Bains des Pâquis
Quai du Mont-Blanc 30, 1201 Genève, Switzerland
I grew up strictly catholic and I have never felt closer to god. This pot of cheese, no, not just cheese, this heavenly bowl of classic white wine melted guyère, taught me the beautiful importance of simplicity. The perfect proportion of carelessly ripped apart pieces of nearly stale bread, with each its unique size and length, came in a canoe basket. No matter what size you got, you were bound to be satisfied with your bite.
Now we were lucky to be with local Switzerland boys - not only for the purposes of showing us the ways of eating real Swiss cheese, but also to quite literally shield us from the rather consistent heckling of “ling lings and “nihaos.” Besides the point - just had to mention dat…
How to eat fondue like a real Swiss:
Pour a pile of pepper on your plate. A PILE.
Take a piece of bread and stick it on the fork as if you were to boomerang it around a room and it would stay on the fork.
Using the fork, sink the bread to the bottom of the pot…literally touching the bottom.
Draw a figure eight in the cheese
Watch the slow motion waves of cheese sway within the walls of the pot and feel your fork become heavier.
Drag the piece of bread to the surface for a moment of breath.
Dip it into the pepper.
Eat it and let your eyes roll to the back of your head..
This was a delightful break from the crass, overwhelming, and tacky fondue experience in America.
