Fondue

fondue the French for ‘melted’, is the name of a Swiss dish made of melted cheese. Those partaking are provided with cubes of bread which they spear on forks and dip into the pot of cheese, which is kept hot over a spirit burner. The name is also used for the Fondue bourguignonne in which the communal pot is full of heated oil and the eaters cook cubes of beef steak in it. This was the invention of a chef in the USA in 1956 (see table-top cookery). The same chef, Konrad Egli, invented chocolate fondue in 1966 (in association with the Swiss chocolate manufacturer Toblerone).