60 Before 60 Project: #8 - Host a Fondue Party

When I say fondue, what do you think of? Do you have flashbacks to the 1970’s and bell bottoms and rotary phones?

According to the BBC, Fondue was actually first mentioned in 800 to 725 BC. At that time, it was being eaten in the Swiss mountains as a way to use leftover bread and cheese when fresh produce was scarce.

But the fondue that we know today dates back to the late 1800s. It originated in the French Rhône-Alpes region near the Geneva border and in 1930 the Swiss Cheese Union declared it the country’s national dish.

North America discovered fondue in 1964 at the World Fair when it was featured at the Swiss Alpine’s restaurant.

I have only had fondue once.

But since then have always intrigued by the idea of everyone cooking their own meal at a shared table and thought it might be fun to try hosting a fondue party myself.

I mentioned this to a group of friends and they enthusiastically supported me on this idea. My husband even gave me an early Christmas gift of a fondue pot.

So I was all set to go.

First I had to figure out what I needed to do. We had decided that we were going to have a broth, cheese and chocolate fondue.

I started by getting some vegetables prepared. I choose potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I selected these vegetables as they would be able to stand up to hot broth. I parboiled the potatoes, cauliflower and carrots so that they were already semi cooked and didn’t need to spend much time in the fondue pot. I also prepared the fruit as well.

I then bought fondue meat and fondue sauces. The meat was available in our grocery stores frozen and precut in very thin slices. I got chicken, pork and beef (and way too much of it as it turns out).

Then came the big night.

I had solicited help from my friends who were coming over. They brought another fondue pot, the cheese, broth, a homemade fondue sauce and some fresh strawberries.

We set up the fondue pots.

Both the pots we were using were electric so I had to make sure that I had extension cords that could reach the dining table. As well, the pots had magnetic electrical connections so we had to play around with this as well as the electricity cut out a couple of times until we figured out there was a connection issue.

As for the actual fondue, I heated up the broth on the stove and then put it on the fondue stand. We added some wine and a bit of flour mixed with water to the cheese and started melting this in the other pot.

Once we were ready to go, everyone chose a coloured stick to identify what food was theirs in the pot. And then we started.

Fondue is pretty simple.

You put your food on the stick and either dip it in the cheese or cook it in the broth. When cooking the raw meat, you really need to make sure that it gets cooked well. The tastes and smells were amazing.

What was also surprising is how full you got when you really didn’t eat that much. The reason is that you’re taking your time in eating allowing your stomach to register with your brain that you’ve had enough.

The chocolate fondue with fruit was delicious. But then again putting chocolate on anything always tastes pretty good.

Overall, beyond me knocking over a glass of red wine, the night was a great success.

Here are a few things that I learned during my first ever fondue party;

1. Fondue can be dangerous so you need to be careful. Think about it. You’re putting a pot of boiling broth in the middle of your table. Our fondue pots were electric but this could be even more risky if we were using a flame.

2. I think fondue is ideal for small groups. There were only four of us but even then our sticks would sometimes get intertwined in the pots.

3. Fondue is social cooking experience. Everyone is involved in the preparation of their own meal.

4. The best part of a fondue is sharing the experience with friends (and I’ll extend this to family). Talking, cooking, eating all together as you share a food experience is wonderful.

I enjoyed this so much that we’re planning on doing this again with our family on Christmas Eve. Who knows, my first fondue party may now start a new family tradition.

Many thanks to my friends in participating and supporting me in my first ever fondue party - couldn’t have done it without you!

Happy Holidays everyone!

My 60 Before 60 Lesson: Wonderful memories are created when sharing a meal with friends

Here's some pictures from the fondue party;

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