2018-12-25 Tue

On 15th November 2018, Switzerland issued two 100-centime se-tenant stamps in a pane of 12, celebrating the country’s national dish, fondue. Designed by Francisco Rojas, one stamp features a red coloured fondue pot with a white cross on the handle, just like the Swiss flag design. The other stamp features a wedge of cheese. Both stamps feature an alpine scene with mountains and cows in the background. The centre of the pane features a fondue pot and there are perforations around it. The ingredients to prepare fondue for four people are listed in English and three other languages on the right hand side of the pane.

Swiss Post officials state that the stamp design tries to recreate a terrace of an Alpine hut with a wooden table, mountains in background, dishes and ingredients. Nobody knows when exactly the people started preparing fondue, but it was recorded in cookbooks for the first time in the late 17th century. The Swiss Cheese Union declared Fondue as the national dish of Switzerland in 1930. It became popular when the Swiss alpine restaurant served the dish at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The craze for fondue spread worldwide by the 1970s.

On 18th January 2019, Jersey will be releasing a 94-penny stamp featuring a couple relishing an avocado green fondue pot. It’s a part of the third set of stamps in the country’s Popular Culture through the Decades series. The set of six stamps issued next year will be dedicated to language, music, fashion, events, food, and leisure aspects of the 1970s. Other stamps in the set would feature the word “boogie” (language), punk (music); flared pants (fashion), home video recording (event) and roller skating (leisure pursuits). A souvenir sheet with a single £2 stamp features a Jersey shopping district in the 1970s. The stamps and souvenir sheets were printed by offset lithography by Joh. Enschede from the Netherlands.

Image Courtesy: Swiss Post