Big cheese gathering on Lake Geneva Who will win the World Fondue Championship title?
This weekend, 12,000 fans of melted cheese will flock to the village of Tartegnin VD with its 249 inhabitants. This is where the amateur and professional fondue world champions will be decided.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- This weekend, the world fondue championship "La Mondiale de Fondue" will take place for the fifth time in Tartegnin VD - with 200 amateurs, 10 professionals and crowds of visitors from all over the world.
- Half of the cheese mixture must consist of Gruyère AOP, the rest can be chosen freely - the main thing is that the fondue tastes like cheese.
- The final with 25 participants - including 15 amateurs and 10 professionals - will decide the new world fondue champion on Saturday evening.
Who has the best fondue in the whole country - or better still, on the planet? This question will be answered this weekend in Tartegnin VD, a small village in the middle of the vineyards on Lake Geneva.
La Mondiale de Fondue - the world championship of fondue - is being held there for the fifth time. Every two years since 2015, fans and experts of the liquid cheese have flocked to this community of 249 inhabitants.
How does such a small community come to host a fondue world championship? Media spokeswoman Graziella Jayet explains to blue News: "We are a wine-growing municipality. But when our traditional wine festivals stopped attracting so many people, we came up with the idea of the Mondiale de Fondue, which also requires wine."
200 amateurs, 10 professionals
This has obviously met with great interest. In previous editions, so many visitors wanted to be part of the cheese happening that the small village is now completely closed to traffic during the event. "It wouldn't be possible otherwise," explains spokeswoman Jayet, who lives in Tartegnin herself. Her husband is president of the municipality and also of the OC of the Fondue World Championships.
But how does someone become world fondue champion? The idea is simple, but the execution is of course not. In a preliminary round, the competitor prepares her fondue for the first time using the reachaud and caquelon provided and lets the jury taste it. There were 200 starting places in the amateur category, something like the fun event of the World Championships. The starting places are booked up pretty quickly, explains Jayet.
Only half of the mixture may be freely chosen
The cheese mixture must consist of 50 percent Gruyère with the AOP designation of origin. "The designation of origin must be embossed on the rind of the cheese," emphasizes Jayet. Judging by the pictures, the industry organization is a sponsor of the World Cup. The other half of the cheese can be chosen freely. Raclette cheese is also said to have been mixed in.
A World Cup requires international participation. This comes in particular from cheese-loving France, Canada and Brazil. Qualifications are held in these three countries, after which the winners are allowed to present their blends and melting skills in Tartegnin. "Perhaps the Brazilian participant will mix cachaça into his fondue," Jayet speculates. According to the competition rules, however, the fondue must taste like cheese.
Fifteen of the 200 amateurs advance to the final. Ten professionals - cheesemakers or chefs - qualify directly for the final. In this final round, the 25 title contenders prepare their fondue, the amateurs for the second time. Who wins is ultimately in the hands or on the tongue of the jury.
The decision will be made on Saturday evening
The big decision will be made this Saturday evening. Two years ago, a jury member declared that it was impossible to tell the difference between the amateur and professional fondues. Anyone who has made it to the final can be proud of his or her fondue.
One question arises when a fondue expert is on hand to answer it: What is the appropriate punishment for losing the piece of bread in the caquelon? Graziella Jayet laughs: "In this case, you pay for the next bottle of wine."