We have been having a meat fondue every New Years (or eve) for the last 40 years. It's so good no one ever wants to go out! We cut up beef tenderloin and fondue it in oil -- and yes, it's dangerous. Every meal starts with Dad's safety lecture... We also do breaded mushrooms in the same oil -- so good! We've tried various fondue pots, but what works best is actually a Fry Daddy, a little deep fat fryer. They're preset to maintain the right temperature, so we never have a problem with the oil cooling down too far. True, it's not very elegant, and there's that electrical cord hanging down. But the meat's just so darned good that nobody cares about the pot! Especially with bearnaise sauce as Yogacat mentioned. The bearnaise is the whole family's favorite, though I do seven different sauces for luck. I also love a cheese fondue with sourdough french bread. But 'rich' is right! Definitely, add wine or kirsch if it gets too thick, and again, proper temperature control is key. Probably won't do that this year 'cause there are just too many calories... Gotta save 'em for the beef and mushrooms. (Then again, with the recipe above, if I only use one pound of cheese, I couldn't gain more than a pound, right?) For chocolate fondue, add a bit of creme de menthe or peppermint schnapps to a dark chocolate base. To die for!

Choccie fondu never has oil, just chocolate ( good stuff!), liqueur, if you like and milk/cream. You want the cheapest ceramic fondu pot you can find. They're usually small for choc fondu so you may need more than one, depending on how many people. A pot per four people. Here's one for you to look at. We also find them in the equivalent of dollar shops here. Here is a link that might be useful: Pot

You can buy peanut oil in quarts at the grocery stores. Do not ever use olive oil at high temps or you will get smoking. You can adjust the smoke point of olive oil by adding a bit of other oil though but not enough for deep frying. Grapeseed oil is a nice oil for high temps and it does not impart a heavy flavor. Also coconaut oil wich is solid at room temp and is more often found sold along side the popcorn at the stores than the in the oil section.

Okay, gentle heating rather than searing, but you still have to Prep, build your base, stir, making sure it doesn't break, prep and possibly cook the dippees, etc. If it feels like a vacation to you, that’s what counts. I hope you have a lot of fun! Shabu shabu, if made right, is the best of the broth type, IMO, because the slices are wafer thin and the meat cooks as fast as you can blink. But you still have to like boiled meat. The sauces are all important. The high salt level helps to disguise the boiledness. It's not hilarious, the way cheese fondue (especially when heavy on the wine) is. It's not particularly delicious, the way teppanyaki is. It's a great way to make restaurant patrons cook their own food and pay extra for the privilege. ;)