Fondue
Fondue is a French derived word meaning, “melt.” Fondue is typically a cheese sauce dish that originated in Switzerland in the 18th century. The cheese dish contains at least two types of cheeses melted with wine and a bit of flour and served communally out of a pot called a caqualon. After the cheese has been fully melted in the pot, long handled forks are provided for dipping bread, apples, meats and vegetables. There are a variety of different fondues in which other items can be dipped into such as:
- Dessert
- Hot Oil
- Broth
Dessert fondues can be made with melted:
- Chocolate
- Honey
- Peanut Butter
- Coconut
- Caramel
Fresh fruit, marshmallows, graham crackers and any other item you like can be dipped into the dessert fondues. The most typical type of dessert fondue is chocolate, whether it is light, dark or white chocolate. The hot oil fondue includes tiny pieces of meat being dipped into the simmering oil which actually fries the meat. The guest would then dip the fried meat into a variety of sauces to eat. In a broth fondue, any type of meat is dipped into the simmering broth (chicken, beef or vegetable) and then into one’s choice of sauce. Types of meats that can be used are:
- Lobster
- Shrimp
- Filet Mignon
- Chicken
- Lamb
Fondue is a great interactive meal to be served at any event. Different types of fondue could be placed on each table at the appropriate time or you could serve the cheese fondue as an appetizer, followed by a salad, then the hot oil or broth fondue with a choice of meats and then finally the dessert fondue. The great thing about fondue is that it can be totally customized for each event. If you are having an Asian themed event you could serve vegetables such as eggplant and broccoli for the cheese fondue and then fish and other seafood for the meat fondue. Each of the meat fondues has accompanying sauces so you could use to serve hoisin, teriyaki, black bean and garlic sauces instead of marinara and pesto. Several fondue pots could be served to any given table and the guests would be free to help themselves. Fondue is a very interactive meal and would allow your guests to have fun while they enjoy their meal.
