they will never forget.

Without exception it’s a complete pleasure to work with everyone at Fish and Pips, I’m already thinking of some different team games to do next winter. I can’t wait to be round that roaring fire, building the 2009/10 season village and maybe we can have the odd glass of wine and another chef’s special Thai chicken curry please.

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Spoff’s blog….

Thursday, June 11th, 2009


Victoria Spofforth worked as Chalet Host in Chalet du Guide for the winter 08-09.  Here ‘Spoff’ tells of her winter experience in Meribel working hard, skiing hard and playing hard! A photographer by trade, Spoff can now be found in Suffolk continuing her freelance work for the summer working hard as she prepares to head off on her world travels in September

Having had a taster of a ski season for 6 weeks in 2006, I was counting down the days until the 1st of December when I would return to Meribel for 5 months. When the day finally arrived Meribel did not disappoint. It was an idyllic welcome, the snow was falling thick and fast and the mountain felt every bit as magical as I had remembered it.

The first week was pretty hectic. Cleaning, moving logs, team games with the lovely Matthew, as well as learning about the dangers of hot tubs! However the highlight of the training week for me was the test dinners. It was clear that we had some very talented chefs on board, the food was amazing. This was complimented by the efficient chalet hosts who ensured a full wine glass at all times. This training week was a great chance for us all to get to know each other before the guests arrived. After a few days I was told that I would be working in Chalet Du Guide with Alice, an experienced chef who has spent numer­ous winters in The Alps. It was obvious from the test dinner that Alice was a fantastic chef and that our mutual love for gin and tonic would take us a long way.

A week or so after we arrived the lifts opened and the deserted pistes and fresh snow was ours to enjoy. The conditions were incredible and it was so good to be back on the skis. Powder was in great supply, something I had never encountered before and now it was time to learn how to ski in it! I felt extremely fortunate to be spending the winter exploring the vast skiing area the three valleys had to offer.

The following months passed quickly, working, skiing and playing hard. The chalet was always busy and we had some lovely guests, all of whom will be remembered for different reasons. To name but a few, The stag do (say no more), The Donaldson family from South Africa, who joined us for a ski on New Year’s Day, followed by a vin chaud or two. The Breitmeyers for including us in their Christmas day celebrations and Rupert from The Guardian for his fantastic review.

I had some great times at Chalet Du guide and Alice and I have become great friends during the time we spent running the chalet for Fish and Pips. A typical evening in the chalet would end with Alice arranging her draw of cooking utensils in an ‘OCD’ like manner, meanwhile I would be causing chaos in the saucepan cupboard with my precarious stacking, I think between us we struck a balance! Many a quiet moment was spent playing our favourite game s**g, marry or throw off a cliff (introduced to me in our training week) and more often than not the evening ended with a drink at our local bar, Lodge Du Village with the rest of the Fish and Pips crew.

I find it hard to believe that winter has been and gone, it is definitely true that time flies when you’re hav­ing fun. I feel extremely proud to have been part of the Fish and Pips team and so grateful to have such lovely bosses as Holly and Philippa. I am sorry to say that I am not returning this coming winter but my camera and I will be pursuing other travelling adventures.

My ski season with Fish and Pips lived up to all my expectations. I have come away with some amazing memories and experiences, some beautiful photos but most importantly a whole new group of friends. It is thanks to all the lovely people I met that I enjoyed my time in the mountains so much. I look forward to more fun times with you all in the future snow or no snow.

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