This book does assume you have some basic idea of fondue. It does talk about different pots to use, and how to prepare for a fondue dinner (what to provide guests, how to instruct them, etc). It doesn't discuss things like why alcohol is used in many recipes (to prevent cheese from curdling) & cooking techniques, like keeping the heat on low. However, these are adequately covered in newsgroups & web sites.The cheese fondue recipes are very good & simple. They usually don't call for expensive ingredients and do suggest many dipping foods. There are color pictures on every page. The sauces for Tempura are weak. While tasty, the variety is slim -- you'll use diff. sauces for seafood vs. beef vs. chicken.Additionally, there are yummy looking dessert fondue recipes 'tho I have not tried those yet.Overall, very good book for the money.