Lucky for me I always manage to time my chalet visits (complete coincidence of course) when canapes and champagne are being served.  Our chefs have quickly learnt that if they know what’s good for them they’ll keep me well fed, and as a result there is always a canape put to one side or on the window sill awaiting my arrival.  Thank you - you certainly know how to keep the greedy boss happy!

Last week I was fortunate enough to sample Vinny’s absolutely delicious combination of pan fried scallops on a bed of cauliflower puree and caramelised sultanas.  Think I might just have to be there same time this week!

Here our chef Kevin from Chalet Aurigny is sporting a rather fetching pair of pink pants, a bright orange wig and some jingly jangly Christmas antlers.  This is not the usual attire for a F&P chef, but our lovely O’Reilley guests obviously persuaded him that is was a good look and it seems he quite likes it worryingly.  Just goes to show nothing is too much trouble for our guests!

So good is this look, that Dave has tried to replicate it below sporting a black wig and what appears to be a lemon drizzle cake!   The O’Reilley party took home with them a vast number of Fish&Pips cookbooks and they’ll be pleased to hear that it can be indentified and in fact has turned out perfectly!  Please do send in anymore cookbook successes…or failures (!) to blog@fishandpips.com

Whilst the F&P team in Meribel have been enjoying amazing skiing, here in London we have had some powder snow of our own…  Not quite the same when it is on Clapham Common though is it?!

Amazing (but flat) untouched snow in Surrey

Christmas presents

The chalets were full of brilliant guests over Christmas all of whom were in fine Christmas spirit.  The team had gone to a real effort to make the chalets as festive as possible with homemade decorations and wreaths.  I think a good afternoon of training was taken up with arts, crafts, tea and cake!  It’s tough at F&P.  It’s actually a really nice thing to do for guests and the team, and gets everyone remembering that it’s Christmas as often that gets forgotten out here when running round like headless chickens making sure everyone else’s Christmas is as near perfect as possible.

Christmas table Le Christophe

Unfortunately for our Chalet du Guide guests they never made it out to Meribel because of the problems on the Eurostar, so we hope they managed a wonderful Christmas at home and that they make it back out to Meribel in March.

Every Christmas we’re very lucky to have the lovely owner of Chalet Le Christophe, Caroline, come to stay in the chalet with her amazing 3 children Harry, Sophie and Jack.  They’ve had 3 Christmas’s at Fish&Pips and it wouldn’t be the same without them now.  They’ve ever so kindly taken me under their wing on Christmas Day when I’ve been a Christmas orphan like many other seasonnaires over this time.  I’ve been spoilt rotten with Nick’s superb cooking (even an Aussie can prepare a traditional English Christmas spread to die for) and Abi’s excellent hosting skills in making sure my glass is always topped up.  Am very jealous of guests that have had a whole week in Le Christophe.  This year, however, my family came out and we had Christmas together for the first time in 6 years which was a real treat and I felt like a big child again with lots of presents and that exciting Christmas feeling again.  I think Caroline was probably quite relieved we ate somewhere else as every year she seems to take in more waifes and strays - we even had to add on an extra table to accommodate the extras!

Christmas Eve was one to remember!  Every year most of our guests go into Meribel centre for the Christmas carols in the square.  However, this year there was a dispute between the musicians and the Tourist Office, and the carols were cancelled.  Typical Meribel politics.  So, Alex from La Tsaretta (our little local pub in Les Allues) took it upon herself to provide Meribel with carols at the last minute.  She whipped up a vat of Vin Chaud (essential), a carol sheet and playlist and even organised some drizzly rain for us.  So, the British contingency of Fish&Pips and Les Allues congregated outside the bar with our damp carol sheets and hot wine and sung our hearts out.  We were missing a verse or 2 and on occassion the music would just cut out as my Dad was belting out a ‘ding dong merilly on high”, but that just added to the charm of it.

We’ve been so caught up in the running of the resort over the busy festive period that we’ve somewhat neglected you and the Blog.  So, Philippa and I are going to spend the next few days playing catch up and filling you in on all the F&P news and gossip that’s taken place over the past couple of weeks.   I think I’ll start with Christmas Eve……

The powder is finally here in Meribel (not just in the UK) and all the way down to 1200m to our little office in Les Allues.  More snow is due and temperatures are set to stay low.   So, if you want to escape the January blues and hit the slopes now is the time!

I had my first afternoon off-piste on Tuesday which nearly finished me off!  Having only skied on piste this winter, I don’t think I was quite ready for the afternoon they had in store for me.  Off I went trailing 4 instructors - 1 from Magic Academy and the others from Parallel Lines.  The sun was out and it was literally the first time we’d been able to see the Meribel valley for over 2 weeks!  Fresh powder and blue skies - perfect.

We started off ‘gently’, nipping off the cat track to Jerusalem and skied the gentle pitch down to the St Martin 2 chair.  That was just the warm up and already my legs were on fire!  Wearing my new puffer jacket and helmet meant that I rapidly turned a shade of red and needed to de-layer pretty promptly.

We nipped off the cat track again but this time down the other side in the shade to find light and fluffy snow, and a good few shrubs that the boys seemed to ski over but I seemed to ski into and get tangled up in.  Very slick Holly.   Nothing quite like the pressure of 4 instructors all waiting for you and watching you!

Back up to the top and this time we skied all the way down to the bubble at Raffort.  The snow depth was amazing considering the lack of snowfall last week and we were skiing really nice pitches of deep powder all the way to the bubble.  Avoiding tree stumps and shrubs I made it down in one piece after a collosal face plant.

And, as if that wasn’t enough.  Badger (Magic instructor) and I decided to give the Meribel Coulloir a shot.  We couldn’t resist one last run in the sunshine - we were practically the last people on the mountain and had the couloir and the run down to the Ronnie all to ourselves.  There’s not much that beats that feeling you get skiing down from the top of Saulire in the last of the afternoon’s sun and being rewarded by a large glass of something on the Rond Point terrace after a long and happy day’s skiing.  Here’s to many more this winter!