Swiss cheese fondue traditionally involves several people dipping bread into the same pot. (AFP pic)

ZURICH: The beloved Swiss national dish consists of cheese melted down with white wine in a ‘caquelon’ pot heated by an open flame.

By tradition, Swiss cheese fondue is eaten by dipping in bread with long-handled forks, with several friends or relatives joining in and sharing the same pot.

But can the convivial Swiss culinary experience still be done safely in the midst of a pandemic?

Internet sages are piling in on the hot topic. “Eat your fondue with a fishing rod”, reads one suggestion for maintaining physical distancing.

Another – with a touch more realism – proposes: “Each guest takes two forks and a knife, and it’s fixed: one fork to dip in the fondue, the knife to help remove the bread and the second fork to eat it.”

The press has called experts to the rescue, even dragging in Geneva’s celebrated infectious disease specialist Didier Pittet.

“A risk linked to fondue? Certainly not,” said the man considered the godfather of alcohol-based hand rub.

Switzerland Cheese Marketing is also making reassuring noises.

The industry body insists it has studied the question closely and has concluded: “The risk of contracting Covid-19 while enjoying a fondue with other diners is negligible.”