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“My husband is a chimney sweep and for the last couple of years he’s been working on the rooftops of the Vallee d’Aulps while I took care of the admin. I started helping him ‘on the ground’ and it soon became obvious that we needed a second chimney sweep on the team. Our business was growing, we were busier than ever so I had the idea to do my own qualifications. We also have an altitude restaurant (Restaurant La Grande Ourse on Mont Chery), which was obviously closed because of the COVID-19 situation. It seemed like the perfect time for me! Chimney sweeping is a great job. You see a definitive result once a job is complete. All that black, dirty soot is removed and a clean, safe chimney is revealed. I get a lot of satisfaction from a job well done and although the days are now much more physical than sitting at a desk, I really enjoy them. Of course, you can’t just become a chimney sweep overnight. I started my ramoneur / fumiste training in January 2021 at the Confederation de Ramoneurs Savoyardes in Annecy. The six month course was intensive and involved a mixture of long days in the classroom focusing on technical drawings, mathematics, communication skills, business studies and more, combined with on the job training with a tutor. I was really lucky to work with Bonhomme de Suie in Taninges; they are a very well-organised team and were brilliant teachers. The most important element was the knowledge of the regulations for chimneys. At the end of the six months, I needed to pass four individual exams including a four-hour written exam, a presentation and a personal dossier that included a demonstration of an individual installation, explaining how I’d swept it and how it functions. We then had to answer questions from a jury of three experienced chimney sweeps. It was intense and I was very nervous stepping into what is essentially still a man’s world. I passed all four parts and I am so glad I did the qualification!
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“My dad and step mum opened our family bar in Morzine back in 2000. They’d been running nightclubs for 22 years but wanted to create a smaller, cosy venue that was inspired by my dad’s travels and his time running an oriental furniture shop. Back then of course, it was called the Buddha Bar and many of you still refer to it as ‘the Buddha’ these days. They focused on great music from the 70s, 80s and 90s and the bar became quite famous for good times during your ski holiday. Having spent three years working in hospitality in London, I returned to Morzine in 2001 and immediately joined my family in the busy bar. Morzine was becoming very popular as a ski destination in these early years and we wanted to develop the bar to offer really excellent service and create great memories for people. Service was (and is!) our main focus and even to this day, the bar is one of the only places you’ll enjoy table service during your evening. In 2008 we changed the name to the Tibetan Cafe that you all know (and hopefully love!) today. This marked a new start for the bar as I took over and my family finally retired! I had big shoes to fill! During the winter season we open each day at 4pm. We kick off our apres party with live music from different local bands and we follow this up with a live DJ set later each evening. Back in 2008, two of our first musicians were Jamie and Dan, they really packed out the bar and we had a lot of fun. Dan returned to Morzine recently and has formed a new band called Encore, I can’t wait to welcome them back to the Tibetan stage this winter. We also show all the major sporting events on our screens and because I’m a huge rugby fan, the Six Nations championship is a big deal in the bar each year. We had a fire in our bar as we prepared to open for the 2017/2018 season. Fortunately the bar was closed at the time and no one was injured, but the damage was extensive and we couldn’t open for the whole winter. The experience was heartbreaking for my family and I, but we rebuilt the bar, had a complete refurbishment, and reopened better than ever the following winter.
It’s really nice to work with my husband and I don’t know any other husband and wife ramoneurs at all! We get to spend our days on the rooftops, taking in the extra special views and at the end of each day we can take pride in the work we’ve done.
Since then my focus has been on providing the same friendly, generous, warm spirit that my parents started all those years ago. People often ask me how I do it; work all night, every night in the bar before returning to my own young family in the early hours of the morning. Yes, sometimes the winter season can feel long and at the end I’m ready for a very long holiday, but it’s worth it to see the faces of our regular guests year after year. They’ve become friends, we know each other well and welcoming new visitors is always great fun. I also love enhancing our range of drinks, creating new cocktails, discovering new gins for our annual gin festival… the work never stops but I wouldn’t have it any other way”
Find out more about Sarah, Ross and Pro Ramonage at proramonage.com
Follow the Tibetan Cafe on Facebook and Instagram this winter for live sports updates, music announcements, new drinks and more.
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