Throughout North America, the word “fondue” evokes the appetizing image of a fondue pot filled with melted cheese.
This dish of Swiss origin, historically prepared by peasants in the heart of winter to enhance the edibility of leftover hardened cheeses and stale bread, made a remarkable entrance into the United States in 1964, during the New York World’s Fair. Consumers then discovered the pleasure of dipping pieces of bread impaled on long forks into a tasty mixture of processed cheese.
Many Americans were charmed by this friendly dish, and adopted it during the 1970s, in particular, to treat friends and family at home.
American variations
Two other types of fondue appeared on American soil thanks to Swiss-born restaurateur Konrad Egli. The owner of Swiss Chalet first started serving burgundy fondue (Bourguignonne) in 1956. In this style of fondue, guests were invited to cook cubes of beef and vegetables in very hot oil.
In the mid-1960s, Egli himself invented chocolate fondue as part of an advertising campaign for Toblerone chocolate. This ended up being very popular with the American sweet tooth!
Meanwhile in Québec
Fondue pots and fondue forks quickly found additional uses in French Canada: Chinese fondue. Inspired by a Chinese culinary tradition that dates back more than two millennia, the hot pot (火锅, huo guo), uses broth to cook the ingredients with a flavour profile drawn from its French culinary heritage.
In fact, the broth for a Québec Chinese fondue is prepared using beef consommé, red wine, garlic and shallot or onion, bay leaves and black pepper. Traditionally, a Québec Chinese fondue meal consisted of thin slices of beef wrapped around a fork, cooked, then dipped in an assortment of cold sauces and mayonnaise.
The era of fondue reinvented
In 2017, young Québec entrepreneur Dany Bernard launched a brand-new fondue pot design, replacing fondue forks with perforated baskets: the Fondussimo was born! No more tangled forks and floating ingredients to deal with!
This innovative new design has enabled Canadians and Americans to enjoy additional ingredients that could not previously be cooked with fondue forks. While somewhat similar to the Asian hot pot, Fondussimo helps you better control the cooking of food and achieve perfection with every bite, while eating healthier.
Thanks to a revolutionary recipe program, Fondussimo has also introduced the opportunity to enjoy fondue in any culinary style, regardless of preferences or dietary restrictions. Whether Italian fondue, Greek fondue, Sugar Shack fondue or Hunter’s fondue, the only limit now is your imagination – and your guests’ hungry appetites!
It’s your turn to make new meal memories with fondue!
