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You don’t need to live in the Alps – or,indeed, the 1970s – to enjoy the fun of a fondue because the third season ofculinary celebration has just been launched at one of the most popularrestaurants in the Seef district.
Large groups of expat Europeans areparticularly drawn to the Swiss-Belhotel for a taste of home and goodconversation so traditionally linked to this pleasant pastime and many localshave also caught on to this culinary celebration.
Harking back to the 70s, at the time thiswas the coolest and trendiest party to throw and as a teenager the very firstdinner date I ever staged at the age of 18 (to impress the ladies) was a fondueaffair. Oh the tragic memory of burning my date’s lips on piping hot cheese willbe forever ingrained on my broken heart. There was no good night kiss.
As with fine romance, this is a meal not tobe rushed but to be savoured and treasured. Fondue originally started in the18th Century as a Swiss dish of melted cheese served in a pot kept hot andeaten by dipping bread into it using long-stemmed forks, or as I like to callthem, spears.
It is still regarded as a symbol of Swissunity and Executive Chef Holger Lang learned all about the secrets andspecialness of the dish during a four-year spell in the kitchens ofSwitzerland.
A cheese fondue mixture should be kept warmenough to keep the fondue smooth and liquid but not so hot that it burns … ifonly I’d known that when I was 18.
The dish consists of at least two varietiesof cheeses that are melted and best mixed with clear cherry and dry whitebeverages, plus cornstarch, garlic and nutmeg in the kitchen. The pot or‘caquelon’ with its bubbling contents is then placed on a burner on the table.
Given that fondue is considered a communalmeal, and it’s not unheard of to have gatherings of up 10 to 15 people meet upto share the feast at the Swiss-CaféRestaurant on the hotel’s 10th floor, the good lady wife Kathryn and I werejoined by our niece Hanna, visiting from the UK, for a sampling session lastFriday.
The setting was superb, with a table besidea flowing water wall to add to the tranquility of the occasion, and we werehelped to our seats by restaurant manager, Atta Nassar.
The outside terrace, however, is thefavoured placed to sample the Fondue Bourguignonne, also known as Beef Fondue,in which cubes of meat, egg plants, zucchini and peppers can be deep fried onthe table.
Another style of fondue is a simplevegetable Chinoise Broth or Bouillon which makes for a lighter, less caloricmeal than the other versions.
But we were here determined to go down thetraditional route for a calcium-boosting Cheese Fondue featuring Appenzeller,Gruyère, Tomme de Savoie and Emmentaler.
German Chef Holger, who spent 20 yearsgaining culinary experience around the world, first came to Bahrain in 2010 towork at the Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain before taking up the executive role at theSwiss-Belhotel Seef, shared some of his fondue fun memories from his days inthe Alps.
“If someone dropped their bread in thecheese,” he gleefully pointed out, “they had to pay a penalty.”
Now depending on whether the group offriends were in a generous or mean frame of mind, it could be simply taking ashot of something in a glass or be sent on a walk up and down a mountainside.
With that in mind, and as it was Hanna’sfirst time, I was planning to send her marching around Seef Mall but shequickly mastered the concept and never dropped a drip, let alone a skeweredpiece of baguette.
To eat cheese fondue, dip a speared pieceof bread into the pot. Twirl the bread cube gently in the cheese to coat it.You’ll want to let the bread drip a bit before you put it in your mouth. Thiswill allow the excess to drip back in the pot and also allow time for cooling.
Needless to say, this dish is deeplymoreish, especially when topped, tailed and accessorised with lighter, sweeter,crunchier and tarter items that balance out all that smooth, unctuous cheese.
The stunning sides of horse radish sauce,mustard sauce, garlic mayonnaise, plus yoghurt, sweet & chilly and currydips, plus fresh tomatoes, pickles, carrots and gherkin play perfectly with thetaste buds.
If the temperature is held until the fondueis finished, a thin crust of toasted (not burnt) cheese can be uncovered at thebottom of the pot. It has the texture of a cracker and can be lifted out andeaten too.
The Fondue promotion runs until the end ofMarch 2017, at BD 15++ … don’t miss out on the fun and bring family and friendsalong too!
To book a table, call 66310000.
See Editor Stan Szecowka’s interview withExecuitive Chef Holger Lang by scanning the QR or visit www.gulfweekly.com orour Facebook page.
