If you suffer from a dietary disorder be it an intolerance, allergy or medical condition or have certain dietary preferences, the success of your ski or snowboard holiday will depend on being able to eat the right food wherever you go, particularly your chosen ski chalet. Contrary to what some may believe, this isn’t a chosen path, in fact for some it is a debilitating illness and get it wrong, and the whole holiday can be ruined. 

So when booking your ski holiday how do you determine which chalets can help ensure you have a care free ski holiday. Firstly, talk to us here at Chalet Ski Holidays as we have a great deal of experience getting it right and offer only the most diligent chalets for you to choose from. This said, of course many of the top luxury chalets with other providers will be able to accommodate many dietary requirements otherwise what are you paying more for? Whilst this is true you should certainly check before booking especially if your dietary requirements for religious reasons such as Halaal or you adhere to Kosher rules, etc.

The above said regarding the luxury ski holidays and chalets, many standard quality chalets still employ well trained chefs who can meet your requirements so price should not be an excluding factor, although the calibre of chef and subsequent training may vary so checking diligently is highly recommended.

For less demanding dietary requirements most chalets employ reasonably qualified, professional chefs and pride themselves on the quality of food that they offer. Most chalets therefore with a professional chef should be able to accommodate changes to the menu and chalet owners (acting as chef) may also be able to do this as well. However, for chalets run by chalet hosts you will find that flexibility in respect of their offering is more limited. You should be ok if you are vegetarian or have some dislikes, but we would advise caution if you have a severe disorder or intolerance as training, and we believe understanding, is generally limited in such cases.

So, if you are using Chalet Ski Holidays, all you need to do is share with us your specific requirements, disorders and intolerances and we will then select accordingly appropriate chalets and holiday recommendations. However, if you decide to use another organisation then here are some general tips in terms of seeking to avoid an unpleasant stay:

• Find out who does the cooking, is it a chef, host or owner
• Ask if the chalet can accommodate your dietary requirements and test them on their knowledge of what your requirements mean in terms of food preparation and content
• Advise the chalet of all your requirements again before you arrive on cski chalet holiday
• Chefs must plan a special menu for you so ensure you have given them at least 2 weeks or more for their planning and ask to see it a few days before you arrive
• Check once more when you arrive that your dietary requirements have been appropriately conveyed and that they understand what this means (again preparation and content)
• Don’t be afraid to check what is being served and that it is ok – for example, sauces can be a particular problematic area for gluten intolerance sufferers in lower priced establishments where stock cubes rather than home made stocks have been used (the problem compounded by the staff’s inability to read the labels in a different language).

Whilst for sufferers a ski holiday can be a daunting prospect, we hope we have shown above that with careful selection and the right checks that it doesn’t have to be when you arrive. So book carefully, as we appreciate here at Chalet Ski Holidays that you wouldn’t want to make a poor choice and spoil a great ski holiday.