Well, I'm afraid I didn't see your fork ... did you get a taste when I wasn't looking?
BTW, nobody complained about the addition of the Double Gloucester & Stilton ... but they did ask if I would resume using at least some Emmentaler in the mix. ...I think this family of Texans is becoming quite the picky bunch of Fondue gourmets! They're now able to tell me which cheeses add which characteristics to the Fondue, and they unanimously miss the tang and texture formerly provided by the Emmentaler.
Viewed from the other side (i.e. guys), this points towards a deeply sad reality of life: there is never enough fondue, never!!
Sometimes, I really wish it was socially acceptable to refill the "caquelon" with cheese and wine after the first round is over and start all over again...
I can't speak for the packaged mix, but a friend of mine once prepared a Fondue with Vacherin Fribourgeois for our families. That stuff by itself was pretty strong smelling and tasting as I remember it — but, not unlike Appenzeller, it takes on a whole new delightful character in a Fondue. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
This reminds me of an anecdote I once read about a Swiss woman who was working with several other Swiss on a project in the UAE (where Winter is apparently almost non-existent). One day when she stepped into their portable office, it was downright cold inside, and all her colleagues were huddled together in a circle. They called her over to join them, she realized what was going on: The A/C was on full blast to simulate winter, and they were curing their homesickness with a Fondue.
Something similar happened to me in Bali where nine out of ten chefs at the local hotels seemed to be Swiss: In one of the hotel kitchens, they had built a real Swiss chalet with cotton on its roof simulating snow Needless to say that on one of my flights from Zurich to Denpasar I carried several kilos of fresh fondue cheese plus a kilo(!) of "Nüsslisalat" for the starter. And who did the fondue there? I did...
That's a typical Swiss prejudice. Besides the fact that cheese fondue isn't a Swiss speciality (but originally from the neighbouring Franche-Conté and Savoie region), it's eaten in France all year round. And of course in any Swiss city, too. Just came across an American couple sitting in a Basel street café slurping their fondue - a thunderstorm had cooled down the air from 30 ° to 25 ° only a few minutes earlier...
To all the people Down Under that might have become hungry in the meantime (and who probably enjoy some Winter romantic) - here is my personal but ever so easy cheese fondue recipe:
500 gr shredded Swiss cheese (half Gruyère/half Vacherin)
2 teaspoon flour
4 cloves fresh garlic
2.5 dl dry, not too fruity white wine
Pepper, nutmeg
a knife tip of baking soda
3 tablespoon (half a "Schnapsglass") cherry brandy (Kirsch)
2 loaves Italian or French bread, cut in cubes, crust on each side
Rub fondue pot with garlic; pour in wine and cheese. Set over moderate heat stirring constantly with wooden spoon until cheese is melted. Add pepper and nutmeg to your taste. Then mix flour with half a glass of wine, add, stirr again and let simmer until the desired consistency is achieved, then add Kirsch and the baking soda. Serve and keep bubbling hot over burner. Spear bread cubes through soft side into crust; dunk and swirl in fondue. Serves 2 - 3.