Feeding 16 at the chalet: raclette, fondue, quantities

There’s one question that always comes up when you organise a week for sixteen: “and what about the meals?” The good news is that feeding a big group in the mountains is one of the easiest parts of the stay — as long as you play the classics that cook themselves for a full table. Raclette, fondue, tartiflette: these dishes exist precisely to gather a crowd around one pot. Here are the exact quantities for 16, a sample weekly menu, a shopping plan between Oz and the valley, and our owners’ method for keeping the kitchen a pleasure and never a chore.

The quantities that matter: raclette, fondue, tartiflette for 16

The first instinct when cooking for sixteen is to overestimate for fear of running short — or, the opposite, to underestimate because the totals look dizzying. The truth is gentler: the per-person quantities for the great mountain dishes are well known, and you simply multiply. Here are our benchmarks, for adults with a healthy appetite (reckon on a little less if your group includes several young children).

For raclette, the most widely quoted figure is 200 to 250 g of cheese per adult; small eaters and children are happy with 150 g. Add about the same weight in potatoes, a generous plate of charcuterie (cured ham, rosette, air-dried beef), gherkins, pickled onions and a big green salad to lighten things. For 16 that comes to about 4 kg of cheese — often a mix of plain raclette and two or three variations (smoked, pepper, mustard) to vary the pleasure.

For Savoyard fondue, reckon on 200 g of cheese per person when it’s the only course (150 g with a starter and dessert, around 100 g for young children), so nearly 3 kg for the group. The benchmark blend is roughly 40% Beaufort, 40% Abondance and 20% Emmental de Savoie. Allow 150 to 200 g of bread per person (slightly stale bread holds better on the fork) and about 10 cl of dry white wine per 200 g of cheese, so roughly one and a half to two bottles for the table.

For tartiflette, plan on 300 to 350 g of potatoes and 120 to 150 g of reblochon per person, so about 5 kg of firm-fleshed potatoes and 4 to 5 reblochons (around 2 kg of cheese) for 16, plus 600 to 800 g of smoked lardons, about ten onions, a glass of white wine and a little cream. It’s the perfect one-pot night: it’s prepared in advance and baked in large trays while the group has drinks.

The chalet kitchen: what it offers (and what to check)

Cooking for sixteen calls for a real kitchen, not a kitchenette corner. At Ozalp’ Cottage, the kitchen is fully equipped for entertaining: oven, hob, dishwasher, microwave, fridge and everything you need to prepare meals for the whole group. The living space brings together lounge, dining area and kitchen, with a table that seats up to 18 — enough to gather everyone around one dish, which is exactly the spirit of a week for sixteen.

A point of honesty, because it’s our hallmark: the list above describes the core equipment. For specific appliances — table-top raclette grills, fondue sets, a large tartiflette dish — the safest thing is to ask us directly before your stay. Depending on availability, we’ll tell you what to bring or add, so you don’t buy twice what may already be here. A quick message via our contact page settles it.

The sample weekly menu

The secret to a successful week isn’t cooking feasts every night, but alternating the effort. One easy night that all but cooks itself, one one-pot night prepared in advance, and you keep your energy for the skiing. Here’s a framework we see work for our groups, from arrival Saturday to Friday night.

1. Saturday (arrival). A simple night with no complicated shopping: a big bowl of pasta or a pizza night, while you drop the bags and do the first top-up at the mini-market.
2. Sunday. Opening raclette — the great unifier after the first day on the slopes.
3. Monday. A one-pot dish prepared the night before or that morning: a big tartiflette, or a hotpot left to simmer while you ski.
4. Tuesday. A light night: mixed salad, mountain soup, oven croque-monsieur for the children.
5. Wednesday. Savoyard fondue, with two pots so nobody waits.
6. Thursday. An optional outing to a mountain restaurant or in the resort, or a one-pot dish at the chalet (gratin, stew).
7. Friday (last night). Finish the leftovers in style: an express repeat raclette, a board of charcuterie and cheese, and empty the fridge before departure.

The framework isn’t rigid: the key is to place the cheese meals every other evening, never two days running. A week of melted cheese every night eventually palls, especially for the youngest. Slotting in a big bowl of pasta, a soup, a salad or a pizza night gives the menu — and the budget — room to breathe. Breakfasts and lunches stay self-service: pastries and toast in the morning, a picnic on the slopes or a snack on the way back at midday.

The shopping plan: Oz and the valley

Supplying sixteen people takes a little strategy, especially on Saturday, the resort’s busiest changeover day. Two options complement each other.

In Oz-en-Oisans resort, a mini-market (a Sherpa store) is a real help: fresh bread, dairy, charcuterie, everyday top-ups and a selection of regional products, a stone’s throw from the chalet. It’s ideal for the first night, forgotten items and last-minute extras, without getting back in the car.

For the big weekly shop, it’s better to stop in Bourg-d’Oisans, down in the valley, before heading up: the town has several supermarkets (Carrefour Express, Casino, Spar) with wider aisles and valley prices. The clever move, with 16, is to order a click-and-collect from one of these stores and pick it up on the way through: you load the boot in ten minutes instead of pushing several trolleys around on arrival day. Remember to book your slot ahead, especially on Saturday.

• Before you leave: list the dinners, share them out by table, and build a common shopping list (a document shared on your phones avoids duplicates).
• In the valley: big shop or click-and-collect in Bourg-d'Oisans — cheese, meat, drinks, heavy and bulky items.
• In Oz: daily bread, fresh produce, local products and top-ups at the mini-market.
• On site: a "kitty" for drinks, coffee and extras, with a share per person.
• Before leaving: a "leftovers" night on the last evening to waste nothing and lighten the departure.

On flavours, play the local card: the cheeses of Savoie and the Alps (Beaufort, Abondance, reblochon, tomme, raclette de Savoie), mountain charcuterie (cured ham, saucisson, diots), and a local dessert such as blueberry tart or bugnes. The Oz mini-market and the shops in Bourg-d’Oisans highlight these regional products; don’t hesitate to ask for advice, and they’ll point you to the right choices.

Feeding 16 without breaking the bank

Cooking at the chalet is also the big saving of a stay for sixteen. Preparing meals on site, reckon on around €120 to €150 per person for the whole week — breakfasts, lunches or picnics and dinners included — so about €2,000 to €2,400 for the group. That’s the budget for a stay where you eat very well, with all the mountain classics, for a fraction of the cost of eating out for lunch and dinner. One or two outings to a restaurant or a mountain terrace can be added as you wish, but they remain the exception.

The maths is unbeatable: with 16, you buy in bulk, you share the big dishes, and the price per head melts like cheese over potatoes. We break down every line — accommodation, lift passes, hire, transport and, indeed, groceries — in our full budget of a ski week for 16. And for everything to do with the logistics of a big group under one roof — room allocation, roles, a countdown plan — our article on big family celebrations at the chalet is the perfect companion to this one.

Our method, in short

Feeding sixteen people for a whole week comes down to five habits. One, lean on the great mountain classics, made for big tables: raclette, fondue and tartiflette cook stress-free for a group. Two, respect the per-person quantities — about 250 g of cheese for a raclette, 200 g for a fondue — and multiply without fearing a slight surplus. Three, alternate an easy night and a one-pot night, keeping the cheese to every other evening. Four, do the big shop as a click-and-collect in Bourg-d’Oisans and the top-ups at the Oz mini-market. Five, pin up a dinner rota on arrival so nobody cooks twice.

Follow this method and catering stops being a worry and becomes one of the pleasures of the stay — the moment when, after skiing, the whole household gathers around one steaming pot. To see the kitchen, the big table and the living space that make it all possible, visit our chalet page, and to find out the price of your week and availability, see our rates. For the best addresses and the producers of the moment, the Oz-en-Oisans Tourist Office and the Alpe d’Huez Tourist Office list the shops and markets of the valley.

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