"Keep up the good work – yours is still the best course for chalet staff bar none."
Snowlife Chalet Holidays - Ashley Faint
"Mike is returning with us next season and he was officially our most successful member of chalet staff last winter."
Lotus Supertravel
"The Orchards send us consistently well-trained staff. It is amazing how much students learn in just 2 weeks. Lucy and Isabel manage to convey their love of good food and cookery to every student and it shows when these students come to us for interviews. However, it's not just the cooking they learn, The Orchards' students also learn how to clear up, keep a kitchen clean and be charming hosts and hostesses!!"
YSE - Fiona Easdale
"We have been fortunate enough to have some Orchards trained chalet staff working for Ski Cuisine for the past few seasons. The course provides them with an excellent grounding in all aspects of running a chalet and providing delicious menus for their guests. All the students come away with a great range of skills, fantastic organisation and confidence."
Ski Cuisine - Anne Woolley
"Hattie came from Orchards and was keen to provide petit fours which was a refreshing addition to all the hard work that goes into providing a successful catered week - being more organised thanks to Orchards training allowed for such impressive extras. Many thanks."
Snowy Pockets - Helen Onions
"Having employed over 15 students from The Orchards in 2006 they were all fantastic for our company, and all lasted the whole winter. In our first year of using The Orchards, we were pleasantly surprised with the high standard of the students and will continue to use the school in the future."
Ski Olympic - Charles Woodward
"We love the fact that the handful of people who come to us from Orchards Cookery, have a thorough understanding of exactly what is entailed in the role of a chalet host."
Ski World - Rachelle Cramp
"The staff who come to work for us from Orchards Cookery are always fantastic."
Ski Armadillo - Julian Bickerton
"We always hear such fantastic feedback from your ex pupils and are really impressed with the knowledge that they gain at Orchards."
Ski Basics - Julia d’Armenia
"We really appreciate the start you gave us, couldn't have done it without you."
Chalets USA - Helen & Rob Brown
"I just wanted to email to say a huge thank you for the fantastic 2 week course Hannah, our daughter, attended at your cookery school. She thought it was excellent and really did enjoy herself. She is so much more confident with her cooking and will make an excellent chalet girl with her new knowledge."
Pisteside Chalet Holidays - Debbie Isaac
"Thanks for another excellent candidate, I am spoilt for choice."
Snowlife Chalet Holidays - Georgina Faint
"Applicants have always gone on to complete very successful ski seasons."
Snowline VIP - Emily Cunningham
We are happy to promote former Orchards Cookery students who have trained with us and set up their own chalet companies...
Chalets USA holidays in Colorado
Come-Ski holidays in La Tania, France
Ski Klosters holidays in Klosters, Switzerland
The Tastsy Ski Company holidays in Morillon, France
Alpine Bliss holidays in Chatel, France
Chalet Pascal holidays in Portes du soleil, France
Chalet Vert et Blanc, holidays in Chamonix, France
North Star Chalets, holidays in Morzine, France
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"Thanks for sending off my CV... 16 companies contacted me offering interviews."
Fiona Stoneman
"I just wanted to compliment you on how well the Orchards is run and how helpful you have been in getting Patrick fixed up. Given that it is such a difficult year, it's a real testament to how good the school is that all these young ones have got jobs."
Rose Henderson
"I have just returned from cooking for the golfer (well known golfer!) at the Open this year. I cooked for him last summer as well and am being flown out at Easter (if my holidays coincide) to cook and hostess for him at the Masters in Augusta! Apparently he was impressed by my ability to hostess and cook at the same time. So thank you very much for everything you taught me all those years ago and for getting me the job with YSE to follow. The organisation and high standards definitely impressed Gary and his team. I never thought I would end up cooking for a celebrity and earning £1500 in a week!"
Claire Cameron
"After receiving over 15 offers for interview (many thanks for that) we have decided to go with Le Ski, who interviewed us during our course with you. Thank you again for all your help and support both during the course and following. You guys are a treat to the industry!"
Nicola and Dave Ryan
"I am a past Orchards student from 2016 (I was 16 years old!), and now I am a professional chef with over 2 years of experience cooking in Michelin starred restaurants, have completed 3 winter seasons as a chalet chef for Simply Morzine and will be starting a new cheffing job in July at Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall.
I’d just like to say I had a fantastic time at Orchards way back in 2016; it not only inspired me to want to do a ski season but also to become a chef, and I can’t thank you and your team enough!"
Alice
"My family have just returned from a skiing holiday in Les Arcs and we had the above young lady [Ellie Purden] as our chalet host. We have had the most fantastic week and what made it all the more special was the cooking delights of Ellie. She was a joy to have host us and the food she provided was a joy to eat. It was better than any previous hotel food we have eaten in that part of the world before. The only skiing holiday where we have all come back heavier than we went out!!! I thought it only fair to pass on the compliment to her teachers, whom I believe to be yourselves."
Tim McCreath
"Just had a weeks holiday under the care of Poppy & Emma Rogers @ Ski Basics in Meribel, all I can say is whatever you are teaching at your place, keep it up – they were sensational!!"
Charlie Woodall
"I have just returned from a Ski holiday in Les Arcs 2000 where our chalet host, Jo, mentioned that she had trained at your cookery school. I would like to commend Jo on her fabulous cooking - every meal was beautifully cooked, presented and absolutely delicious. Her no-fuss attitude and speed was really enviable and our party of 8 people were all so impressed with her."
Lucy Beaufrere
"I have just returned from a week’s skiing staying at Chalet d’Ambrumenil in Courchevel. This was my fifth season staying there and for all five seasons, the d’Ambrumenil’s have recruited their chalet boys from you.... both William Ashley Miller and Felix Thomas Davies were outstanding. They were charming, personable, hardworking, fabulous company and the standard of food was exceptionally high.... The courses you run at The Orchards are of an extremely high standard and the caliber of students that leave you after only a fortnight are exceptional"
Charlotte MacKay
"She was absolutely fantastic and we will be planning our future holidays around her availability!"
David Jones
"Laurie and Alex were utterly delightful young people and it [cooking for a family hoiday] was an enormously successful arrangement for us. They did all the shopping, using mostly local produce, and cooked us very good lunches and suppers for 15! They also prepared picnic lunches for us on a couple of days... they were so willing and cheerful all the time! Of course it was a real holiday for me not to be in the kitchen. I was very good and hardly went into the kitchen and was happy to just let them get on with things!
I would very happily use them both again and I've told them I will give them references anytime. I have been telling my friends what a successful idea it is to employ ex-chalet students... thank you very much for the introduction. I will come back to you if we undertake a similar venture in the future."
Sally Simon
"Nina was a triumph - I don't know how to manage life in the future without her. Our 9 year old was in tears most of the day after she left.
She cooked two delicious dinners - 3 courses with lots of loud over excited people milling around. All perfection and much better than I could cook myself and I pride myself as a fairly good cook. She chose the menus out of our various cookbooks and bought all the food and just made it all happen. And she cooked the most amazing picnics. Our box has never been so full once word got around that we had a Nina picnic."
Tamara Henriques
"Thank you for sending so many fantastic people our way. Silver Teal has very high standards and I can always rely on my Orchards cooks – not just in their cooking ability, but their attitude to work and enthusiasm to get it right. Thank you!"
Silver Teal Cooks - Fiona Chalmers-Watson
"Cindy Webster Cooks is always pleased to hear from past and present Orchards Cookery students. The courses may be short but we are happy to recommend The Orchards’ cooks and assistant cooks to our clients in the full knowledge that they are thoroughly prepared for many of the vacancies we have on offer in private homes and sporting lodges."
Cindy Webster Cooks - Cindy Webster
"Thank you so much for providing us with 2 wonderful girls, Sarah and her friend, Maddie, who both did a wonderful job for us.
They were perfect and produced delicious food to suit all generations - the ice cream bar for the kids was a huge success, as you can imagine!
They were friendly, hard-working, helped with whatever needed doing and left everything tidy on their departure. What more could we want!"
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Daily Mail... "Leaping the Gap - Master Alpine Cuisine as a Chalet Host" Toby Welch
“The Orchards School of Cookery has an excellent track record when it comes to producing and placing potential chalet hosts… they have 100 per cent record in placing their graduates"
Please see our Press page for more
The following agencies / companies may be of help to Orchards students looking for work in the UK.
Cooking
Lumleys
www.lumleyscooks.co.ukCindy Webster Cooks
www.cindywebstercooks.co.uk Silver Teal Cooks
www.silvertealcooks.com The Good Cook Company
www.goodcookco.com Blues Agency
www.bluesagency.co.uk Waiting / silver service
At Your Service
www.atyourservice.co.uk or
ww.ays.co.uk Wii Select
www.wiiselect.co.uk The Admirable Chrichton
www.admirable-crichton.co.uk
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