On a beautiful day recently, myself and my roommate Laura Riggs took our show on the road. After a perhaps foggy morning (read also: much libation consumed the night before) we decided to enjoy the regional speciality of raclette. Now I have bought a cheese at the grocery store called Raclette and it is this cheese that forms the basis of this dish.
Raclette is a very firm and smooth cheese, that melts well. The first time I bought it, the woman asked (in French) if I knew how to eat it. (with my mouth, I thought) Turns out you want to melt it on potatoes or meat. I made the best grilled cheese baguette, let me tell you.
So our responsable (supervisor) Andre was the one who told us about the restaurant and given that he has not steered me wrong yet – off we went.
The first thing that hits you when you walk through the door is literally a wall of odoriferous cheese smell. I had a bit of trouble breathing for a few minutes. We realized that the strength of the cheese wave was due to the presence of Maroille on the menu. (A side story on the presence of this cheese is that one of the guides bought and it was consumed during an evening of drinking. Another guide strongly believed someone had stepped in the ever-present dog poo and went around checking everyone’s shoes. The cheese is strong and smelly.)
We order the raclette nature and the waiter immediately jumps into action. He’s plugging in cords, bringing us a new table, and it’s lunchtime so everyone else is eating much lighter than us and not getting the raclette setup. Oh feeling like tourists.
Special Raclette tools
The arrival of the inedibly large piece of cheese, followed by learning just how close to put the hot iron that is in the side of the little ‘cheese house’ – success — melted cheese!
This is not just a cheese dinner. We were brought a bucket of steamed potatoes and a plate of charcuterie (it is fancy for cold cuts)
This was an impossibly delicious way to spend a lunch hour with Laura. We were both quite pleased with everything.
The one challenge was – are we breaking culinary/cultural taboos to not finish the cheese?
From the Adventures of Reta Chapman 
I have had raclette a number of times here – a friend from Germany and his wife, who are well traveled, enjoy entertaining with raclette. Their ‘contraption’ is different than in your pictures; more of a flat surface that grills the vegetables/meat/potatoes on top, with the cheese ‘spoons’ place below to melt the cheese. We have used a variety of cheeses, but I forget which was my favourite. Add a bottle of wine (or two…or three) and the socializing can go on for hours!
(Not being a fan of melted cheese, it’s not my choice dish. However, I’m getting better and enjoying it more each time I try.)
Cheers to cheese!
The pan option is the other choice on the menu – we picked the first one and this is what it ended up being.
I have eaten a lot of fondue in my day – but lately we are much more likely to do an Asian style oil fondue with tempura.
Good weekend to you too!