paisleypiper's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- associations with fondue This afternoon I was exchanging e-mails with a small group of people trying to decide where to go out to dinner to celebrate the holidays. We were debating about where to go and one member of the group suggested a fondue restaurant. We all agreed to go there after sending around the menu and getting really hungry (these office-desk lunches leave me hungry far too often). But, what puzzled me was the connotations and associations I have with fondue, I think, more than almost any other meal. To me, fondue says Christmas Eve more than ham or sweet potatoes. I also am under the impression that a fondue meal takes longer to eat than a regular meal. I associate fondue with being sophisticated, and I daresay, a touch European for some reason. I know it was all the rage in the 1970�s. I have always had a fondue pot because it is a fun and festive thing for dinner parties. I even have loads of long-handled, tiny forks. Quinn and I brought it back for Christmas Eve about five years ago and no one was impressed. We thought we were being chic while everyone else thought we were being weird (which we are, a lot, so they were not off-base). We hauled it out for New Years two years ago and no one was impressed. But, just wait, now that we have a fondue restaurant, it will be validated. People will want their own fondue sets. It will become, once again, all the rage. And those of us in this city, for who fondue means festive, can feel a bit more validated. I don�t know why I associate fondue with festivities. I�m not Swiss. I think it is because I think of chalets in the Alps, tall trees, sweaters, rosy cheeks, fires in fireplaces and grog. The business of associations is strange. Perhaps I saw one too many avocado green fondue pots in the seventies and it the scene worked its way into my brain. Or maybe it is an appreciation for the �system� of the meal � how it seems modern and ancient simultaneously�. 4:27 p.m. - 2002-12-03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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