I was amazed at the amount of recipes this book contains. It has beautiful phots of how to make the recipes. They all looked so good, but I doubt I will ever get them too look like that! I have asked Santa for a fondue pot, and I swear I have been good all year! But, this book makes it look easy (which I am sure it if after a few tries, but they are still delish! If you want to have fondue or make a party out of it and you do not know how or what to do, buy this book! It will make your meal/snacks absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend it.

Fondue is one of those dishes that was really big in the early 70s. I remember having fondue with my parents and their friends at dinner parties. I really liked this cookbook and it brought back some fond memories.

Fondue is FUN! So many recipes that are new and unique. Loved every one I've tried. Not the same old 70's fondue.

I love fondue. After eating at my favorite restaurant The Melting Pot I went out and bought a fondue set and tried to make fondue at home. I failed miserably. It was terrible. Apparently, there is more to fondue than melting cheese. Enter this book that explains everything about fondue. The author goes into the different types of fondue in different countries. I had no idea there were different types just cheese, chocolate, and broth, the different types of fondue pots, and the pros and cons of each plus the other equipment you need to be successful. Next, she talks about what staples you need to keep in your pantry to have a fondue whenever you want plus she goes into the different cheeses available to have with your fondue. Lastly is manners. What to do and not do when sharing a communal pot or having a fondue party.
Now we get to the yummy recipes. I think I am going to have to work my way through this book and try them all. So far I have tried the cheese and ale recipe and the baked brie recipe. Delicious. This book is thorough but easy to read. It gives you the basics to be successful without being too wordy. I especially liked the cupboard staple list and cheese explanations. The large number of color photos also added to my enjoyment of this book. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing to read and try out the recipes in this book in exchange for a review.

This book is very inspiring! I enjoy fondue but don't get to enjoy it often, nor have I made it myself. I wasn't sure one could fill an entire cookbook with fondue recipes, but color me impressed! There are a lot of creative and versatile fondue recipes in this book, from cheese to chocolate, hot pot style and beyond.

The recipes are extremely straight-forward and well written. There are wonderful tips in the book for purchasing fondue pots, selecting cheeses and more. I plan on purchasing a fondue set soon and trying my hand at making homemade fondue! The guide discusses materials for fondue sets but not much on sizes. I reached out to the author and she suggested to purchase a set based on the number of people I plan to serve, since the recipes can easily be multiplied or divided. Makes sense.

I only wish there were a few more pictures. Outside of the intro section, there's only 1 picture per chapter (in the chapter intro), and I would have loved to see more, but at the same time I imagine you can't make fondue look TOO different in a million different photos. Perhaps I'm wrong on that.

In any case, if you like fondue, I think this is a great book to get started. I think pairing this book with a fondue set would be an awesome gift idea as well for anyone who loves it.

My wife and I enjoy hosting fondue parties, we try to have 1-2 every year, although with the current situation I’m not sure what the future will bring. Nothing is better to fight off winter chill than gathering friends around a bubbling pot of melted cheese! We usually do a basic cheese fondue, then both a chicken broth and a beef broth, with dessert to follow (although most of the time we are too full from the cheese).

So I was really looking forward to expanding my repertoire with “Essential Fondue Cookbook: 75 Decadent Recipes to Delight and Entertain” by Erin Harris. And I was not disappointed – in addition to the traditional fondues which are covered in great detail, Ms. Harris also provides interesting twists and combinations of flavors.

In addition to fondue basics, the book devotes a section each to the different types of fondues one can make: cheese, hot oil, broth (hot pot), and dessert. I especially liked the cheese variations – although the classic Swiss fondue is always a hit, Ms. Harris provides several international recipes that I cannot wait to try, as well as a French onion fondue and a blue cheese and leek fondue that both sound outstanding. I have yet to try an oil fondue – the idea of having pots of boiling oil still makes me nervous, but maybe I’ll try the tempura one of these days at home. I have made a chocolate fondue many times at home, but (for some reason) it never occurred to me to make a peanut butter and chocolate fondue until I read this book.

Ms. Harris is absolutely correct about dipping sauces, especially when doing broth fondues. I appreciate the extensive list of sauces, many of which I cannot wait to try at my next party, whenever that may be!

I’m sure that this is a book I will reference time and time again once we get back to socializing.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Callisto Media/Rockridge Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Fondue is a throwback to the entertaining craze of the 60s and 70s; it is a fun way to entertain, and has a lot of appeal, since diners cook their own meals (or dessert) at the table, taking a lot of the pressure off of the hostess. Essential Fondue Cookbook: 75 Decadent Recipes to Delight and Entertain is one of the newest cookbooks out on this fun kind of food. Over the years, I’ve collected dozens (actually 45) fondue cookbooks, and figured that I probably have every recipe covered. So why, when there are already so many fondue cookbooks out there is it necessary to own this one?

Erin Harris, the author, has an imagination. While there are good recipes in the cookbook for fondues that many of us have been serving over the years, this particular cookbook has recipes for trendy fondues that aren’t to be found in any of the cookbooks that are already published. For instance, salted caramel is a big trend right now, and Harris’ Salted Caramel Fondue is fabulous. Other unique fondues included in the book are French Onion Fondue, Baked Brie Fondue, Blue Cheese and Leek Fondue, and Szechuan Hot Pot. This fun cookbook includes recipes for cheese fondues, oil-based fondues, and dessert fondues. There are also a good number of sauces that I can’t wait to make to serve with the new fondues from this cookbook. Also included are several recipes for good fondue dippers.

The one drawback to this cookbook is that there are only a limited number of photographs. Fondue is an attractive dish, and it would help readers, especially beginning cooks, to know just what their finished dish should look like. This drawback is certainly not an end-all, since the recipes are easy-to-follow, succinct, and delicious. This cookbook is good enough that it just may bring the old trend of fondue back to tables everywhere. If you’re having trouble deciding which fondue to try first, do try the French Onion Fondue – it’s awesome!

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I absolutely loved this book.

My mouth was drooling from beginning to end. After finishing this book, I knew what I wanted for Christmas - my own fondue kit. I love how she has an answer for everything. She had recipes for the different types of fondue (I didn’t even know there were different types!). She includes savory, sweet, hot pot recipes and even recipes for dips. She explains how to host a part, how to choose cookware, in what order to prepare the dishes and even goes as far as how to eat it (which I definitely didn’t think I had to know). She had an answer for everything you can think of and even for the one’s that you didn’t.

I can't wait for this pandemic to be over so I can host my own fondue party!

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC to read and offer my opinion. I’m a Fondue newbie.... never have I ever had a full fondue dinner. I tried one time to go to one of those intimate fondue restaurants (The Melting Pot) and as soon as we sat down the waitress explained this meal would take hours. I think we did one course since we were time squeezed and I was daunted by how expensive and long it took. So when I saw this I had to take a peek.

What did I like? I saw right off the start that I would need to buy a fondue pot, which the author does differentiate between the different kinds. The selection of recipes though were huge and since I’m a newbie they looked overwhelming. What to choose since you can only do one at a time? The recipes however give you clarity on serving size, prep time, and cook time.

What needed help? There is zero calorie info... zilch...none. I’m a calorie counter sometimes and I enjoy recipes more then when I don’t have that info. Also there’s very few pictures...I would have liked to see more pictures. Just looking at pictures can get those saliva glands working but I’m hard pressed to try recipes I can’t see.

Would I buy or recommend? If your a huge fondue lover then this cookbook is for you! Newbies might not be ready for these recipes and lack of pictures. I’ve always been interested in fondue but I’m just not ready I guess.

Thoughts for the author? Congratulations on your fondue cookbook! Thanks so much to the publisher for a sneak peek! I enjoyed looking at the recipes and I wish there were more pictures..
Or a step by step picture method for newbies such as myself.

Erin Harris makes fondue exciting with this cookbook. After reading through the book, I decided to put some recipes to the test for my parents. They absoluty loved them. The detailed directions and suggestions made it a fun night with lots of food. Would definitely recommend!

If you have ever had the privilege of enjoying a fondue dinner then you will appreciate the Essential Fondue Cookbook by Erin Harris. Harris is a trained and certified chef and her expertise shines in her fondue cookbook. You will find recipes for fondue, desserts, and sauces to help create a memorable fondue meal at home thanks to her recipes. Some of the recipes you'll find include:

Traditional Swiss Fondue
French Fondue
Italian Fondue
Hot Queso Fondue
American Cheeseburger Fondue
Fondue in a Pumpkin
Classic Bourguignonne Hot Oil Fondue
Asian Tempura Fondue
Classic Chicken Broth Hot Pot
Spicy Mexican Broth Fondue
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fondue
Cheesecake Fondue
Bearnaise Sauce
Chicken Broth
Steamed Vegetables
Scottish Shortbread Cookies
Garlic Bread Knots

I also loved the history, lore and cooking tips she offered concerning fondue cookery.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

I absolutely love fondue - especially when it’s a gathering of friends who each contribute a unique fondue to make a fondue party. The classic fondue party may become a quaint relic of the pre-COVID19 world, but that won’t stop me from eating my fondue pot for one in isolation at home or from revisiting fond memories of fondue parties past. Despite my passion for both fondue and for cookbooks, I don’t seem to own any fondue cookbooks; a search of my 140 cookbooks on Eat Your Books turned up approximately 40 fondue recipes, but no dedicated fondue cookbooks. So I read this one with an eye toward adding it to my collection.

Of the seven chapters in the book, only the first two are dedicated to ephemera. Four are dedicated to fondue recipes of different categories, and the final chapter is dedicated to recipes for dippers and sauces. The fondue recipes are categorized into cheese fondues, hot oil fondues, fondue hot pots, and dessert fondues. I have only ever made cheese fondues and dessert fondues, because the raw meat dippers and raw seafood dippers for other types of fondue can be quite tricky to work with. Additionally, I’m concerned about the inherent danger and mess of hot oil and hot broth fondues. Besides, I currently only have ceramic fondue pots, which are only suitable for cheese and dessert fondues.

The two ephemera chapters were interesting in that they provided extensive guidance on fondue-related topics, such as what type of fondue pots are best suited to certain types of fondue and which types of cheese are best suited for fondue. Some of the cheeses I had never heard of, never mind know how to source.

The five recipe chapters were formatted exactly the same, which made reading the recipes very easy. In addition to the formatting, similar recipes followed similar formulas. For example, the first three cheese fondue recipes were exactly the same, except the types of cheeses varied across the recipes. I also appreciated that some of the recipes were followed by “Cook’s Tips” or “Store Bought Shortcuts,” both of which provided additional insight into how to execute the recipes.

Overall, I appreciated this cookbook for the variety and simplicity of its recipes. Once I complete my cookbook culling project (which I plan to start any day now), I will seriously consider adding this one to my collection.

I received this book as a digital advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have yet to prepare any recipes from this book, but if I do, I will either update my blog or update this review with the results.

I love fondue and it is great having all of the recipes in one place. It was interesting to learn about the different types of fondue pots, cheeses, dippers etc. I can't wait to try the different recipes.
This was an ARC copy from Netgalley.

I never knew there were so many different types of fondue! I love fondue so I enjoyed the informational section at the beginning to help me learn how to create better fondue at home. The recipes looked easy and delicious. I do wish there were more recipe photos throughout the different fondue sections.

Thank you Callisto Media and Netgalley!