Fondue & Raclette — The Real Version

The two dishes every visitor to Switzerland wants — done properly, for the first and probably last time.

Fondue is not complicated. It is also almost never done well. The standard version — wrong cheese, wrong wine, wrong temperature, wrong order — is so common in Swiss tourist restaurants that most people have accepted it as correct. This session disassembles that assumption.

You will understand the cheese selection logic, the role of the wine in the emulsion, why the mixture breaks and how to stop it, and what separates a fondue worth eating from the tourist version. Raclette gets the same treatment: the cheese varieties, the heat source, and the accompaniments that actually belong on the board.

What you'll learn

• Cheese selection and blending ratios — and why a single variety alone produces a flat result
• The chemistry of the emulsion: why wine, heat, and starch must be added in the right order
• How to read and correct a fondue that is breaking, splitting, or separating
• Raclette: cheese selection, proper scraping technique, temperature management, correct accompaniments
• Wine pairing with both dishes — what works and why Swiss whites behave differently from French

Session details

Duration: 2.5 hours
Group size: Maximum 6 guests
Location: Aroleid Restaurant kitchen and dining room, Zermatt
Includes: All cheese, wine, and accompaniments; caquelon and raclette equipment; printed recipe and cheese guide to take home
Prerequisites: None. An appetite is the only requirement.

You will leave knowing exactly what to look for and what to avoid when you encounter fondue elsewhere — and with the recipe and ratios to make it properly at home.

This product may be eligible for a deposit payment.