29/09/2026
COOKING WITH CHEESE - PART 3
🧀 CHEESE FONDUE – ONE RECIPE, SO MANY WAYS TO EAT IT
There’s something wonderfully comforting about a pot of bubbling melted cheese in the middle of the table.
Fondue feels indulgent, but it’s actually incredibly simple: good cheese, w**e, garlic and plenty of delicious things for dipping.
CLASSIC CHEESE FONDUE
Serves 4
* 1 garlic clove, halved
* 300g Gruyère, grated
* 300g Comté or Emmental, grated
* 300ml dry white w**e
* 1 tbsp cornflour
* 1 tbsp kirsch – optional, but traditional
* 1 tsp Dijon mustard
* A good grating of nutmeg
* Freshly ground black pepper
* A little lemon juice, if needed
Rub the inside of your fondue pot or a heavy saucepan with the cut garlic.
Pour in the w**e and heat gently until steaming – you don’t want it furiously boiling.
Mix the grated cheeses with the cornflour.
Add the cheese to the warm w**e a handful at a time, stirring continuously and allowing each addition to melt before adding the next.
Keep the heat gentle. Once all the cheese has melted, you should have a beautifully smooth, glossy fondue.
Stir in the Dijon, kirsch if using, nutmeg and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Taste. If it needs a little lift, add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Transfer to your fondue burner and keep it warm and molten rather than bubbling.
Then comes the best bit…
🧀 OTHER CHEESES WORK TOO
You absolutely don’t have to stick to Gruyère and Comté.
A mixture of cheeses is often even better – use a good melting cheese as your base and then add something with a bit more character.
Try:
* Gruyère – nutty, savoury and classic.
* Comté – rich, buttery and slightly sweet.
* Emmental – mild, creamy and a brilliant melter.
* Raclette – rich, gooey and made for this sort of thing.
* Mature Cheddar – punchy and particularly good with b**r and mustard.
* Gouda – creamy and slightly sweet; smoked Gouda is delicious too.
* Fontina – buttery and exceptionally good for melting.
* Taleggio – soft, funky and full-flavoured; great mixed with something milder.
* Provolone – a lovely Italian twist.
* Manchego – nutty and distinctive; combine it with a softer melting cheese.
* Blue cheese – Stilton, Roquefort or another favourite blue; you only need a little to completely change the fondue.
Try Combinations
And don’t overlook all those little pieces left from a cheeseboard.
Christmas cheeseboard leftovers make a fantastic Boxing Day fondue.
What to dip:
⭐ OUR FAVOURITE – SURF & TURF FONDUE
If we’re choosing one, this is it.
Make your fondue and surround it with:
🥩 Slices of medium-rare steak
🍤 King prawns or crevettes
🥔 Crispy smashed potatoes
🌿 Asparagus
🍄 Roasted mushrooms
🥖 Garlic bread
🥒 Cornichons and something sharp and pickled
Cook everything first, pile it onto a big sharing board and put the bubbling fondue right in the middle.
Steak dipped into molten cheese. King prawns dipped into molten cheese. Crispy smashed potatoes dipped into molten cheese.
What’s not to love?
🍖 SUNDAY DINNER LEFTOVER FONDUE
This might just transform the way you look at Sunday leftovers.
Raid the fridge for:
* Roast beef, lamb, pork or chicken
* Roast potatoes
* Yorkshire puddings
* Stuffing balls
* Roast carrots
* Parsnips
* Brussels sprouts
* Pigs in blankets
* Leftover bread
Reheat everything thoroughly, put the fondue in the middle and let everyone attack it with their fondue forks.
And yes – Yorkshire pudding dipped into cheese fondue is absolutely a thing.
🎄 BOXING DAY FONDUE
Possibly the ultimate way to attack the Christmas fridge.
Use:
* Leftover turkey
* Christmas ham
* Pigs in blankets
* Stuffing
* Roast potatoes
* Sprouts
* Leftover bread
* Leftover cheeseboard cheeses
Then add cranberry sauce, pickled onions and cornichons, plus apple, pear and grapes to cut through all that richness.
Christmas leftovers suddenly become something everyone actually wants to eat.
🍺 OKTOBERFEST FONDUE
For an Oktoberfest version, replace some of the white w**e with a good l***r or German-style b**r and add a little extra mustard.
Bring out:
🌭 Bratwurst
🌭 Frankfurters or smoked sausages
🥨 Soft pretzels
🥔 Crispy potatoes
🥬 Sauerkraut
🥒 Cornichons
🫙 Mustard
🥖 Garlic bread
And, naturally, a cold b**r alongside.
🥓 CHARCUTERIE FONDUE
Take everything you love about a charcuterie board and put a pot of molten cheese in the middle.
Try:
* Prosciutto
* Salami
* Mortadella
* Cooked ham
* Smoked sausage
* Cornichons
* Pickled onions
* Figs
* Grapes
* Apple
* Pear
* Crusty bread
* Garlic bread
Essentially, a cheeseboard and charcuterie board made even better by adding hot cheese.
🥔 AND THEN THERE ARE THE DIPPERS…
Once you start, almost everything in the fridge begins to look fondue-worthy.
🥖 Crusty sourdough
🧄 Garlic bread
🥨 Pretzels
🥔 Crispy smashed potatoes
🥔 Roast potatoes
🥦 Broccoli
🌱 Brussels sprouts
🌿 Asparagus
🍄 Roasted mushrooms
🥒 Cornichons & pickles
🍎 Apple & pear
🍇 Grapes
🥓 Crispy bacon & pancetta
🌭 Bratwurst & sausages
🍖 Leftover roast meats
🍤 King prawns & crevettes
🥩 Steak
Fondue doesn’t really need rules.
Use the cheeses you love. Use what you’ve got. Raid the fridge. Put everything on a big board, bring a bubbling pot of cheese to the table, open a bottle of something good and start dipping.
Sunday leftovers, Boxing Day, Oktoberfest, charcuterie, fruit, garlic bread, smashed potatoes or a full-on Surf & Turf feast.
And if we’re choosing?
🥩🍤 SURF & TURF. EVERY TIME.
