Whisk together cocoa powder, water and rum into a paste. Place in a bowl with the chopped chocolate and the vanilla.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, cream, corn syrup milk and salt. Bring to a boil and keep at a slow boil until the mixture is a light caramel color, about 15 minutes.

Strain the cream mixture into the chocolate mixture and whisk well until smooth. Pour into fondue pot to keep warm. Serve with cubed pound cake, marshmallows, fruit, or frozen cubes of cheesecake.

Variations: Add ½ teaspoon (or to taste) of orange extract or peppermint extract. Boil a cinnamon stick in with the dairy mixture.

Cover a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper.

In a large metal bowl set over a pan of simmering, not boiling, water, melt the chocolate chips. Stir frequently, and make sure that the water in the pan does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

Thoroughly stir in the vegetable oil. Stir well, but try not to make any bubbles in the chocolate. You want it to be as smooth as possible so your dipped strawberries look perfect.

Cool the chocolate to room temperature, stirring frequently. Right before you are ready to dip the strawberries, rinse them off in cold water and dry them gently but thoroughly. Make sure the berries are dry before dipping.

Holding a strawberry by its green top and dip the strawberry in the chocolate so only a little of the red is showing. Swirl the strawberry in the chocolate to make sure it is well coated. You might have to use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the berries when you start to run low on chocolate.

Once all the berries are dipped, put the tray in the refrigerator until you are ready for dessert.