Exclusive: Foodspotting Teams With The Melting Pot To Allow People To Take Pictures Of Cheese

At TechCrunch we like to get the rest of the story. That’s why we go in-depth, hard-hitting, and close to the ground. Nowhere is that clearer than in this hardcore, hardball, and soft cheese interview with the folks from the Melting Pot, a popular fondue (from the French “What do we do with this old cheese? Melt it?”) restaurant that may or may not be in your general vicinity.

The Melting Pot has teamed up with Foodspotting.com, a popular site for spotting food, and, like a tempest-tossed couple engulfed by a sea of hot broth, both companies are clawing their way back into the public consciousness by offering a $100 gift card to lucky foodspotters who deign to spot their fondue. I’m not exactly sure how the contest works (presumably you take pictures of whatever fell into your Gruyere) but $100 is nothing to sneeze at nor would you want to because sneezing into fondue can make quite a nasty sort of conglomerate.

I spoke to the very-patient Sandy D’Elosua, National Director of Communications, The Melting Pot Restaurants, about the partnership.

TC: As a fan of fondue, what should you do if you drop your iPhone in a pot of cheese?

Sandy: Well, first off, don’t drop your phone in a pot of cheese. We can’t imagine why anyone would do that. Maybe it’s a #YOLO thing? But hypothetically, if you do, alert a server to retrieve it. That cheese is hot.

TC: Will there be any special discounts for people whose dinners are ruined by their tablemates incessantly taking pictures of food?

Sandy: Did we mention the sweeps component, where one random winner will be chosen weekly to receive a $100 Melting Pot gift card for spotting and tagging fondue on Foodspotting? As long as the photo-taker promises to share said reward with their tablemates, we don’t foresee any issues.

TC: Why a $100 gift card for the Melting Pot? Why not a crisp $100 bill? Once you’ve had fondue once you don’t want it for a while.

Sandy: Because $100 worth of fondue is like a bazillion dollars worth of anything else. OK, maybe we’re a little biased. Truth is, we have more than two million Club Fondue members who are Fondue Fanatics and frequent The Melting Pot on a regular basis. So we figure, you can never have too much of a tasty thing.

TC: Why social media? Why now?

Sandy: Fondue is a social experience. We noticed that diners have been taking photos of our fondue and other dishes on Foodspotting for some time now. It’s a natural connect to partner with Foodspotting to enhance the social experience.

TC: Wouldn’t it be great if there was some sort of tomato sauce fondue and you speared noodles?

Sandy: That would be spaghetti…And that already exists. Using a standard fork.