Cheese fondue, the Swiss way and the Savoyard way
A tested moitié-moitié recipe for four, a quantity table for groups of up to twelve, the fixes for a pot that splits or turns stringy, and how a chalet chef turns it into an evening.
A traditional cheese fondue is hard Alpine cheese melted slowly into dry white wine in a pot rubbed with garlic, loosened with a little cornflour and kirsch, then kept just below a simmer at the table while everyone dips cubes of day-old bread. The best-known Swiss version, fondue moitié-moitié, uses equal weights of Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois. Allow about 200 g of cheese per person when the fondue is the main course.
Across the border in Savoie, the same method is applied to a different trio, Beaufort, Comté and Emmental de Savoie, which gives a slightly firmer, nuttier pot. Neither is more authentic than the other: both are a traditional fondue, regional answers to the same question, and the cheese you choose matters far more than any secret ingredient. This guide sets the styles side by side, gives a recipe that works on a domestic hob, and explains how the dish is served in the chalets we rent in Switzerland and in Courchevel.
If your fondue set comes out once a winter, the two things that most often go wrong are heat and cheese choice. Both are easy to put right, and the troubleshooting table further down covers each symptom with its cause and its fix.
The cheeses and the wine, by their official designations
Checked against official sources, so you can plan with confidence.
Le Gruyère has held its protected designation of origin in Switzerland since 6 July 2001. It is made from raw, unpasteurised milk in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel and Jura and a few municipalities of Bern, and matured for at least five months.
Source: gruyere.com (Interprofession du Gruyère)Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP is a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese with a soft, melting texture, made only in the alpine pastures and lowlands of the canton of Fribourg.
Source: vacherin-fribourgeois-aop.chThe Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois interprofessions created a Fondue Moitié-Moitié label to protect the original recipe: 50% Gruyère AOP and 50% Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP.
Source: fondue-moitiemoitie.chBeaufort has been a protected designation since 4 April 1968. It is made from the milk of Tarine and Abondance cows in the Beaufortain, Tarentaise, Maurienne and part of the Val d’Arly, and matured for at least five months.
Source: fromage-beaufort.comEmmental de Savoie, a protected geographical indication, is made from raw milk on the lower ground of Savoie and Haute-Savoie and ripened for a minimum of 75 days.
Source: Fromages de SavoieIn the Valais, Chasselas is called Fendant, a dry white the region’s wine body describes as the aperitif wine par excellence.
Source: Swiss Wine ValaisSwiss cheese fondue or Savoyard: the main blends
Almost every Alpine fondue follows the same method; what changes is the blend. Use the table to pick one, then buy the cheese in a piece from a good cheese counter and grate it yourself. Pre-grated bags often contain anti-caking agents, and they melt less evenly.
Gruyère is easy to find in the UK. Vacherin Fribourgeois is mainly a specialist cheese counter item, so ask ahead. If you cannot get it, a Gruyère-led pot is the honest alternative: swapping in cheddar tends to give an oily, grainy fondue.
| Style | Cheeses | Texture and taste | Choose it if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moitié-moitié (Fribourg) | Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois, half each | Creamy, mellow, lightly tangy | You want the classic Swiss pot |
| Pure Vacherin Fribourgeois | Vacherin Fribourgeois only, ideally of different ages | Very soft, served lukewarm with potatoes or bread | You like a gentle, velvety fondue |
| Gruyère-led | Mostly Gruyère, with a little of another Swiss hard cheese | Fuller, nuttier, firmer | You want more flavour or cannot find Vacherin |
| Savoyarde | Beaufort, Comté and Emmental de Savoie in thirds | Nutty, fruity, a little more elastic | You are cooking for a French Alps evening |
Vacherin Fribourgeois is not Vacherin Mont-d’Or: the second is a soft cheese bound in spruce bark and baked whole in its box. It does not belong in a fondue pot.
Fondue moitié-moitié for four people
This is the Fribourg blend, scaled for four as a main course. You need a caquelon (the glazed earthenware fondue pot) or a heavy enamelled pan, a table burner and long fondue forks.
- Prepare the cheese
Take both cheeses out of the fridge half an hour ahead. Grate them and toss with the cornflour so every strand is lightly coated: this is what stops the fondue splitting later.
- Season the pot
Rub the inside of the caquelon with the cut garlic. Leave the pieces in the pot if you like a stronger taste.
- Warm the wine
Pour in the wine and heat it on the hob until small bubbles appear at the edge. Do not let it boil hard.
- Add the Gruyère first
Lower the heat and add the Gruyère a handful at a time, stirring in a figure of eight with a wooden spoon and waiting until each handful has melted before adding the next.
- Finish with the Vacherin
Vacherin Fribourgeois melts at a lower temperature, so add it last, with the heat at its lowest. Stir until the pot is smooth and glossy, then season with pepper, nutmeg and the kirsch.
- Move to the table
Set the pot on its burner over a low flame. Each guest stirs as they dip, which keeps the fondue moving and stops it catching on the bottom.
- 400 g Gruyère AOP, rind removed, coarsely grated
- 400 g Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP, rind removed, coarsely grated or finely diced
- 300 ml dry white wine, ideally a Swiss Chasselas
- 1 garlic clove, halved
- 1 to 2 teaspoons cornflour
- 1 to 2 tablespoons kirsch (optional)
- Black pepper and a little grated nutmeg
- About 600 g day-old country bread, cut into 2 to 3 cm cubes, each with some crust
How much cheese per person, from two guests to twelve
As a main course, allow about 200 g of cheese per person, with roughly 75 ml of wine for every 200 g of cheese. As a starter, or after a long lunch on the mountain, 150 g is plenty. Above six people, use two pots: one wide pot cools too fast at the edges, and whoever sits at the far end spends the evening reaching across the table.
In Fribourg the same pot is often served with small boiled potatoes as well as bread, which helps with a mixed group: potatoes are gentler than a loaf of bread for children and light eaters.
| Guests | Cheese (main course) | Wine | Bread | Pots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 400 g | 150 ml | 300 g | 1 small |
| 4 | 800 g | 300 ml | 600 g | 1 |
| 6 | 1.2 kg | 450 ml | 900 g | 1 large |
| 8 | 1.6 kg | 600 ml | 1.2 kg | 2 |
| 12 | 2.4 kg | 900 ml | 1.8 kg | 2 or 3 |
For a starter portion, reduce the cheese and wine by a quarter.
When a cheese fondue goes wrong
Nearly every failed fondue comes down to heat. A pot that takes twenty minutes to come together over a low flame will hold happily for an hour at the table; one rushed on a high heat will split before the bread has gone round once.
| What you see | Usual cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Long rubbery strings | Heat too high, or cheese too cold or too young | Lower the heat, add a splash of warm wine and keep stirring in figures of eight |
| Oil pooling on top, cheese in a ball | The pot boiled, or there was not enough starch | Mix 1 teaspoon cornflour with a tablespoon of kirsch or wine and stir it in briskly over a low heat |
| Too thick to dip, bread breaks | Too much cheese for the liquid, or it has cooled | Add warm wine a tablespoon at a time |
| Too runny | Too much wine, or the Vacherin went in on a high heat | Add a handful of grated Gruyère and let it melt slowly |
| Catching on the bottom | Burner too strong, nobody stirring | Turn the flame down and let the crust form: it is part of the meal |
Etiquette, dippers and what to drink
Drink what grows near the cheese: a dry, fresh, unoaked white, such as a Chasselas (called Fendant in the Valais) with moitié-moitié, or a Savoie Jacquère with Beaufort and Comté. Warm tea is the usual choice for anyone not drinking wine. If children are at the table, make a small separate pot without the kirsch.
- Spear the bread through the soft side and out through the crust, so it stays on the fork.
- Stir as you dip, in a slow figure of eight, then twist the fork as you lift it to stop drips.
- The long fork is for the pot only: slide the bread onto your plate and eat with your own fork.
- Whoever drops their bread in the pot owes the table a forfeit, and the table decides what it is.
- At the end, lift out the golden crust that forms at the bottom of the pot and share it round.
- Serve gherkins and small pickled onions on the side, and follow with a green salad rather than more bread.
A fondue night with your chalet chef
In a catered chalet, a fondue evening is a simple request. Tell Nathalie Nguyen or Adam Haddad before you arrive, or mention it to the chalet team during the week, and the chef will plan it into the menu: the cheese grated in the kitchen, the pot brought together on the stove and carried to the table, with bread, potatoes and a salad to follow. It suits the evening after the longest ski day, when nobody wants a long tasting menu.
At Chalet Gus in St. Moritz, the open show kitchen lets guests watch the pot come together and take a turn at the stirring. Chalet Azelia, also in St. Moritz, has its own wine and cheese cellar, so the evening can open with a tasting before the pot arrives; our page on catered chalets in St. Moritz explains how the chefs and teams work. In Zermatt, Chalet Anelle has a separate professional kitchen for its private chef, and in Verbier, Chalet Ambre has a private chef and a wine cellar below the living room. For the resort itself, see our Verbier ski resort guide.
For a Savoyard pot of Beaufort, Comté and Emmental de Savoie, Courchevel is the natural setting: Chalet Erise has a professional kitchen reserved for the chef and a dining room that seats twelve, and our guide to skiing in Courchevel covers the resort. If you are still deciding whether to have a chef at all, read catered or self-catered chalet first.
Chalets for a fondue evening
Chalets where a private chef is part of the stay, chosen for kitchens and dining rooms that suit a shared pot.
The chalets side by side
Gus and Azelia are in St. Moritz, Anelle in Zermatt, Ambre in Verbier and Erise in Courchevel.
| Residence | Guests | Bedrooms | Bathrooms | Living area | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalet GusSt. Moritz | 20 | 9 | 9 | 930 m² | Indoor Pool, Wine Cellar, Hammam, Sauna, Massage Room |
| Chalet AzeliaSt. Moritz | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1,000 m² | Indoor Pool, Cinema Room, Hammam, Massage Room, Jacuzzi |
| Chalet AnelleZermatt | 12 | 6 | 6 | 692 m² | Nordic Bath, Hammam, Sauna, Massage Room, Jacuzzi |
| Chalet AmbreVerbier | 10 | 6 | 7 | 700 m² | Cinema Room, Wine Cellar, Sauna, Massage Room, Jacuzzi |
| Chalet EriseCourchevel | 12 | 6 | 7 | 600 m² | Ski-in / Ski-out, Indoor Pool, Cinema Room, Wine Cellar, Sauna |
Rates are on request and depend on dates and services. Your advisor confirms availability and the final details of every residence.
Cheese fondue questions
Anything else? Our team in Paris answers personally, usually within the day.
Ask our teamWhat cheese is best for cheese fondue?
For a Swiss fondue, Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois in equal parts (moitié-moitié) is the reference. In Savoie, the usual trio is Beaufort, Comté and Emmental de Savoie. Choose firm Alpine cheeses with some age, buy them in a piece and grate them yourself. Avoid cheddar and very young or pre-grated cheese, which tend to turn oily or stringy.
How much cheese do you need per person for fondue?
About 200 g per person when the fondue is the main course, or 150 g as a starter or light supper. For four people that means 800 g of cheese with around 300 ml of dry white wine and 600 g of bread. Above six people, two pots work better than one large one.
What do you dip in cheese fondue?
Day-old country bread in cubes, each with a little crust, is the tradition. Small boiled potatoes are common in Fribourg and gentler for children. Gherkins, pickled onions and cured meats go on the side rather than in the pot, and a green salad afterwards balances the richness of the cheese.
Can you make cheese fondue without wine?
Yes. Replace the wine with the same amount of water or light stock and add a squeeze of lemon juice: the acidity helps keep the cheese smooth. Leave out the kirsch, use a little more cornflour and keep the heat very low. It is the easiest option when children are sharing the meal.
What is the difference between Swiss and Savoyard fondue?
The method is almost identical; the cheese changes. Swiss fondue moitié-moitié combines Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois, which gives a creamy, lightly tangy pot. Fondue savoyarde uses Beaufort, Comté and Emmental de Savoie, which is nuttier and a touch more elastic. Each is usually made with a dry white wine from its own region.
What should you drink with cheese fondue?
A dry, fresh white from the same mountains: Chasselas, called Fendant in the Valais, with a Swiss fondue, or a Savoie Jacquère with a Savoyard one. Light reds such as a pinot noir also work for those who prefer red. Warm tea is the usual alternative for anyone not drinking alcohol.
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Book a chalet with a fondue night
Tell Nathalie Nguyen or Adam Haddad which resort you have in mind, how many guests and which evening you would like the fondue. They will match you with a chalet where the chef can serve it and brief the team before you arrive. WhatsApp +33 7 80 98 05 43 or email contact@lutetia-group.com: we usually reply within the day.