In short: raclette in TV series shows up more often than you might think. Titeuf has its “Raclette partie” episode, a Japanese TV Tokyo series devoted an entire episode to raclette cheese, and a 2024 anime turned it into an instrument of “torture”. We only kept episodes we could verify, with the episode number and the source.
Our article on raclette in the movies already covered Heidi and Tschugger. Now it’s the small screen’s turn, from cartoons to American sitcoms.
When raclette is what the episode is about
Titeuf: “Raclette partie” (France 3, 2001)
In the 24th episode of the first season of the cartoon based on Zep’s comic books, Titeuf heads to the mountains with his class. When he finds out a raclette night is planned, he’s so thrilled he announces he can wolf down thirty servings. The official synopsis soberly warns that “not everything goes according to plan”. Anyone who has ever tried to break that record knows how it ends.
Shinmai Shimai no Futari Gohan: a “Raclette Cheese” episode (TV Tokyo, 2019)
In Japan, the live-action series Shinmai Shimai no Futari Gohan follows the cooking of two stepsisters, Sachi and Ayari, played by Anna Yamada and Karen Otomo. Each episode is built around a dish, and the fourth, aired on October 31, 2019, is simply titled “Raclette Cheese”. According to TV Tokyo’s official page, their friend Eri comes to visit and they welcome her… with raclette cheese.
It’s no coincidence: raclette is very popular in Japan, as we explained in our movie article, when talking about Heidi.
‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess: the sweetest torture in the world (2024)
In this Japanese anime, a knight princess is held prisoner by the demon army. The premise: every “torture” is actually an irresistible treat. In episode 6, aired in February 2024, the torturer Tortura shows up with a red-hot iron. After a moment of suspense, the iron is used… to melt raclette over meat. According to the episode summary, the princess can’t resist and gives up a secret. We understand her completely.
Raclette, Swiss style and sketch style
Les Valaisans dans l’espace: raclette in zero gravity
This animated mini-series from French-speaking Switzerland gently pokes fun at clichés about the Valais: the whole canton moves out into space. Naturally, the raclette travels with them. The fourth episode has a title Alien fans will appreciate: “In space, no one can hear you make raclette”. Here it is, on the series’ YouTube channel:
Les Deschiens: “La raclette” (Canal+, 1994)
In Jérôme Deschamps and Macha Makeïeff’s famous sketch series, the Morel family runs a cheese shop. The twelfth episode of the first season is called “La raclette”. We couldn’t find a reliable summary of this sketch, but with a family of cheesemongers, the topic was almost inevitable.
Nods to raclette in animated series
Bob’s Burgers: the raclette burger of the day (2019)
In every episode of this American series, the restaurant’s chalkboard shows a “burger of the day” with a pun for a name. In the episode “What About Blob?” (season 9, episode 17, March 2019), it’s the “Someone Raclette the Bed Burger”, served with raclette cheese: a pun on “someone wet the bed”. We don’t recommend the bed part, but we do recommend the burger.
Miraculous: enough to melt a wheel of raclette (2021)
Plagg, Cat Noir’s little kwami, thinks about nothing but cheese. In the episode “Glaciator 2” (season 4, episode 15, aired in October 2021), he finds Gabriel Agreste’s words so warm that, in his view, they would be enough to melt a wheel of raclette. Coming from Plagg, that’s the highest compliment there is.
Before TV series: raclette in painting
Long before television, raclette already had its iconic scenes. In 1903, the Swiss painter Ernest Biéler depicted a Valais raclette in his painting La Raclette, shown here: a table of men gathered around the wheel while a woman scrapes the cheese. A raclette night with friends, just like in the series, but in oil on canvas.
We also left out several episodes mentioned here and there without a solid source, or whose title is just a pun on “raclette”: only cheese raclette gets a spot here.
Raclette in TV series: your questions
Which Titeuf episode features raclette?
“Raclette partie”, the 24th episode of season 1 of the animated series (2001). Titeuf goes to the mountains with his class and brags that he can eat thirty servings of raclette.
Is there a Japanese series about raclette?
Yes, at least two have taken an interest in it: the drama Shinmai Shimai no Futari Gohan (TV Tokyo, 2019), whose fourth episode is titled “Raclette Cheese”, and the anime ‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess (2024), where raclette is used as “torture” in episode 6.
How do you host a raclette night in front of a series?
Plan on about 200 g of cheese per person, a grill big enough for the whole couch, and short episodes: the little pans won’t wait for the season finale.
What about you, which series do you watch while eating raclette?
Tell us in the comments if you know another raclette scene in a series: we’ll check it and add it to the list. For your next series night, our guide to choosing your raclette grill and our guide to cheese quantities per person are waiting for you. And to stay on theme, discover the celebrities who love raclette.
Sources: Wikipédia, Saison 1 de Titeuf, TV Tokyo, Shinmai Shimai no Futari Gohan, épisode 4 (31/10/2019), Wikipedia, ‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess, TheTVDB, Les Valaisans dans l’espace, tv-programme.com, Les Deschiens S01E12, Bob’s Burgers Wiki, What About Blob?, Miraculous Wiki, Glaciator 2
