Eléonore Toulin at Chalet Ariasana
The LA-based private chef and her two sisters met up for a reunion on the slopes of Vals, Switzerland, with a stay at one of our favorite mountain refuges.
- Category
- First Person
- Written by
- Louis Cheslaw
- Published
- March 19, 2024
High in the Alpine valley village of Vals—where you’ll also find the legendary Therme Vals spa—Chalet Ariasana pairs Swiss chalet comfort with the calm of Japanese design. The remodeled 1950s mountain refuge recently hosted chef Eléonore Toulin and her two sisters, who all flew in from Los Angeles, Paris and Lisbon respectively to reunite and take to the slopes.
Before embarking on her career as a chef, Toulin was a celebrated model for the likes of Chanel and Jacquemus—but prior to all of that, she grew up skiing every summer in France, which is where our conversation began.
How did it feel to be back on the slopes?
Incredible. Plus, I was with my two sisters. So it was really, really special. Honestly, it's been a while since I had the kind of incredible holiday where you feel so happy and fulfilled afterwards. We were just reconnecting with each other in the house, plus with skiing, you work out a lot, and you're breathing such pure air. And at the end of the day, you're really tired and you eat whatever you want. All of that together felt so good.
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Was the house in a convenient location for hitting the slopes?
Very convenient. We had a car, but honestly, we didn't need it, because there's a little ski bus that comes every 20 minutes to the village, and you could get from the house to the top of the mountain in half an hour. Also, it's funny, I didn't know this before, but in Switzerland you can literally leave your wallet on the floor and nobody will steal it. So it was great, because we could leave all of our skis and gear at this ski station next to this restaurant. Which meant we didn't have to bring our skis back to the house. We could just leave it all there. So you don’t have to carry anything.
Every view from the chalet was really, really beautiful, with views of the beautiful village, and the mountains.
What was your impression of Switzerland otherwise?
The nature is really incredible. It's very green and luxurious. The produce is really special. I was drinking milk from the glass every day, and I haven't done that in a really long time. That's how good it was.
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
And how was the skiing?
Oh my god, there was so much snow. When we arrived, it had just snowed for two days. I don't know what the word is in English, but in French we say poudreuse — the freshest snow. And the ski resort was not huge, just 15 or 20 slopes max, with four lifts. But it's really high up — 3,000 meters at the highest point of the mountain. But there was no one there, so it was just pure pleasure. In France, if you go to Val d'Isere, it's crazy crowded, expensive, and also just a little bit dangerous, because there's too many people and the snow is not as good. So when we were up there, we felt so lucky to be experiencing it. We were stopping every second to film!
We went every day first thing in the morning, except there was just one day where it was snowing like crazy when we woke up, so we had to wait until after lunch. But that was actually kind of nice, because there was the freshest powder once we got up there. It was actually the best day, because the sun suddenly came out, the snow was super fresh. It was like magic.
And at the house, how did you decide who got what room?
Well, there were three bedrooms. Two upstairs. One on the first floor. The big one with the ensuite bathroom was mine. Then there was another one that was also pretty big with a shower attached. So everyone was really happy. And every view from the chalet was really, really beautiful, with views of the beautiful village, and the mountains.
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
How do you like to get comfortable in a new place?
First thing is a bottle of wine or champagne. You have a drink, a fire, you play music, and you chill. That's how we do it.
What was the atmosphere in the house?
Really cozy, all the time. We would wake up and make a fire right away, play some music, have our coffee, just catch up about how we’d slept, whatever. And then when we got back in the evening, it was the same right away. Fire, glass of wine, music. We felt super cocooned and comfy and warm, but we also had fun.
And this is a big question for you as a chef, but how was the kitchen?
Really good. It had everything you need. Le Creuset pots, a raclette machine, an old school fondue pot, really beautiful stuff. Nothing was missing. We cooked a raclette which was insane, and a few other meals also. But we also enjoyed the really nice restaurants in the village. When we did cook, two minutes walk away was a little fromagerie with all the dairy produce, and also an epicerie that sold wine, chips, fancy ham, stuff like that.
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
And you were also close to the famous thermal baths at Therme Vals. Did you take the waters?
Oh, we went. My god. You can buy a pass and you can spend the whole day there, and if you're a resident, you get a discount that makes it 15 euros instead of 80. Our hosts at the house left us coupons so we could take advantage of that. The baths also have an incredible two-Michelin-star restaurant, but we didn't go, we were really just in the waters for three hours. There's a big indoor pool and different little rooms, and the architecture is insane, all dark grey stone, with the mountains all around you. I've never been anywhere like it.
Did you feel the waters had that rejuvenating, magical power?
A hundred percent. We were feeling a bit sore and tired from skiing, and after the baths we would just go home and feel so rested and so much better. I didn't realize how famous it was, but when I was posting from there, my friends all texted me that they’d been dreaming to go.
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Do you bring things home when you travel, too?
Always. I always try to bring something food related. Every time I go to my mom’s house in Luca, in Tuscany, there's this guy in the town who has a stand on the street and sells this bitter honey that you can't find anywhere else. I always bring some home. On this trip, when I was in Switzerland, I brought back some soap that's made from alpaca and donkey’s milk.
My whole desk is just covered in little rocks from beaches.
Oh yeah, I do that too! I always bring a rock. And magnets for the fridge.
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Do you have any more trips coming up this year?
I'm going to Marseille for the whole of June. I always spend three months of the summer in Europe, and I've been to Marseille many times, but I've never spent a month there. I just want to try it out because eventually I want to move back to Europe. And that could be a good option because it's by the sea, and I can have a house, and it's still easy to get to Paris — I don't want to move back to Paris.
And if I had to ask you in the next ten minutes to pack your small suitcase for that trip, what are you throwing in there?
Jeans, a workout outfit, sneakers, my swimsuit, sunscreen. A book. And my camera — I have a Contax T2. I've been taking pictures since I was 14. I assisted a photographer in Paris until I was 23, and I studied photography, and was sure I was going to be a photographer. And then out of the blue I started modeling. And then I modeled for a couple years, which was full on. But then around 28 or 29, I was like, what am I doing with my life? I'm not really happy. And how much I enjoyed cooking kind of became the evidence. So I transitioned to that, and now I'm very happy.
How did that transition happen?
Well, I mean I've always cooked. I was always the one hosting parties and my friends told me I should be a cook, but it never ever crossed my mind. Then Covid happened and I was not doing anything with my brain and not being very creative. Just modeling. Which is great – you make money, you travel, but you're not doing anything interesting. I needed to do something else, and cooking was kind of this illumination. So I quit Paris, and moved to L.A. where I had a friend who was very connected to the culinary world here, and he introduced me to my first clients, and it’s grown from there. I've never even worked in a restaurant — I did a two week intense course in Paris, but that's it.
What was the course?
How to prepare meat, how to prepare fish, which was great. But that's the only training I’ve ever had. Now it's transitioned into me working with brands, and doing a lot of events.
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
It's nice that you've been able to keep a foot in the fashion community even as you embark on this new career.
It's lovely, yeah. I'm using it a hundred percent. I’m really lucky.
But it wouldn't be working if the food didn’t taste good...
Of course, the food is good! I’m not a Michelin star chef, but my food is really good, simple, generous and family style. But it's awesome: I used to model for Chanel, and now I cook for them.
Do you dream about having a restaurant?
It's a good question. My real dream is to have a farm-to-table hotel in California or in Europe. That's my end goal. I don't want to own a restaurant. But I would love to help a chef start a restaurant there. The hotel side is already planned out totally in my head. But I'm also launching my brand pretty soon...
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Photo: Eléonore Toulin @eleonoretoulin
Wait, can you say more?
I can't say much — but the name is Chez Leo. It's launching in the summer, and I will just say I want this brand to be about more than just objects. I want it to be a global thing around the lifestyle of cooking.
Is Leo a nickname?
It's my only nickname.
It's so nice when you hit a flow state with your career and one thing leads to another.
I can't recommend more to people that if you’re unhappy and there's something you dream of doing, try to do it. I got really lucky, and it was not easy in the beginning, but my advice is to try. In the worst case, you fail, and you do something else. But you did it.
Lastly: Is there anything the chalet had that you miss?
The bathtub. I don't have a bathtub.
But you live in LA! I thought you all had tubs.
I know. But the previous owners of our house built showers instead… But after this trip, I'm going to install a bathtub. I need one.
STAY: Chalet Ariasana; Therme Vals Flat 421
SKI: Vals
SOAK: Therme Vals Spa
