The Winter's First Fondue

The table is set for the season's first fondue, always a classic Swiss version of Emmental, Gruyere, white wine and kirsch.

Jen Ruske swirls a bread cube in the rich fondue. The B/W is not an affectation but rather the prism through which we always see fondue dinners . . . slinky, snowbound early 60s cinematic classics like Roger Vadim's Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960!

Drifting snow not absolutely essential for fondue rendezvous, but it always helps . . . Cafe Drake's kitchen fire escape.

We always make a concession to somewhat "healthy" dining, in this instance, a salad of Bibb lettuce with miso and Chinese chives dressing preceding the main course of melted cheese and booze.