Add bacon and fry until crisp. If you prefer you can substitute sausage.

Add garlic, shallots and butter and fry (make sure you add onion before garlic over cooks).

Add sliced onion and enough salt to make onions weep. This step will take an hour at least as the extent of carmelization is critical. Manage this process well with high heat when you can get away with it (early) and then low at the end so that you get carmelization and not burning.

Add bouquet garni (bay leaf, parsley, thyme in a bundle you can remove), port, vinegar scraping any brown bits in the bottom of the pan.

Add stock , boil, then set on simmer for 45 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve by floating two croutons and spreading shredded cheese over the top.

Place under broiler until cheese is well melted.