The ‘Cheese King of Gstaad’ shares his secrets to the perfect Swiss fondue

The pretty Swiss town of Gstaad has been charming visitors for decades. Long the winter playground of choice for movie stars and millionaires, the resort has hosted everyone from Julie Andrews and Roger Moore to Madonna and Anne Hathaway, often in the fairytale five-star Gstaad Palace Hotel. However, at its heart, Gstaad remains a traditional Alpine farming village. Visitors can expect spellbinding scenery, fantastic skiing and delicious local specialities, including steaming pots of that quintessential Swiss mountain meal — fondue.

Though it’s been emulated the world over, fondue remains firmly rooted among Switzerland’s snow-capped peaks, its gooey goodness often tricky to perfect for those outside the Alps. Here, René Ryser, the so-called ’Cheese King of Gstaad’, shares the Swiss secrets to this perennially popular dish. 

When did you first start making cheese?

I fell into cheesemaking by accident. When I left school at the end of the 1970s, my father was a little concerned that I didn’t have a job, so he went to our local cheesemaker and asked him to take me on as an apprentice. It worked out well as, 44 years later, I’m still working with cheese! I’ve been in my current role as CEO of the local dairy, Molkerei Gstaad, for the last 12 years. We produce 72,000 wheels of Gstaad mountain cheese each year and our cellar — known as the ’cheese grotto’ — stores up to 24,000 wheels at any given time. We offer candlelit tours and tastings in the grotto, too, which is a really wonderful experience.

What makes Swiss cheese — and local Gstaad cheese — so tasty?

Cheesemaking in the region dates back nearly 1,000 years and Gstaad Hobelkäse cheese has been around since 1548. What makes Swiss cheese so special are the ingredients we use. They’re those ingredients that you can’t necessarily buy, or even put a price on — such as the Swiss mountain air and the cows’ diet. That’s because the mountains around Gstaad are home to a diverse range of wild summer herbs and grasses that our cows feed on during the summer months.

Switzerland produces around 200,000 tons of cheese every year, which may seem like a lot, but it’s not even 1% of the world’s production. So, in terms of quantity, Switzerland is less significant — but in terms of quality, we’re world champions.

When did fondue become popular in Gstaad and why?

That’s hard to say, as it’s long been a favourite dish here. Most people think that it’s best enjoyed during the winter months, when you can warm up after a day on the slopes with a steaming fondue. But it’s just as good during the summer, too. We have backpacks at Molkerei Gstaad that you can rent, which contain everything you need for a fondue picnic. There are lots of local hikes you can then take, ranging between 30 minutes and two hours, and when you’re ready to eat, you can simply set up your fondue and enjoy it with beautiful mountain views. It’s worth buying a bottle of local wine to go with it, to top off the experience. Some of these hikes you can take in winter as well, which is a really romantic way to spend a day.

Where are the best places to enjoy fondue in Gstaad?

One of the best places to enjoy fondue in the summer is at Fondueland Gstaad. Here, scattered throughout the mountains, you’ll find cosy huts and giant wooden caquelon (fondue pots) large enough for groups to sit in and comfortably enjoy a fondue backpack picnic in the most spectacular of settings.

During the winter months, head to Michel's Stallbeizli, a traditional mountain restaurant positioned inside a barn, where you can enjoy fondue while observing the dairy cows through the vast window.

For a higher altitude option, Iglu-Dorf sits at nearly 9,000ft and offers fromage fans the chance to enjoy a piping hot pot of fondue inside an igloo decorated with carved snow art. Afterwards, you can enjoy a torchlit snowshoe descent down the mountain.

In addition to fondue, what local dishes do you recommend that visitors try?

My favourites are bratwurst sausage with onion sauce, rösti ­­(potatoes, sautéed or shallow-fried in a pan) and, for dessert, it can only be a Swiss meringue!

The Cheese King of Gstaad’s top three foolproof fondue tips:

1. The perfect fondue is all about the ratio. Ideally, it’s a third gruyère cheese, a third vacherin fribourgeois and a third a cheese of your choice. Naturally, in Gstaad, we use Gstaad mountain cheese as the third option.

2. Don’t overcook your fondue. Lots of tourists make this mistake, but if you heat the cheese for too long then the fat separates from the protein and the cheese can coagulate into a hard mass.

3. Be sure to keep stirring your fondue: don’t stir and then take a break for five minutes, as the cheese needs to be constantly moving. And remember, if you drop your bread or potato in the pot, you must carry out a forfeit! ­­