Sunday, January 28, 2007

Every Fondue is Different

Friday night I had the pleasure of going to dinner with my friend Robin, her husband Tim and his friend Wao at the oldest farm in La Chaux-de-Fonds. La Ferme des Brandt was built in 1614 and has really cool stubby wide doorways, strange details and a huge dining hall that is half consumed by a giant fireplace. Unfortunately the fire was not blazing, but the fondue was super yummy.

I haven't been in Switzerland that long, but I have been here long enough to know that every fondue is different. It's amazing how a pot of bubbling cheese could have such distinctly different results each time, but it does. It depends on the cheese firstly and principally, but then there is the cook. Some people use a lot of garlic, others not so much. Some people use kirsch, some don't. Some people use just a little bit of wine, others a ton. But, even if the same person makes it with cheese from the same source, it's different every time. When you get a really good fondue, enjoy it while it lasts, because like the snowflakes outside, it's a unique and random result in a universe of possibilities.

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