The Bell at Skenfrith is happy to welcome its new head chef Rupert Taylor, 29. Having studied in Bath, Rupert’sfirst position was at Homewood Park as commis chef to Gary Jones (now executive head chef at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons) where he was part of the team that gained three AA rosettes and a Michelin star.

Rupert left to join Bath’s Royal Crescent hotel and then to Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck in Bray, where he workedfor 3½ years. He left the Fat Duck to work for Jamie Oliver at his Fifteen restaurant in Cornwall where he spent ayear before leaving to travel the world. Rupert linked his travels to working for the Mark warner company inbetween indulging his passion for snowboarding or surfing. Upon his return to the UK in 2009, Rupert joined TheBell at Skenfrith as Head Chef.

Since it opened ten years ago, The Bell’s ethos has always been to offer seasonal menus using local ingredients,much from its own organic kitchen garden. This is at one with Rupert’s style of cooking. Using local ingredientsis of paramount importance to him, as is the presentation of them which he stresses can be as important as theflavour; some of his plate settings are positively Picasso!

Since taking up his first head chef position, Rupert has brought in a fresh twist to The Bell’s menus, whilecontinuing its reputation for offering delicious, modern British cooking using fresh, locally-sourced and seasonalingredients. He works closely with Michele Civil, The Bell’s organic kitchen gardener, when creating his menus andlikes to be very involved with what is being grown in the kitchen garden.

Originally inspired to take up cooking by his grandmother, Rupert’s most influential mentor has been HestonBlumenthal. When not cooking at The Bell, Rupert likes to snowboard, surf and work out at the gym. William andJanet Hutchings are delighted to welcome Rupert to their team. His enthusiasm and wealth of experience will helppush The Bell to even greater heights on the culinary scene!

The table compares the kids club facilities at hotels in ski resorts available with five of the largest UK tour operators; Mark warner, Thomson Ski, Club Med, Crystal Holidays and Neilson, highlighting information on the various childcare age groups, staff qualifications, babysitting services, daytime activities and safety information.

The research found that three of the five tour operators offer childcare for infants under six months, however Crystal Holidays and Thomson Ski only offer care for children aged six months and above. All the kids clubs provide daytime activities, lunch and some form of evening childcare. Neilson offer an extensive range of childcare facilities at the Hotel Aalborg in Les Deux Alpes, France. However, parents will need to organise childcare arrangements themselves at other Neilson ski resorts. Parents should also be aware that they will need to fill in a Child Health Form when they arrive at their destination. All the tours operators recommend that kids clubs should be booked at the time of making a holiday reservation.

Nick Caunter, managing director of APH, says “With the ski holiday season fast approaching, and many families leaving their booking much later than previous years, we chose now to highlight the options for families this winter”.

Airport parking and Hotels Ltd is one of the UK’s leading booking agencies and has over 29 years’ experience as a retailer of pre-booked airport parking and travel extras. APH offers parking at all major UK airports, ports and Eurotunnel terminals plus airport hotels packaged with parking, airport lounges, travel insurance, car hire and holiday taxis. APH is also a carbon balanced company and has through the World Land Trust helped purchase more than 1,000 acres of Belize rainforest.