Viva Brighton Issue #57 November 2017

FOOD REVIEW
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La Cave à Fromage
Fondues and don’ts
“We have a tradition: if you’re
in a chalet and someone loses
their bread in the fondue, they
have to run in their underwear
in the snow around the chalet.”
I’ve invited István, the Swissest
person I know, to try some
fondue with me, but we’re not
in a chalet, and there’s no snow.
We’re at La Cave à Fromage in
Hove on a Wednesday evening
in October, and I’m learning
as much as I can about fondue
before it arrives.
“Usually it’s made with Emmental
and Gruyère. Sometimes
we would also use another
cheese called Vacherin, which
is really good.” There’s a basket
of bread on our table already,
and a bowl of antipasti and a
charcuterie platter (all his, I’m
vegetarian). The waiter brings
us a fondue stand and lights the fuel burner
underneath. “If you run out of anything,” he says,
“just tell us, and we’ll keep topping you up until
you say when.” He goes away to get the cheese.
“Oh, Claude François,” István remarks, referring
to the music playing in the background. “You’ve
never heard of him? He died in the shower changing
a lightbulb.”
The waiter reappears, carrying a ceramic pot
containing the cheese. “It’s a mixture of Vacherin
Vaudois,” – István’s eyes light up – “which is a
very strong Swiss cheese, brushed in white wine
to make it slightly pokey. And the other one is a
Comté, a young Comté, so it’s slightly fruity, not
so meaty. Enjoy!”
There’s a short appreciative pause before we both
pick up our fondue forks and
reach for the bread. I go first,
dipping my crust delicately
into the cheese and biting half
of it off the end of my fork. I
realise István is frowning at me.
“What are you doing?” he asks,
plunging his piece of bread
to the bottom of the pot and
stirring it around several times,
before shoving the whole thing
into his mouth. So that’s how
you’re supposed to do it; I have
another go. When I bite into
the bread this time the cheese
oozes out, filling my mouth. It’s
incredibly rich and indulgent.
“I would have never known
that there were nights you
could come and just eat
cheese,” he says.
“I know,” I reply, “and they
do different themes as well.
There’s a raclette night…” He’s slipping into a
cheese-induced daze.
The waiters stop by every now and then to see
how we’re getting on and top up our wine, but for
the most part we’re uninterrupted, which makes
it feel like we’re somewhere much cosier than a
shop on Western Road.
After about 40 minutes I’m feeling absolutely
stuffed, and the crust of cheese on the bottom of
the pot – “the best bit” – is in sight. One of the
waiters comes over. “Do you need a top up?” he
asks. I’m just about to say that I think we’ve had
enough, when I look over at István.
“Yes please.” RC
The next fondue night is on the 15th, £25 per
person. For other events see la-cave.co.uk
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