You could tell you were in the right place by the smell in the air: a wafting whiff of cheese fondue simmering with wine and herbs.
“Go straight through those doors. You can’t miss it. Everyone is eating cheese,” quipped a man standing on a New York City sidewalk outside the Winter Garden.
A crisp, clear fall day last month sent sunlight filtering through the glass atrium of the downtown 10-story office complex and onto a pulsating lunch crowd that stood in lines up to 40 people long to get a taste of Emmi USA cheeses.
The largest Swiss dairy staged the sampling last month to kick off the fondue season in the Northeast. The company has been expanding its U.S. position, its largest market outside of Europe, over the past few years. The maker of the cheese, Le Gruyére of Switzerland, billed the noon to 3 p.m. event as the “world’s largest fondue.”
The Winter Garden is the centerpiece of lower Manhattan’s World Financial Center, where 40,000 people are employed.
“We wanted to leverage the fact there is such a huge number of people who work in the Financial Center and target them during their lunch hour,” says Rick Krisburg, vice president of account services at The A Team, which conducted the event.
Workers dressed in white gowns and hairnets stood atop a large pillar stirring a huge pot filled with 2,800 pounds of Emmi’s classic recipe, which includes 1,500 pounds of cheeses, white wine, cherry liqueur, water, starch and herbs.
Servers below ladled the hot gooey fondue into five-inch heated rolls and passed them off with a napkin to about 2,500 people over the course of the event.
“We want the consumer to taste the difference,” says Daniel Schnyder, special projects for Emmi USA. “We want them to experience Emmi cheese and what it means to be aged 12 months versus five or six months.”
Another 2,350 samples of Caffé Latte, Emmi’s new “lifestyle” beverage, which is being tested in two markets, were handed out. As people milled about or found seats at tables scattered throughout the Winter Garden they were immersed in Swiss culture.
From a stage, a couple from the International Alphorn Society dressed in traditional Swiss costumes played alphorns — 12-foot-long horns made of spruce.
Soon after a yodeling contest began with 18 brave souls participating. The winner received a six-night trip for two to Switzerland and eight first-class rail tickets. When asked if he had any experience with yodeling, he said, “ It was all in the cheese.”
The runner-up received a Swiss watch. Nearby, 500 people entered a contest to guess the combined weight of four large cheese wheels. That winner also took home a Swiss watch.
Some people chose to take their sandwiches and lattes outside to find a seat on the plaza set beside the Hudson River. Others walked up the grand Italian marble staircase, the focal point of the garden, to peer out the windows overlooking Ground Zero. The Winter Garden was severely damaged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but was restored following a yearlong effort to its original splendor, which included the installation of 16 43-foot-tall Washingtonia palm trees.
Brochures with recipes and tips on preparing fondue were available, as were reps from Switzerland Tourism with information on traveling to and enjoying the country.
A special VIP section was set up for representatives from Le Gruyére, who were joined by Emmi trade customers, including those from Advantage International Foods; Food Emporium; J.L. Freeman; Kings; World Wide Sales; and Zabar’s. The group served themselves from fondue pots and sipped on wine.
“We’re trying to revive that feel of sitting together with your friends eating cheese in a different form,” Schnyder said.
Most of the people attending the event lived and worked in New York, but some were visitors to the area.
Jackie, who was in town on business from Canada, said she liked the cheese. But the real question was: Would she buy some from Emmi?
“Sure, if I can get it in Vancouver,” she said.
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