Does the thought of a fresh baguette dipped in a melted medley of Emmental and Gruyere, mixed with fruit brandy, white wine and garlic make your mouth water? How about a swirling pot of melted Swiss chocolate and a choice of waffle sticks, strawberries, mini doughnut balls and ice cream to eat it with? If this is the stuff of your most indulgent dreams, Swissôtel Sydney is here to make it a reality; the hotel’s traditional Swiss cheese and chocolate fondue experience is back again this year to get us through the cold winter months.
The enticing cheese concoction is served with crusty baguette bread, cornichons, pickled onions and cos salad. Dipper options include kipfler potatoes, spiced meatballs, slow-cooked flat iron steak, seasonal vegetables, grilled portobello mushrooms, pork salami, beer battered chips, potato rosti, prawn cutlets and, of course, crusty baguette bread. And if you like your cheese cheesier, you can choose to add some Fourme d’Ambert blue cheese, Gorgonzola Dolce blue cheese, or truffle for a little extra ‘oomph’.
Swissôtel Sydney has also curated a special beverage menu to complement the fondue, with drinks including Swiss-inspired cocktails, mulled wine and cider.
Being a traditional winter activity in Switzerland, there is some fondue etiquette and rules to learn before you go:
Good fondue etiquette
Since fondue is shared, it’s good etiquette to only eat the bread off your fork with your front teeth and not touch the fork with your mouth. It’s also good fondue etiquette to avoid partaking if you’re sick, plus things like double-dipping and dipping when someone else’s fork is in the pot is frowned upon.
Drinks
Traditionally, fondue is meant to be enjoyed with a dry white wine or kirsch (a clear fruit brandy). It’s said that the alcohol aids in digestion!
Losing the bread
Try as we might to eat every morsel of cheese-dipped bread we have, sometimes accidents happen, and a hunk of baguette falls off the fork and into the fondue. If this happens, there are traditions to follow. Supposedly, if a man loses his bread, he has to pay for the whole meal. And if a woman loses her bread, she has to kiss the person next to her!
Swissôtel Sydney’s Swiss cheese and chocolate fondue experience is on every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6pm–9pm until 31 August. The cheese fondue costs $34 per person, and the chocolate fondue costs $25 per person. Booking is essential.
Find out more: swissotel.com
Swissôtel Sydney
68 Market Street
Sydney NSW 2000
