Tastes Like Food

In recent years, chocolate fondue has emerged as a popular dessert item or party feature. I have often been unimpressed by the whole chocolate fondue experience. The chocolate is usually too weak, the utensils are inadequately sized, and/or the dipping items are unappealing (e.g., boring canned fruit, overly dried morsels of cake, or monster-sized strawberries that don’t properly fit in your mouth and drip chocolate all over).

However, last spring on a trip to Breckenridge, I found myself enjoying some fine European cuisine at the Swiss Haven Restaurant in this quaint downtown ski resort. After a satisfying dinner there was just enough room to still consider dessert. Here was the perfect opportunity to give the chocolate fondue one more chance. Who better than the Swiss masters of chocolate to entertain my palate with one more taste of sweetness before the evening dining experience ended?

Three of us shared the fondue dessert, which was complete with an ample portion of fresh fruit, soft cake bits, marshmallows, and a delicately warmed pot of chocolate.

Unlike the ‘fountains’ where chocolate is spinning in some complicated manner and being recycled the entire time, this was a dip and done deal. I prefer this latter method, as you have more control of the whole experience. Perhaps the pot is the key, as the consistency and warmth of the chocolate remained constant. We could take our time dipping without any danger of things solidifying.

While this fondue dessert was more satisfying than any other previous one, I’ve decided that the fondue experience should not be about expecting a high chocolate flavor.  It will never be as good as a bite out of rich chocolate bar. But the social experience is what carves out this unique consumption of sugar.  As long as you aren’t with a greedy comrade who chomps down the dipping materials before you, you have a great opportunity to extend the evening’s debauchery.  In my opinion, food should be enjoyed in a relaxed manner, and chocolate fondue is no exception.