Four Fondues: Cheese, Chocolate & Beyond

Channel the best part of any ski holiday in your own home by making fondue and sharing it with your nearest and dearest. These recipes, from our cook school's very first instructor Carla, include the classic cheese and chocolate versions, plus a fondue-ified Chinese hot pot and our personal favourite, fondue Bourguignonne (which also goes by the much less attractive – but nonetheless délicieux – title of oil fondue), where meat, seafood, and/or vegetables are cooked in a mixture of butter and oil at the table then dipped into your choice of sauces. 

These recipes are designed to fit a fondue with a 2-litre capacity; please scale the recipe up or down based on the size of your fondue pot. 

Cheese Fondue

Ingredients
1 clove garlic, peeled & halved
300ml sauvignon blanc (or Chablis)
1 tbsp corn flour
320g grated Emmenthal (or Jarlsberg)
500g grated Gruyère (or Comté)
Nutmeg, to taste

To serve: day-old bread, cubed; cornichons & other pickles; charcuterie

Optional additions: Reblochon; Vacherin Fribourgeois; blue cheese

  • Rub the garlic clove halves around the interior on the fondue pot, then discard garlic. Add wine and corn flour to the fondue pot and whisk together, then place on the hob and bring to a simmer.
  • Add the grated Emmental & whisk until cheese has melted. Follow with the Gruyère, whisking until melted. If using optional cheese(s), add and whisk until melted. Taste and season with nutmeg. (If your fondue is not compatible with your hob, cook the wine, corn flour, cheeses and spices in a saucepan and add to the fondue pot once the mixture is to your taste.)
  • Light the flame in the fondue base. Transfer fondue pot from hob to base and serve, dipping bread into cheese fondue with skewers. Enjoy with cornichons, other pickles, and charcuterie on the side.

Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients:
20g unsalted butter
150ml milk
200g good quality dark chocolate (recommend 70%), roughly chopped
150ml single cream

To serve: fresh fruit such as strawberries, banana slices, and pineapple; dried fruit such as mango, apricot, and coconut strips; toasted cubes of brioche or challah

  • Add the butter and milk to the fondue pot & place on hob over low heat. Bring to a simmer, add the chocolate and stir until chocolate has completely melted. Add the single cream and stir. (If your fondue pot is not compatible with your hob, follow these steps in a saucepan and transfer to the fondue.)
  • Light the flame in the fondue base. Transfer fondue pot from hob to base and serve. Use skewers to pierce the fruit and bread, and serve alongside the fondue to dip into the chocolate.

Chinese Hot Pot (Fondue Chinoise)

Ingredients
1 litre chicken stock
125ml Chinese sha cha sauce (Chinese BBQ sauce)
10g brown sugar
50ml Asian fish sauce
Juice from 2 limes

To serve: proteins such as thinly sliced beef/lamb/pork, skin-on prawns, or cubed firm tofu; green vegetables such as bok choy & Chinese cabbage; assorted mushrooms such as hen of the woods, shiitake, and enoki; quick cooking noodles such as ho fun & rice stick noodles; assorted dipping sauces such as ginger-scallion sauce, hot pepper sauce, and black vinegar sauce

  • Add stock to fondue pot and place on the hob. (If your fondue pot isn't compatible with your hob, follow these instructions with a saucepan and transfer to the fondue.) Bring to a boil, then add sha cha sauce and sugar, stirring to incorporate. Turn off the heat and add fish sauce.
  • Light the flame in the fondue base. Carefully transfer fondue pot from hob to base. Add lime juice to fondue pot and salt to taste. Once broth is perfectly seasoned, skewer protein, tofu, or vegetables and submerge in hot broth until cooked to desired consistency. Once cooked, dip in assorted dipping sauces. Add noodles to broth, swirl to quickly cook, then remove with chopsticks and dip in dipping sauces.

Oil Fondue (Fondue Bourguignonne)

Ingredients
Good quality peanut or rapeseed oil, enough to fill fondue pot halfway
50g butter
500g beef tenderloin (or other cut with little fat or sinew), cut into bite-sized cubes

Optional additions: skin-on prawns, chicken breast (cubed), bread (cubed)

To serve: dipping sauces such as BBQ sauce, cocktail sauce, Sriracha mayonnaise, salsa verde, satay sauce or garlic butter

  • Heat the oil and butter in the fondue pot on the hob until it reaches 180-190C. (If your fondue pot isn't compatible with your hob, do this in a saucepan and transfer to the fondue pot.)
  • Light the flame in the fondue base. Carefully transfer fondue pot from hob to base. Skewer beef cubes and place inside fondue pot, completely submerging beef. Cook to desired doneness: 30 seconds for rare, 35-40 seconds for medium, 50 second for well done. If using prawns or chicken breast, skewer and cook until cooked through (time will depend upon size). Remove from fondue pot, dip into sauces, and enjoy!

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