Chasing Perfection

It's just an omelet. How hard can it be? Well, depending on what you're looking for, it can be super-easy or almost unattainable by Francis Lam

This story - on craft, care, and the French way with eggs - was originally published in the late, great Gourmet magazine, March 2008. We're bringing it back in honor of French Week on Gilt Taste. - Ed. 

I hit it once, just once, but it was beautiful. It was exam time and I was nervous, waiting for my turn. I had the proper fire. The heat felt right. I made smooth, swirling passes with my spatula, and when I rolled my pan over the plate, I knew it. Chef took a look at my omelet and squinted at me. He poked at it, pinched it, and then he knew, too. He called out to the class, "When you show me yours, I want it to look like this." He set the plate in the window for the rest of the school to see, then turned around and gave me a quick wink.

Before Chef Skibitcky got ahold of my brain, I, like every other rational person, thought an omelet was something anyone can make. You throw eggs in a pan, stir them around, fold them in half, and put them on a plate. Done. No-brainer. It only gets interesting when you start tossing in other things - ham, some cheese, maybe a sautéed mushroom or two. Once, there was an omelet contest in my college cafeteria. The winner had it all wrapped up the minute he pulled an avocado and a wedge of Brie out of his bag. Young girls screamed and old men yelled. I stood and watched quietly, respecting him. {Read on via Gilttaste}