An Omelet with Anthony Bourdain

Like many all over the world, we were shocked to hear of Anthony Bourdain’s death last week. Rick and I have spent hours binge watching his shows on Netflix, YouTube and our cable company’s on demand service. We thought he was funny, outspoken, sometimes brash, but always open to new experiences and accepting of different cultures and foods. I first became interested in his work during the early seasons of Top Chef where he was a guest judge. His tell all book, Kitchen Confidential, was not only autobiographical but also exposed the seedier side of the restaurant business.

In the book, Bourdain describes a metaphysical moment while in France as a young man when he tried his first oyster, freshly harvested from the sea and consumed on the spot. That moment set him on his culinary career. While he described himself as a mediocre chef, he excelled as an essayist and kept us tuning in to his travel and documentary shows with his baritone voice, sardonic wit and obvious enjoyment of the people with whom he shared meals and copious amounts of alcohol.

It was decided that this week the bloggers of I Heart Cooking Clubs would choose a recipe to honor Anthony Bourdain and the friendship between he and Eric Ripert, whose recipes we’ve been featuring.

This week make a dish For a Friend {For Anthony Bourdain}. Make any dish under the sun by any chef/cook under the sun. Create something inspired by Bourdain. Create something unique and one-of-a-kind. Make a dish that tells a story. Make a dish inspired by a story. Make a dish that speaks to your heart. Make a dish to celebrate friendship. Make a dish to say thank you. Just make a dish!

The man loved street food of any type, from any culture. He was also an advocate for preserving traditional and regional foods because those are the ones that help tell the story of a people. He made fun of vegetarians and vegans, calling them “self indulgent.” Of course the vegan community took offense (I doubt he cared.) As with many things Anthony Bourdain has said and written, there’s an unwelcome truth when he points out that it might be considered rude when “you’re unwilling to try things that people take so personally and are so proud of and so generous with…” especially when visiting another culture. Naturally this applies to people who are very rigid in other eating styles as well. The exception for Bourdain was Indian food. He loved it, even the vegetarian dishes, which he called “thrilling.”

After a couple days of indecision and web searches I came across a recipe for making a simple omelet, something Anthony Bourdain became intimately familiar with as a young chef. You can hear his voice when reading the text which describes how to make a classic French omelet. Check out this video from Jacques Pepin, another one of Tony’s friends, which demonstrates how to make both a country style and a classic omelet. There’s an episode on Season 11 of Parts Unknown where Bourdain is in Uruguay discussing the making of an omelet for a loved one and how something as basic as a couple eggs and a few humble ingredients can become a stand out meal in the right circumstances.

So I made my omelet, country style because I forgot to shake the pan, and when it cracked while transferring it to the plate, I followed his direction to use a paper towel to “shape the omelet into a neat crescent: fat in the center, narrower at both ends.” It wasn’t the best omelet I’ve made, but far from the worst and it was delicious! I’m not going to give a recipe for this except to say I used 3 eggs, a pat of butter, about a quarter cup of chopped onions and peppers and a couple tablespoons of shredded cheese. Instead, I’d rather you follow the link to Jacques Pepin’s demonstration and read Anthony Bourdain’s comments on using a fork in a non stick pan. Hysterical.

Adios, Tony. Thanks for sharing yourself with the world.