Traditionally, fondue is for smaller crowds…but I have had the chance to serve fondue for larger crowds on two occasions. The first time was fondue for 30. My client wanted to have an elegant, Valentine’s Day-themed, sit-down dinner. The second fondue party was just for fun and friends. This party was for 50! Below you can see some of the details of both of these fondue parties, and hopefully, you will be inspired to try fondue for a crowd! Perhaps, for an engagement party or bridal shower….

In this picture, you can see the dinner service setup. All the guests had their own bowls to hold 3 hot sauces and 4 cold sauces. I was able to use butter warmers that looked like mini fondue pots. The three hot sauces were Stilton Crème, Sauvignon Beurre Blanc, and Comte-White Truffle. The four cold sauces were Cabernet-Black Olive Reduction, Slow Roasted Garlic Aioli, Mirin-Chile-Peanut Sauce, Saffron-Meyer Lemon Sauce.

This was one of my all-time favorite menus! The salads and cold sauces were set for service and the fondues were preset, hot, and ready for service! The elegant faire prepped for dipping included:

Main Course Fondue Menu

Telicherry Pepper and Stolichnaya Marinated Kobe Beef Filet Mignon
& Matsutake Mushrooms en Roulade

Armagnac-Chive Marinated Maine Lobster Tails & White Asparagus en Roulade

Poached Wild King Salmon Cylinders & Diver Scallops in Champagne-Pear Essence

Bellwether Farms Baby Spinach & Chantrelle Mushroom Ravioli

Pavé of Caramelized Cippolini Onions & Yukon Gold Potatoes

Mélange of Chantenais Carrots & Baby Squash

Dinner was formal, so I thought that a whimsical fondue dessert station would be a fun way to conclude the evening. We made fresh heart-shaped marshmallows, macaroons, and pound cake, and served three sweet fondues: dark, milk, and white chocolate.

Above Pictures Courtesy of Lea McIntosh via a 2MP Sony Mavica. LOL!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

This gives you a view of the fondue meat station. When serving fondue for a large crowd, the best way to prepare the meat is fresh and à la minute. I enlisted two friends who love cooking to man the station. Thank you to Carl Mindling and Lak Tuigamala!

A good rule of thumb when planning any party or wedding detail is to SKETCH IT OUT! As you can see, the final meat station was very similar to the sketch. This also helped me make sure I had all of the service pieces, from platters, to sauce bowls, to utensils. Without the sketch, I might have easily forgotten something and could have been running around at the last minute. Instead, through planning ahead, I was able to enjoy my guests.

The meat selection was filet mignon, New York strip, chicken breast, prawns, and Italian sausage. We ended up using 20+ pounds of meat for 50 people. This is more than usual; however, the meat station was the highlight of the evening.

Thanks to two ol’ (anonymous) lady friends of mine, we served fresh, handmade, mini-braided challahs and an heirloom recipe of miniature honey rolls. Mmmmm, these are to die for!

When entertaining in a small space, you need to utilize the surfaces as much as possible. I have a coffee table with a glass top, so I used it to serve the vegetable fondue station. A variety of freshly blanched vegetables surrounded an elevated Gouda Cheese Fondue with traditional buttermilk ranch sauce for dipping.

Another example of maximizing my space and utilizing surfaces was the use of two round glass table tops from Pier One Imports placed on top of two side tables, turning them into surfaces suitable for food service. I used one to serve cheeses, truffle honey, and fresh mushroom pâté. The other was just cubes of bread and cheese fondue!

Dessert fondue was just lots of sweets perfect for dipping: Pound cake, Macaroons, Rice Krispy Treats, Marshmallows.

What is a dessert fondue without long-stem strawberries! Mandarin Slices, Grapes, Banana, & Pineapple are prefect for dipping into chocolate, too.

Above Pictures Courtesy of Mike Danen Photography

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………