Switzerland is probably best known for a couple of cheese-based dishes, namely raclette and fondue. The fondue has of course sparked variations on this theme in other parts of the world, using hot oil in the fondue pot for dipping savoury foods and chocolate for a dessert fondue. A fondue in Switzerland will however use classic Swiss cheeses such as Gruyère, Comté and Emmenthal, grated and added to a pot of white wine plus a little cornstarch and garlic. You can even buy ready-prepared "fondue mix" cheeses. The ingredients are heated and stirred. When ready, bread is skewered on a special long fondue fork and dipped into the pot. Occasionally potatoes may be used instead, although of course if you make your own fondue you can use anything you like for dipping. Eating a fondue is a social event, to the extent that if you lose your chunk of bread in the pot tradition calls for you to kiss your dining partner. Raclette, which originates from the Alps, was another peasant meal where melted cheese was used to enhance a few humble potatoes. You can buy packs of raclette cheese and melt it under a grill. Once ready, the cheese is simply scraped onto the plate and enjoyed with boiled potatoes. In a restaurant you will normally have a tabletop grill to melt your own cheese, but the traditional method of a wood-burning fireplace is sometimes used. Many restaurants around Switzerland will include both these dishes on the menu.

Another dish you will find in Switzerland is Rösti, made mostly from fried potatoes flattened into a type of pancake and sometimes eaten with sausage. The Swiss eat on average a large amount of meat (mostly produced in Switzerland to strict standards) but not much fish. Horse meat is popular in Switzerland. Vegetarian alternatives can be found but are expensive. For breakfast in Switzerland you would normally have fresh bread and slices of cheese and ham. Muesli is of course a Swiss invention and breakfast cereals are readily available in food stores.

Traditional Swiss desserts rely on dairy products and can have plenty of cream. Cakes and cookies are also popular and you will find in Switzerland similar desserts to those in Germany and Austria. Regional specialities include the Basler Leckerli cookies from Basel, pear rissole (Rissole aux poires/Rzulé) in Geneva and walnut pie (Engadiner Nusstorte) from Graubünden. Chocolate fondue is not as popular as you might expect, the Swiss being far more likely to serve the cheese variety. As for the Swiss roll, this does not in fact originate from Switzerland. In restaurants you will commonly be offered an ice cream dessert and according to the region you are in you may have a choice of desserts from the cuisines of neighbouring countries such as crème brulée, tiramisu, or Bayrische Creme. A Stalden Crème is an instant flavoured cream dessert that you can find in food stores. Likewise, a TamTam is a ready-prepared sweet flan.

Switzerland does have its own vineyards producing both red and white wines but is also surrounded by the wine-growing countries of France, Germany and Italy. The home-grown wines are well worth trying. Traditionally rather bland and shying away from acidity, Swiss wine has evolved to offer a greater variety of characteristics. Switzerland's own soft drink, Rivella, is derived from milk whey and is sold bottled in various. It tends to be an acquired taste for expats.

Meals are an important part of daily activity, with the traditional lunchbreak lasting two hours. Modern office workers will in reality find they take a much shorter lunchbreak, but schools do close for up to two hours to allow children to go home for lunch. With schools starting early, breakfast is commonly eaten at around 7am. There will then be a morning snack for children at around 9-9.30am, lunch from 12-2pm, and an afternoon snack in the mid-afternoon. School lunches tend to be healthy in Switzerland. The evening meal is taken at a time that suits the individual family and varies according to whether there are children to be fed, and supper is an optional pre-bed snack, often cereal.

Eating is on the whole healthier in Switzerland, with salad a normal part of daily meals, and home cooking is encouraged over ready meals. Dinner parties are quite popular and you should be prepared to remove your shoes (you can take slippers if you wish) when attending one. Take a gift of flowers or chocolates, rather than wine, as your host will already have chosen an appropriate wine for the meal.