Years ago I taught about fondues and this year in my Exploring Foods class, I decided to update an oldie but goodie and add it back into the mix! In this Fun with Fondue lesson and lab, students learn about the history and customs associated with fondues before actually preparing them in the lab. In addition to making fondue, we combined a charcuterie brunch board along with it for a fun, hands-on lab!

Set

• Begin by giving students a short reading about fondue’s history and having them fill in the Fondue Graphic Organizer with the basic what, where, when, why and how’s behind them.
• At this point, I go over my Fondue slide presentation that further discusses fondues along with common dippers and customs.

Materials

• iPad or Laptop
• Projector & Screen
• Fondue Pots with Skewers (This is the one I use! Affiliate Link)
• Ingredients for Fondues
• Charcuterie Boards (optional) Note: Our Industrial Art department made us some beautiful boards for use with this lab!

Activities

• After going over the history of fondues, dipping customs and etiquette, we go over the first lab. Students are assigned the recipe and pre-lab questions for a Cheese Fondue and we use croutons as dippers.
• We used croutons because it’s already hard bread and while we could have cut up French bagettes and let them get stale, this was just easier for my 43 minute periods and the students really enjoyed them!
• Before we tried the chocolate fondue, I gave students a flash slide assignment around charcuterie boards as I wanted them to be familiar with them prior to this lab. The difference between my Charcuterie lesson/post from last year is that my students were present this year, not virtual. We alse centered it around brunch and not Valentine’s day or the Super Bowl.
• After going over the basics of charcuterie boards and the pre-lab questions, students filled out their lab sheets for a French Toast Charcuterie Board & Chocolate Fondue Lab. This lab ended up being a two day lab. The first day students prepped all of the food except the bananas and fondue. The second day, the French Toast and bacon were reheated, boards set up in an aesthetically pleasing way and the fondue was made. Students really enjoyed this lab, claiming it one of their favorites! Students were all in on making it a competition to see which group had the best charcuterie board dispay!
• I personally think all my students did a great job with this lab! Below, in the attachments, I’m also attaching a set of fondues I did with middle school students several years ago. All were well received, but did require two days to complete.

Attachments

• Fondue Graphic Organizer (PDF)
• Fondue Background Info (PDF)
• Fondue Slide Presentation (PDF)
• Cheese Fondue with Croutons Recipe & Pre-Lab Questions (PDF)
• Flash Slide Charcuterie Board (PDF)
• French Toast Ch. Board & Chocolate Fondue Recipe & Pre-Lab Questions (PDF)
• Additional Fondue Recipes (PDF)