Head Chef - Skibound Winter 23/24

A winter season with Skibound is like no other. With over 30 years’ experience in the industry, we offer a unique ski experience to budding skiers from all over the world with school and youth groups at the heart of our business.

We have 3 lively club hotels across 3 resorts in the French Alps, home to some of Europe’s best skiing and après – Alpe d’Huez, Les Menuires and Serre Chevalier. This role will be based at Serre Chevalier, the Frejus Club Hotel.

What will I be doing as a Head Chef in a Skibound club Hotel?

At Skibound, we offer our school guests a rolling set menu over the course of their stay, with cold buffet options available for breakfast, a buffet style lunch with anything from soups, salads, jacket potatoes, marinated chicken wings and build-your-own-sandwiches and a 2 course sit down evening meal. Our food caters to a younger palette and a more advanced menu for our adult guests.

As you will be leading the kitchen, you will be an experienced and confident Head Chef ready for a new challenge. You will work alongside your chef brigade of 2 or 3, to lead your kitchen and be the driving force for delivering high cover numbers, of quality (but not complicated) meals to our school guests and customers. Your team will also be responsible for providing delicious staff meals to keep the clubhotel team motivated and healthy throughout the season. You can be catering for approximately 100 guests and 15 staff at the same time.

Our kitchen teams are a vibrant mix of abilities, and a vital part of your role will be to inspire and develop our more junior members of the team – Whether it’s an ambitious Assistant Chef in your team, or a budding Kitchen Porter who longs to get stuck in with cooking and menu ideas. Your role will also involve managing any issues with your kitchen team with the support of the Hotel Manager.

This is a very hands-on cooking Head Chef role, so you’ll be passionate about food and relish feedback you receive from happy and full guests. You’ll also need to be a great multi-tasker to ensure that the other key tasks are undertaken to achieve smooth and successful services. This includes stock control, ordering alongside the Hotel Manager, understanding dietary requirements, budgeting and due diligence for cleanliness and health and safety standards.

Working in a mountain kitchen is a unique experience and we will provide you with training on how things are done in France!

Our motto at Skibound is ‘teamwork makes the dream work!’ We are looking for positive, can-do individuals who share our teamwork ethos – Our job adverts will give you a good flavour for each job role but other duties within the scope of each role may be required.

What skills and experience will I need to be a Head Chef in a club Hotel?

• Confidence in heading up a catering team
• Previous experience as a Head Chef in a high-volume environment
• Proven experience of independent stock control and ordering
• An excellent understanding of the Health and Safety regulations (Food & Hygiene, HACCP, COSHH)
• Experience in preparing meals to cater for all dietary requirements
• Ability to work in line with the Hotel Manager to establish budgets and hit KPI targets
• A keen eye for business to maximize business potential through stock control
• Not afraid to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in – from basic food prep to an end of service clean
• A desire and the necessary knowledge to develop more junior members of your team

What can Skibound offer me as a Head Chef in a clubhotel?

• Competitive, seasonal salary paid in Euros. All staff will be on a French contract for winter 23/24
• All meals – even on your days off!
• Uniform
• Insurance

Additional seasonnaire pack elements that you can opt in or out of:

• On-site shared accommodation (or an individual room based on your job role)
• Ski equipment hire
• Local lift pass
• Travel arrangements to and from resort

You’ll also receive:

• Role specific training once in resort
• Role progression opportunities and the chance to return for future winter and summer seasons with Skibound
• Further seasonal opportunities with our sister brands, Travelbound and JCA

The extra bits…

• We ask applicants to be fully available from mid-November 2023 to April 2024
• You must be 18 or over by November 2023 to apply
• Due to Brexit implications, applicants with EU documentation are preferred e.g., EU passport, French residency permit or Carte de Sejour, but UK passport holders are considered and must go through an application process for French work permit and visa
• Please apply for just one Skibound winter job role – The role you feel you are best suited to and most interested in. We will assess your application against other vacancies without you have to apply for multiple positions
• If you are applying as a couple, please apply individually for your chosen roles and include the name of your friend or partner or family member in your application
• We receive a very high number of applications each year. Please allow up to 4 weeks to receive a response on your application – All applications will be contacted whether you are successful or not, but feedback cannot always be provided due to the volume of applications