OK, so there is a back story to this love obsession and it is this: I recently went to St Moritz in Soho – the home of all cheese fondues.
It was awesome.
I would’ve taken photos, but by the time I remembered, I’d wiped the cheesy bowl clean. But, there was a sting – St Moritz, while being awesome -is spendy. I mean, you will pay here for a bowl of hot cheese, the same as you would a steak. Plus, they only bring you bits of bread. If you want more – you pay more.
So, the thing is, money, as you may have noticed, does not yet grow on trees, daffodils or anything else around my neck of the woods. And so I’ve been looking for a cheaper, more affordable way to recreate the wonderful cheesy-ness of St Moritz.
Fortunately, I don’t think I’ve been the only person thinking about this because in Waitrose I found a ready-made bag of cheese fondue for £10. And so I bought it. I did winch at the price for what is essentially a pretty small bag of blended cheese – but still, I told myself I was paying for the convenience.
So the Waitrose cheese-bag-fondue – held over the saucepan with me and the other half, was yums. This time around (and because we’d been to Waitrose and they have a smashing deli section), we had a load of other great stuff to dip into the cheese – we’re talking cornichons, honey roast ham, black treacle gammon, wine-soaked chorizo – you get the drift – it was totally tasty stuff.
Anyway, so my love of the melted food stuff increased even more after this experience – even if it did see us hovering over the saucepan on the low-heat hob.
So, as you do, when you start an obsession…I started looking into more things I could do if I owned a fondue – this involved meat recipes and also chocolate recipes.
Ah my heart was on fire!
How I didn’t Buy It Now on Amazon was a minor miracle – but I told myself, No, I am not falling into this constant consumer crap trap and unless I see one for a bargain I’m not allowed.
So, today, I am passing by a charity shop window and there in the window all new, shiny and boxed up is a FONDUE SET!
In a tizz I run into the shop, stumble into the window, retrieve the item and run to the till.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for one of these!” I declare to the assistant, who frankly doesn’t care and takes a sneaky puff of his vape.
“Really?” He says giving me an insouciant smile.
Narked by his lack of interest, I reply “Do you know what it is?”
He takes the box and looks at it closer, “Oh it’s a fondue,” he says with a bit more spark, and looks me up and down with a sardonic eye “How very 80s.”