Cheese Fondue, YES!

Now that the nights have drawn in and got colder, the time for decadent, warming foods has definitely arrived, as I have proved over the past week with some epic eating! Salads only next week. If last Friday was steak night, this Friday was fondue Friday.
Cheese fondue is back, if I say so it must be true. A pot of warm melted cheese and stuff to dip in, what's not to like? Having worked for a cheese company for the best part of three years, I can be a be a bit of a geek about the subject of cheese but what I'll share with you is the recipe that I recommend as well as a few hints on where you can buy the best cheeses in London for your perfect fondue.
Fondue recipes can differ depending on region but also personal taste, there's no hard and fast rule but the cheese should melt well and be tasty.
My favourite mix is by far the Swiss "moitié-moitié" which means half and half - half Gruyère, half Vacherin Fribourgeois.
Before you get started, get some dippers ready, you can dip whatever you like, but chunks of good crusty bread, new potatoes, brocoli and cauliflower all work well. Raw carrots are also good and I tend to do a salad of rocket with a hefty vinegar dressing to cut through all that dairy. Some people like to have charcuterie as well, just go with what you fancy. Keep it simple or mix it up. One of my favourite things is to fry some courgette and red onion until just cooked and spoon some cheese over the top. Also, pickles! You've got to have the pickles. Pickled cucumbers and onions are best.


For the fondue:
Allow up to 200g of cheese per person (for a main meal, if you're hungry). So, for a fondue for 4 people, you'd need about 800g of cheese, 400g Vacherin and 400g Gruyere. For the total weight of your cheese, you need about half the amount of a dry white wine - something cheap will do and that'll be about 400ml.
Get your fondue set and warm the pan, then add the wine. You can start things off on your hob if you're desperate to eat! Once the wine is just about to simmer, add your cheese which should be grated or coarsely chopped. The important thing is to keep things moving, so get a wooden spoon to help melt the cheese through. Once it's nice and smooth, add a dash of kirsch (a cherry brandy) but actually almost any liquer works well within reason. I should also say that before adding your cheese, you can rub your pot with a cut garlic clove, but I've never done it and I don't think I've missed out. Some recipes also suggest adding cornflour to help the mixture bind but it's not vital.
The thing that is vital, is not letting the cheese boil. You want to keep it at a constant temperature so keep an eye on that flame. At the end you'll end up with a little layer of 'toasted' cheese on the bottom, hopefully not burnt and you can eat it if you want to. At the end of the fondue, a Swiss tradition I'm told, is to add an egg to the pot and make a cheesey scrambled egg to scoop up with some bread. I've never done it but I'm sure it'd be great.
Another tip: if you have a fondue set and don't want to use methylated spirit in its liquid form, you can get these awesome firestar gel fuels online that do the job brilliantly. One gel is usually enough for a decent kilo fondue.
Don't have a fondue set? You can make up your fondue over a medium to low heat on the hob. Use a thick bottom pan and keep it hot at the table with a bain marie sort of thing.
Now, you're ready to dip! So, you can dip whatever you like, but chunks of good crusty bread, new potatoes, brocoli and cauliflower all work well. Raw carrots are also good and I tend to do a salad of rocket with a hefty vinegar dressing to cut through all that dairy. Some people like to have charcuterie as well, just go with what you fancy. Keep it simple or mix it up. One of my favourite things is to fry some courgette and red onion until just cooked and spoon some cheese over the top.
When you dip, be sure to get right to the bottom of the pot so you get the good cheese covering your dipper.
You get the idea, happy dipping!



Where to buy the cheese.

In the UK, Vacherin Fribourgeois is not easy to come by. One supplier is KaseSwiss who are based at Borough Market and Maltby Street. They also do wholesale to a range of shops around London so you can always contact them to enquire about the latest stocks. One thing you can guarantee is that any cheese from these guys, fondue or otherwise, will be amazing. They also promote the 'ECF movement' which is something I can always get on board with. It stands for eat cheese first, as in at the beginning of the meal.
If you can't get hold of Vacherin you can try a different regional recipe. Alternatively, you can use Emmental which is more readily available, just make sure it's a young one so it doesn't get too stringy when it melts.

ENJOY!!!