I saved a couple of countries specifically for the winter months, and was getting quite worried. It is mid June, and we are still wearing shorts and sandals. We are experiencing unseasonably hot weather, but fortunately yesterday was the first day this year that remotely resembled winter: cloudy, rainy and (by Brisbane standards) quite cold. Perfect weather for a Fondue.
As we were driving to our Swiss adventure last night, I noted that it was Friday the 13th, there was a full moon in the night sky and the planet Mercury was in its apparent retrograde (a situation astrologists find most ominous). With all these forces against us, Boetie concluded that we were truly stuffed. And that we were, after our enjoyable evening at Des Alpes in Mitchelton, a leafy suburb on a north facing slope, 8km northwest from the Brisbane CBD.
Monica and Nick (two of 28,890 Swiss residing in Australia) opened Des Alpes 21 years ago, offering an authentic Swiss dining experience. With giant cow bells at the entrance, numerous cuckoo clocks on the wall and Alpine hats on a rack (adorned with feathers and theme pins) there was no mistaken that we were in Swiss territory. This was re-enforced by the menu, featuring Zurich Geschnetzeltes (veal in a creamy mushroom sauce), Kassler (smoked pork loin in a mild pepper sauce) and Monsieur Roquefort ( pork fillets with pears poached in red wine with a blue vein cheese sauce)......but we were there for the Fondue!
The term Fondue derives from the French word fondre/ "to melt". The earliest known recipe for cheese fondue was published in 1699 in Zurich. The old recipes often included egg, with the rich Gruyere cheese sauce resembling something between scrambled eggs and a soufflé. The modern Fondue, without egg, took shape in 1875, and was presented as the Swiss national dish. We started our meal with the cheese fondue: a delicious cheese sauce made with white wine and Kirsch into which we dipped cubes of fresh baguette on our long stemmed forks. The communal pot of cheese sauce was placed on a portable stove, or rechaud to keep it at the perfect temperature, smooth and creamy. Phil decided against the Fondue, and ordered the Fleishpastete Country Terrine (chicken and pork mince with walnuts, mushrooms and herbs, wrapped in bacon and baked in the oven, served with pickles and red wine jelly).
The four of us (me, Keith, Boetie and Martina.... Nielen missed out again as he was playing a football match) continued with the Meat Fondue: a platter of thinly rolled raw beef eye fillet, chicken breast and pork fillet was placed on the table, together with 6 different sauces and some pickles. The cheese sauce was swapped for a pot filled with an aromatic broth. The simmering consommé slowly cooked the meat, and added the necessary saltiness. Still shunning the Fondue, Phil ordered the veal served with a creamy mushroom sauce, which he declared to be quite delicious. And for dessert - the piece de resistance : Chocolate Fondue. A rich, silky, dark chocolate sauce was placed on the rechaud. It was at this stage that Phil could resist no longer. He picked up a fork and joined in the delight of dipping (even double-dipping) a selection of fresh fruit (strawberries, pineapple, banana, mandarins, apple and kiwifruit) almonds, marshmallows and meringues into the hot chocolate sauce. It was a feast. And true to Boetie's earlier prediction, by the end of the evening we were well and truly stuffed! Fondue parties were hugely popular in the 1970's and early 80's. These days, it does not register as a dining option. In a culinary world where Heston Blumenthal sets the trend with deconstructing every single menu item and turning the meal into a science experiment, a lot can be said for this simple, social, intimate, heart-warming, retro style of dining.
Throughout the dipping and cooking and coating ritual, we shared many interesting facts about Switzerland: Boetie's first fact related to the Swiss flag - one of only two square sovereign state flags in the world (the other being that of the Vatican), and his second fact was that Switzerland does not have an official national animal, bird nor flower (there are popular animals, like cows and blackbirds, and the Edelweiss is considered the unofficial national flower). Keith was in his element discussing two of his greatest passions in life: watches (too much information to mention) and chocolates (milk chocolate was invented in Switzerland in 1875). Phil had some interesting facts about the Swiss army (compulsory national service) and navy (yes, landlocked Switzerland has a navy, patrolling the lakes on the borders), which led to my show-and-tell fact about the Swiss Army knife: "Das Soldatenmesser" was designed by Karl Elsener (a cutlery maker) in 1884 and became a Swiss army issue in 1891. He established his company, Victorinox in 1922, (a combination of his mother's name, Victoria, and "Inox" the alternate name for stainless steel invented in 1921). After 125 years, it is still an independent business. We discussed the Elna and Bernina sewing machines, the efficient train network, Swiss Banks (Switzerland has more banks than dentists) and the Swiss invention Velcro. However, discussing Switzerland is not complete without mentioning Roger Federer - arguably the greatest tennis player of all time. Martina acted as official fact-checker, verifying and expanding on all our wisdoms and statistics after consulting her iPhone.
Hoping for more cold weather, next week we shall travel to the land of the Brave... see you in Scotland.
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