Love that idea with the melted cheese - I shall try it! Sounds like fun too!
I have a raclette grill thing gathering dust somewhere, I am not sure I am that fond of raclette cheese. I do love cheese fondu though and also have a fondu kit lying around also gathering dust. I remember in the seventies and eighties we used to have meat fondues too. They seem to have lost their popularity nowadays, perhaps because people kept knocking the boiling fat over themselves!
I remember fondue! One of the things we did was use broth rather than hot fat. In the end you had an even tastier broth which could be consuned or used later for soup. Wish I'd rememnbered that before I decluttered the fondue pot out of my house last year....
consumed. When are they going to let us correct our posts?! 
In the UK maybe - still very popular over here! Chinese fondue with stock is great and far lighter. Best I've had was in summer in Barbados!
Doesn't have to be raclette cheese - in Germany we used most sorts as long as they melted well. Goats cheese is lovely, mozarella too.
I agree Chinese type fondues are great and very tasty.