How Much Does Fondue Chinoise Cost per Person in Switzerland?

For a fondue chinoise, budget 200 to 250 grams of meat per person. Swissmilk ("Fleisch: 200–250 g"), Betty Bossi ("pro Person rechnet man mit 200 bis 250 Gramm Fleisch") and the Migros Online-Theke ("we recommend approximately 250 grams of meat per person") all land in the same range independently. Everything else on the table is small change by comparison.

How much does fondue chinoise cost per person?

What you pay per person depends almost entirely on where you buy the meat. Frozen, denner.ch listed Fondue Chinoise Rindfleisch at CHF 20.95 for 500 g in July 2026, which is CHF 41.90 per kilo. At a butcher's counter, Metzgerei Berchtold lists CHF 25.50 per person for a 250 g fillet mix, which works out to CHF 102.00 per kilo, as an indicative price, because the shop states that the bill is settled in store at the actual daily prices and weight.

At 250 g per person, the meat alone therefore costs roughly CHF 10.50 (frozen) to CHF 25.50 (counter fillet mix) per person. A restaurant fondue chinoise à discrétion cost CHF 53.50 to CHF 85.00 per person at the three venues we checked.

Sources checked regularly. Per-person quantities: Swissmilk, Betty Bossi, Migros Online-Theke, Metzgerei Berchtold, Lüthis Fleischwaren, Danko Shop. Prices: the online price lists of Metzgerei Berchtold and Lüthis Fleischwaren, and denner.ch (July 2026). December demand: Proviande (13.12.2024, data basis UFA-Revue). Thursday promotion start: corporate.migros.ch (26.1.2026). Hygiene: BLV, BAG, Kantonales Labor Aargau and Swiss TPH in the European Journal of Epidemiology (2014). Restaurant prices: Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall, Hotel Restaurant Möve Faulensee, Kursaal Bern. Every price here is a dated snapshot, not this week's price. Last checked: July 2026.

Rappn is an independent grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreements with any retailer.

How much meat per person for fondue chinoise?

The range is narrow and remarkably consistent across sources. Swissmilk and Betty Bossi both say 200 to 250 grams. The Migros Online-Theke rounds up to 250 grams. Lüthis Fleischwaren writes "pro Person etwa 200–250 Gramm dünn geschnittenes Fleisch". Danko Shop plans on 220 to 250 grams. Metzgerei Berchtold is the only source that splits by appetite: 250 g per person "für normale Esser" (normal eaters), 300 g "für gute Esser" (big eaters).

Betty Bossi adds one rule that changes the shopping list: "eine Sorte Sauce pro Person", one variety of sauce per guest. For four people that means four different sauces, not four tubs of the same one.

What does the meat cost: frozen, fresh-packed or from the counter?

One caveat belongs with these numbers: Metzgerei Berchtold prints CHF 25.50 and CHF 20.00 per person with an asterisk and adds "Die Bezahlung erfolgt in der Filiale zu den effektiven Tagespreisen/Gewicht", payment is made in store at the actual daily prices and weight. The CHF 102.00 and CHF 80.00 per kilo derived from them are therefore reference values, not fixed prices.

The structure matters more than any single line. Across this data, a counter fillet mix (CHF 102.00 per kilo) costs more than twice the frozen Denner pack (CHF 41.90 per kilo). That is not a quality verdict, fillet is not rump, and a butcher slices differently from a frozen production line. It only means that at a fondue chinoise, saving on the meat is saving on almost everything.

Bouillon or oil: which version costs less?

Fondue chinoise is the bouillon version; Betty Bossi calls it "die figurfreundliche Variante", the waistline-friendly one. Fondue bourguignonne is the oil version and needs, per Betty Bossi, "geschmacksneutralem und hoch erhitzbarem Öl", a neutral, high-heat oil such as peanut oil. Danko Shop plans on roughly 1.5 litres of strong beef bouillon for four people.

On consumption, bouillon wins: one tin of bouillon granules lasts well beyond a single evening, while frying oil is typically used up within the evening. We do not give verified prices for granules or oil here.

Chinoise is a team sport. So is the shopping.
With Rappn's shared shopping list, everyone adds what they're bringing, meat, sauces, bouillon, sides, and you can see which of those items are on promotion at the seven chains this week.

What does fondue chinoise cost per person? A worked example for 4

Bouillon, sauces, sides, leaf salad, vegetables and pickles are not included: we give no verified prices for those here, and we do not write down numbers we cannot source. Add those lines yourself.

When do the fondue chinoise promotions land?

There is no fixed date, and we publish no promotion calendar we cannot source. Two things are documented: the chains' weekly rhythm and the December demand.

One thing that matters for timing in store: since 5 February 2026, Migros and Denner promotions "starten … jeweils neu am Donnerstag und gelten bis Mittwoch der Folgewoche", they start on Thursday and run to the Wednesday of the following week, and the Migros magazine now arrives on Wednesday (press release, corporate.migros.ch, 26.1.2026). For fondue shopping that makes Thursday the day worth checking. The full weekly rhythm is in our Swiss promotion calendar, and the meat side in detail under meat deals in Switzerland.

Proviande confirms that December demand really does rise: weekly meat sales in December run roughly five percent above the annual average, and Proviande names filet, fondue chinoise and smoked ham (geräuchertes Schinkli) as the dishes with the clearest December increase (article of 13.12.2024, data basis UFA-Revue). The festive plate differs by region: Proviande cites poultry, especially turkey, for French-speaking Switzerland, capon with mustard sauce for Ticino, and a mix of pastetli, ham, fondue chinoise, roasts and filet for German-speaking Switzerland.

At home or at a restaurant?

Three verified Swiss venues as a reference point. Hotel Restaurant Möve in Faulensee runs a fondue chinoise à discrétion buffet at CHF 53.50 per person, every Friday evening and, from November to the end of March, every Saturday evening too, from 18:00. Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall charges CHF 79.00 per person à discrétion, including mineral water and iced tea, in the season from 13 November 2026 to 20 March 2027, Fridays and Saturdays from 18:00. Kursaal Bern offers a three-course menu with fondue chinoise at the table plus salad and dessert buffets at CHF 85.00 per person, for groups of 25 to 180.

At home, the meat alone costs roughly CHF 10.50 to CHF 25.50 per person in our worked example, with bouillon, sauces and sides on top. Eating out costs CHF 53.50 to CHF 85.00 per person for each venue's full offer. That is not a criticism of the venues: à discrétion means unlimited meat, and rent, wages and service are expensive in Switzerland. It only means the bill at home is almost entirely yours to set.

What do the authorities say about fondue chinoise hygiene?

A fondue chinoise puts raw meat on the table, which is why there is official guidance on it. We reproduce only what the authorities themselves state.

The BLV recommends using "beim Fondue Chinoise einen separaten Teller für das rohe Fleisch", a separate plate for the raw meat, keeping raw meat and fish products apart from other foods, using "unterschiedliche Schneidbretter und Utensilien" (different cutting boards and utensils), heating "Fleisch, Geflügel, Fisch und Meeresfrüchte auf mindestens 70 Grad" (meat, poultry, fish and seafood to at least 70 degrees), storing perishables "im Kühlschrank bei unter 5 Grad" (in the fridge below 5 degrees), and washing hands thoroughly with soap before and after preparation. The BAG states that "jährlich … zwischen 7000 und 8000 Fälle von Campylobacter-Erkrankungen" are reported in Switzerland each year, and lists separate plates for raw meat and side dishes at a fondue chinoise as a prevention measure.

The cantonal laboratory of Aargau puts the same rule more bluntly: "Rohes Fleisch und roher Fleischsaft dürfen sich nie mit Saucen und Beilagen mischen!", raw meat and raw meat juices must never mix with sauces and sides. It gives 5 °C or below for chilled food and a core temperature of 70 °C for 2 minutes for poultry and minced meat, and reports over 7,000 illnesses a year in Switzerland with roughly 15 percent hospitalised.

A Swiss TPH study in the European Journal of Epidemiology (release of 3.7.2014) examined the holiday effect: meat fondue was associated there with a fourfold increased infection risk, about half of the holiday-period cases were traced to that source, and separate or compartmented plates for raw and cooked meat reduced the risk by a factor of up to five according to the release. Previously frozen meat was also associated with lower risk. That is worth noting, because the frozen pack also has the lowest per-kilo price in our table.

So what does it actually cost?

It depends, and almost entirely on one decision: where you buy the meat. Between CHF 41.90 and CHF 102.00 per kilo, the verified sources put about CHF 15 per person per evening in play at 250 grams per person.

So the only rule this data supports is: decide on the channel first, everything else second. And because nobody knows in advance which week the meat goes on promotion, a price alert beats a panic run just before Christmas. For the same arithmetic with cheese instead of meat, see our guides to fondue night cost and raclette night cost.

Set a price alert on fondue chinoise meat.
Rappn compares promotions across seven Swiss retailers and tells you when the frozen platter or the fresh counter cut goes on Aktion. Fill the basket together, see the per-kilo prices side by side, buy well before the holidays. Get Rappn free.