What Anthony Bourdain Thought Omelets Reveal About People
The omelet is by far one of the simplest egg dishes you can learn to cook, but it is also the one that requires some of the greatest amount of care. Fine Cooking shares that "mastering" the omelet boils down to two key elements: technique and TLC. Per Egg Farmers of Canada, at its most basic, the omelet consists of eggs, a little salt and pepper, and water. But whether you choose to be extravagant or simple with your omelet, it should be satisfying.
The late Anthony Bourdain espoused the ease but importance of this comfort meal, revealing his simple ritual to Cooking Light in 2017. The late chef wrote that after his busiest time of the year for his restaurants he had a simple way of unwinding and recharging. Bourdain wrote, "I'd do a hard reset the next day for breakfast by making myself a simple omelet, into which I'd cook julienned smoked salmon and chopped chives. I'd top it with sour cream and caviar, pour myself a cup of coffee or a glass of Champagne, and enjoy a perfect, solitary meal." Bourdain went on to describe the consistency of this ritual as something he could always count on.But for the globetrotting celebrity chef, the omelet was more than just a dish. It came to symbolize something about the individual.
Another chef agrees with Bourdain
Per Insider, the omelet became a "metaphor for caring" for Bourdain. How someone cooks this egg dish was revealing to the chef. That's deep, right? It may even bring up visions of that classic scene in the animated Pixar film "Ratatouille" where the critic takes a bite of his meal and is reminded of how his mom would care for him. If it does, well, you wouldn't be too far off the mark with your thinking.
Insider quoted an interview Bourdain conducted with Playboy where the host of CNN's "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" said, "Learn how to cook a f***ing omelet ... I mean, what nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast? You look good doing it, and it's a nice thing to do for somebody you just had sex with. I think it's good for the world. It's a good thing all around. It's easy ... the way you make an omelet reveals your character."
Bourdain is not alone in his feelings about this dish. When answering Twitter questions for Wired (posted on YouTube) about how he hires chefs, Wolfgang Puck shared, "I tell people when they come to my restaurant and want to be a cook, I say, 'Make me an omelet, and I will see what kind of a cook you are.'" Clearly, we all need to think about how we make our omelets.