Fondue at Bains des Paquis, Geneva, Switzerland

Fondue at Bains des Paquis, Geneva, Switzerland

Swiss cuisine cannot compete with its culinary powerhouse neighbors, France and Italy, but it does excel in a few critical raw materials, most notably cheese. For cheese, there are a few signature dishes that focus on this regional specialty, first among them fondue.

In John Calvin’s Geneva we went to Bain des Paquis, a public bath/fondue stube with Spartan decor this flaming evangelist would probably appreciate coupled with a luxuriant and artful exuberance that he’d no doubt damn straight to hell.

At Bains des Paquis, you may bathe first; my Genevan daughter frequently opts for a Turkish bath right before a huge pot of cheese (really need to go in that order).



The standard fondue setup includes the bubbling fromage, a large basket of fresh-cut bread, platters of cornichons, onions and some dried beef (viande séchée). It seems untraditional to dip the beef into the cheese, though I tried it that way: didn’t seem to add much to the flavors, and the subtlety of the meat was somewhat overwhelmed by the bombastic tang of the cheese mixture.

Dipping bread in a communal cheese pot is a highly enjoyable way to serve yourself just exactly as much as you want while interacting with fellow dinners in a way that encourages conversation and conviviality. There are some foods that seem inherently fun to eat: hot dogs is one of those foods, and fondue is another.



The foudue at Bains des Paquis uses a cremant (sparkling white wine), and the night we were there, the pot held a moitié-moitié blend of Gruyere and Vacherin (which delivers more tartness and dimension than Ementhal, which is also frequently paired half and half with Gruyere). My understanding is that the composition of the fondue mixture at this unusual dining spa varies from time to time.

On a cold and misty night, a big steaming cauldron, surrounded by friends and family, reaching in and laughing and gobbling big flavorful forkfuls of cheese-soaked bread, makes for one of the pleasantest tables imaginable

As the pot nears the end, a hearty Swiss youth comes up and scraps the bottom to peel off a crispy skin of fried cheese, spectacular. Similar to the desirable crispy rice at the bottom of a Persian (tadig) or Korean (nurungi) rice pot, this crispy cheese at the bottom of the fondue pot must have a name in French, but I don’t know what it is (could be something like “moggy,” but I don’t have confirmation of that).



Bains de Paquis is kind of an ethnic, hippie, red-light enclave, with lots of artists and eccentrics who must feel the need to seek shelter in this buttoned-up region which is heavy on investment bankers, pharmaceutical houses, and precision equipment.

In the winter, there aren’t many swimmers coming to Bain des Paquis, so they transform the changing booths into off-beat art installations:





Bains des Paquis is certainly one of the great dining bargains in the city – for six of us, with two bottles of wine and a fruit plate dessert, the total came to about 236 CHF (about 250$ US). That’s a good deal, especially in a country ranked among the top three most expensive places to live in the world (my daughter’s already very good American salary was bumped up 85% to cover cost of living in Switzerland).



This place was filled with jolly Genevans the night we visited, and reservations are very strongly advised. In the summer, I believe they switch out the fondue for salads.

Bain des Paquis
Quai du Mont-Blanc 30 1201 Geneva, Switzerland
022 738 16 16

Looks like a fun time! I'm a big fan of the bath-feast one-two punch.

David Hammond wrote:Similar to the desirable crispy rice at the bottom of a Persian (tadig) or Korean (nurungi) rice pot, this crispy cheese at the bottom of the fondue pot must have a name in French, but I don’t know what it is (could be something like “moggy,” but I don’t have confirmation of that).

I know it as "La Religieuse" and in German "Großmutter." Very funny.

David Hammond wrote:Bains de Paquis is kind of an ethnic, hippie, red-light enclave, with lots of artists and eccentrics who must feel the need to seek shelter in this buttoned-up region which is heavy on investment bankers, pharmaceutical houses, and precision equipment.

In the winter, there aren’t many swimmers coming to Bain des Paquis, so they transform the changing booths into off-beat art installations:

Not so far from Switzerland, but those installations remind me of Robert Wilson's 14 Stations made for Oberammergau in 2000. My godmother sent me a book on the project after her visit to both Germany and Switzerland that year. I think I'd like Bains de Paquis.

Beautiful pictures that bring back great memories of working in Geneva. Cafe du Soleil also has fantastic fondues, and a crisp, tart delicious simple green salad to go along with it. I also really enjoy the Swiss white wines with the fondues, the local Fendants and Chasselas...

Just a couple of details: The pot in which the fondue is prepared is called a "caquelon", that normally is rubbed with a clove of garlic before being heated, and the "religieuse" does not systematically forms at its bottom every time. It depends on the type and quality of the cheese, the height of the flame from the heater that maintains a consistent level of bubbling, and if the guests have dipped and turned their piece of bread too deep and too close to the center of the bottom.
Besides David H. does not mention any " coup du milieu", this traditional little glass of kirschwasser that is served in the middle of the meal. Last but not least, the "viande séchée'' (dried meat'') that David mention as a side dish to fondue is (or at least was until the mid 60's) a delicious specialty from the canton of Grisons, the only canton in Switzerland where the language spoken by old and rural persons was the Romanche, a very strange dialect of partially Latin origin that unfortunately practically nobody still speaks nowadays. Therefore this tasty treat is called '' viande des Grisons''.