To me, winter means only one thing: 1970s-style ski chalet fondue soirees complete with hot tubs, turtlenecks, gold chains and wispy mustaches.
I know you're feeling me, so bubble up some cheese and let's get this key party started.
Or if you're more of a chocolate person, well that's groovy too.
Whatever sprints your Sbrinz, you know what I'm sayin'?
As usual, Julia Rothman is responsible for the wonderfully cheesy artwork.
Swiss Cheese History: Cow herders in Switzerland created cheese fondue our of necessity during the cold, sparse months while stuck roaming the wintry route of St. Gotthard Pass. It was a tough gig, but it did have one redeeming perk; hearty herders ingested copious amounts of cheese, bread, and wine to stave off frostbite. The cheese and bread would typically be hard and stale, and would need to be softened up in the “caquelon,” or earthenware cooking pot. By pouring ins some wine, melting the cheese, dipping in the crunchy bread, and savoring the hot, bubbly, moist meal, Swiss cow herders satiated their gullets, from the icy Alps to the snowy expanses of Zurich.
Cheese With Their Whine: Adhering to their love of neutrality, the Swiss never went so far as to give their concoction a name. Adhering to their love of gastronomical arrogance, the French decided to take care of it for them. The word fondue comes from the French feminine past participle fonder, “to melt,” which should be familiar to any student of France’s military history.
Do That Fondue That You Do So Well: In 1956, the renowned New York City chef Konrad Egli debuted a new menu item at the Chalet Swiss Restaurant, “Fondue Bourguignonne,” which featured meat cubes cooked in hot oil, and the communal pot method became the meatus operandi for the Manhattan in-crowd. In 1964, Egli created even more buzz by unsheathing the power of chocolate fondue upon a town yearning for sweet, gooey goodness.
Wang, Dang, Fondoodle: After World War II, fondue became the house nosh at sexy ski lodges popping up in Switzerland. A fun game was invented in which a man who dropped the bread from his fork into the cheese had to buy a bottle of wine for the table, while a woman who lost her bread had to kiss every playboy in the chalet. Fondue would go on to become a staple at ‘70s epicurean parties, where dipping one’s fruit into the community hot pot was all part of the swinging fun.
Just Fondue It: A generation weaned on McNuggets is bringing the interactive thrill of dipping foods into sauces back to the dinner party. For a mere $59.95 at Crate & Barrel, you can buy a deluxe fondue set and join their legions now. Start melting your guests’ hearts…and their Monterey Jack. And remember, like the delicate figure skater Linus Van Pelt, swirl in a figure-eight pattern. You’ll always have a fully-blended dish of cheesy heaven.
(Fondue picture courtesy of H. Armstrong Roberts Co.)
(City, Winter 2005)
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