Cheese Fondue is a Swiss melted cheese dish served in a communal pot (caquelon or fondue pot) over a portable stove (réchaud) heated with a candle or spirit lamp, and eaten by dipping bread into the cheese using long-stemmed forks. It was promoted as a Swiss national dish by the Swiss Cheese Union (Schweizerische Käseunion) in the 1930s, and was popularized in North America in the 1960s. Since the 1950s, the term "fondue" has been generalized to other dishes in which a food is dipped into a communal pot of liquid kept hot in a fondue pot: chocolate fondue, fondue au chocolat, in which pieces of fruit or pastry are dipped into a melted chocolate mixture, and fondue bourguignonne, in which pieces of meat are cooked in hot oil or broth.
Rösti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes, sautéed or shallow-fried in a pan. This rosti was served with a large sausage. It was originally a breakfast dish, commonly eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern, but is now eaten all over Switzerland and around the world. The French name röstis bernois makes direct reference to the origins of the dish. Many Swiss people consider rösti to be a national dish. Rather than considering it a complete breakfast, lunch or dinner, it is more commonly served to accompany other dishes such as Spinat und Spiegelei (spinach and fried eggs, sunny side up), cervelas or Fleischkäse. It is commonly available in Swiss restaurants as a replacement for the standard side dish of a given meal.
Chocolate Fondue was first made in the 1960s. Slices of fruit or cake are put in a pot of warm, liquid chocolate. It mimics the idea of cheese fondue, but adds a fun dessert twist to the traditional dish.