Anthony Bourdain Gave Gordon Ramsay High Praise Over This Simple Soup

Anthony Bourdain's very first television show, "A Cook's Tour," debuted shortly after he released his groundbreaking book, "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly," so his stardom (which would ultimately be enormous) was just getting started at the time. One episode that aired in 2002 on Food Network saw Bourdain eating around London, England where he made a stop at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, which had recently been awarded three Michelin stars (yes, they are awarded by the tire company). At the time, Bourdain shared Gordon Ramsay was considered to be the best chef in England, and he was happy to experience the chef's culinary talents. Later in his career, Bourdain wasn't shy about saying how he really felt about Gordon Ramsay. 

While visiting the restaurant and after an amuse-bouche course, Bourdain was presented with a chilled consommé soup with caviar. As Bourdain so eloquently put it, "It's a pain in the a** to make a great consommé, but Gordon's done it." He doesn't explain what's in the small bowl of consommé he's presented with, other than the caviar, but it looks like the broth may have chunks of red and green tomato in it. In any case, Bourdain further praised the soup, calling it, "really, really, really extraordinary." Consommé may not look like it has a whole lot going on, but a well-made batch is truly a labor of love that takes time and excellent quality ingredients, even if there's no bougie caviar at the bottom of the cup.

At first glance, consommé looks like a simple broth, but if you look closely, you can see there's something different about it. A good consommé — regardless of the color — is crystal-clear without the cloudiness that is typical in a broth or stock, although you do need one or the other to make it. To prepare it, you gently simmer broth or stock on the stove for around an hour with a mixture of ingredients that are designed to filter any impurities out of the liquid, which results in the clear appearance.

The ingredient mixture is called a clearmeat, and it's made by combining egg whites and lean ground meat, and sometimes aromatic vegetables and spices for flavor. Once the mixture hits the heat of the broth, it solidifies and floats to the top of the liquid for the duration of cooking, referred to as a raft. To keep the soup from getting cloudy, it simmers undisturbed, but many cooks put a hole in the top of the raft to vent the soup. It's further filtered by pouring the finished soup through cheesecloth. The finished consommé should be very richly flavored with a thicker mouthfeel than plain broth, making it an excellent starter, just how Bourdain enjoyed his at Ramsay's restaurant. You can serve consommé as is or garnished with julienne- or brunoise-cut vegetables (they're slightly different), as well as small pieces of meat, fish, pasta, or finely chopped soft herbs.