Swiss aim to make cheesy splash in New York

ZURICH, Sept 19 (Reuters Life!) - The Swiss are aiming to create a big stink in the Big Apple.

Dairy food producer Emmi will try to break the record for the largest fondue outside Switzerland, serving up the traditional Swiss dish of bread dunked in a mixture of melted cheese, white wine and herbs in New York's World Financial Center early next month.

Emmi will cook up a 1,300 kg (2,866 lb) fondue with 700 kg of cheese in an effort to boost awareness of Switzerland -- and its cheese exports -- in the United States.

The meal will be served from a giant pot to about 3,000 people, Emmi estimated, and will be eaten to the accompaniment of yodeling and Alpine horn players.

"The American public should be made a bit more familiar with the Swiss way of life with this unique fondue event," Emmi said on Wednesday.

The company said it will not try to break the overall record for fondue size out of respect for Swiss traditions.

That record was set with 732 kg of molten cheese in a vat in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1998.