Aubonne, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The first thing you notice about the Swiss fondue tree is that it’s unusual-looking, with its odd shape and bright colours.
Photos: Serious business – Magali de Marco Messmer and Jean-Claude Biver wait for the hot wine to test the meat fondue. Right, it doesn’t get much better: nature, strawberries, ginger chocolate made by Tristan.
The second is that once people stop looking at it and start using it, it’s surprisingly functional. The painted fiberglass "tree," 112 cm tall, 10 kg heavy, is possibly one of the most curious yet seriously-touted Swiss exports of the moment, with watch industry guru Jean-Claude Biver, godfather to the new product, saying "Bravo for this initiative! You can count on me – I’m right behind this."
Biver was speaking at the product launch 28 April where Féchy wine producer Jean-Luc Kursner, who came up with the idea, and painter Willy Richard, previously known for his Formula 1 art, were beaming like proud parents.
Kursner had the brainstorm in 2007 when he was working out the best way to serve his wine in Valencia during the America’s Cup. As part of a team of Swiss exporters who ran a bar to support Alinghi he wanted to make a splash and needed a crowd-pleasing way to serve fondue.
The success of the Valencia fondue tree, a one-off design, led to
the idea of commercializing it. Richard was brought on board to jazz up
the basic tree. Each of the trees has a unique design, with Tintin
starring on one, a Picasso-like abstract on another and a sweet chalet
and barnyard scene on a third. Kursner says he would like to see other
art series – music themes, for example.
Photos: The Colliard family,
which supplied the cheese fondue for the party, know how to bake bread
for a crowd. Right, Tristan, Bougy-Villlars chocolatier says "Chocolate
fondue after cheese fondue? Definitely, yes! Try it and you’ll see!"
His dip is a blend of Tristan’s specialty white chocolate with cream.
The first batch of fondue trees is a forest of only 25 painted trees
and they cost CHF990 each, so it’s unlikely that Switzerland’s export
figures are going to jump dramatically in 2008 thanks to this. That
doesn’t matter, Jean-Claude Biver told GenevaLunch. "We Swiss need to
promote ourselves more, to export well." Watches, cheese, wine: they
all go together, he says. "I’m here because I’m directly involved – I
own a farm near La Tour-de-Peilz.
I’ve always loved nature. And there is a long tradition that links
watches and cheese and wine. Back in the 16th century watchmakers were
farmers who needed something else to do to earn money, in the winter.
In the summer they were farmers, wine producers."
The other two godparents of the fondue tree are two Swiss athletes, Sydney 2000 Olympics bronze triathlon medalist Magali de Marco Messmer and Champions footballer Stephane Chapuis.
As de Marco Messmer dipped a chocolate into white chocolate fondue,
Biver said the support of the trio makes sense. "Sports and wine and
cheese and inventions and expertise in watchmaking – these are some of
our strengths."
The fondue trees
If you haven’t yet worked out why you need one, here it is: the fondue tree offers a new, chic way to serve fondue to a crowd.
Forget the old wooden chairs and café table with everyone trying to
reach across to grab his own fondue fork, never mind remembering which
fork is his or hers. Forget barbecues – everyone does those for a
congenial crowd event. Set the fondue tree on a veranda or lawn and let
the crowd mingle. The top of the tree holds a hot fondue pot, an
abbreviated branch holds a bottle, there’s a shelf (hard to find an
equivalent term in nature) to set your wine glass on and there is
another shelf for a basket of bread or fruit. Start dipping.
Dipping into chocolate, cheese or wine fondue
Here is what you use the tree for: keeping any kind of fondue hot, once
it’s table-ready. The product launch offered an extraordinary sampling
of its possibilities: chef Guillaume Trouillot, whose Esplanade restaurant in Aubonne hosted the event, offered goat’s cheese raviolis cooked in wine sauce, the Collard family from the Tsalè mountain restaurant, Les Paccots, provided a vacherin Fribourg cheese fondue, the classic dish with chunks of bread. Master chocolate-maker Tristan from Bougy-Villars made a white chocolate and cream dip for fruits and chocolate-covered caramel and ginger. (Tristan video on YouTube, TSR report)
No wonder the crowd quickly stopped looking at the fondue trees and concentrated on the fare.
[…] to it. I know it mainly as the home of one of Switzerland’s best chocolate makers, Tristan. The beautiful old winery has a magnificent view of much of Vaud, Lake Geneva and the French […]