The food we choose to prepare for ourselves and for our friends and family can be encased in all manner of messages and meaning. The world of subtlety, as Elizabeth David once observed, can be infused into the serving of a dish of eggs. No one alludes to this more eloquently than Gertrude Stein.

I recently discovered my copy of The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Stein and found the much cited account of her cook Hélène and her views on the meanings attached to the food one serves. “I must tell a little about Hélène...

“Hélène had her opinions, she did not for instance like Matisse. She said a frenchman should not stay unexpectedly to a meal particularly if he asked the servant beforehand what there was for dinner. She said foreigners had a perfect right to do these things but not a frenchman and Matisse had once done it. So when Miss Stein said to her, ‘Monsieur Matisse is staying for dinner this evening’, she would say, ‘in that case I will not make an omelette but fry the eggs. It takes the same number of eggs and the same amount of butter but it shows less respect, and he will understand’.”

Conversely, when you next want to honour those you are cooking for, arguably you can do so in the careful preparation of an omelette. “Easier said than done” I hear some of you mutter.

Mind you, just as many of you may be very clear of the uncomplicated affair the construction of an omelette actually is, and undoubtedly have your own ideas on the matter.

If you have a system that works, stick with it, as it is for the former that I write; I firmly believe that absolutely everybody should be very clear on what a culinary weapon the well executed omelette can be.

While the preparation of an omelette should take no more than a minute, curiously the process remains shrouded in myth, folklore and superstitious beliefs. As Elizabeth David noted there remain those amongst us who will remain ‘mistaken, stubborn and ignorant to the end.’ For everyone else - as proposed by David and endorsed by me, here are the TEN Cardinal Rules for the successful making of an Omelette

1. Do not over beat the eggs, rather stir the eggs and do so only just before you make the omelette.
2. The simplicity and freshness of an omelette is harboured in the eggs and the butter of the dish, and the filling is only of a subsequent importance. The filling should be in small proportion to the eggs and rather than come bursting from the seams of the omelette should be seated lightly in its centre, offering secondary taste and texture to the eggs and the butter.
3. Heavy, unwashed, iron pans reserved only for making omelettes are a thing of the past. So long as the pan is reasonably heavy and has a flat base, (sloping inner sides are an asset, for ease of sliding the cooked omelette onto the serving dish) regularly washed pans made of non-stick material, enamelled cast iron, heavy aluminium or copper are the ticket. The size of the pan is the main matter: 25cm for the cooking of a three to four egg omelette (serves two people) and a small 15cm pan for a two egg (single serve) omelette.
4. Lightly season the eggs with a little salt and pepper
5. Allow about 1 desertspoon of butter per omelette
6. Warm the pan first, but do not make it red hot
7. When ready, turn up the heat as high as it will go, add the butter and just as it is turning colour, pour in the eggs and add the filling so that it gets well incorporated into the eggs
8. Tip the pan towards you and using a small spatula or palette knife, gather some mixture from the far side, away from the edge, tilt the pan away from you and allow the liquid to run into the space you have created. Do this several times working deftly until there is a small amount of unset egg on the surface, to all intent and purposes, the omelette is now done.
9. Quickly fold the omelette into three using the spatula or palette knife and slip the omelette onto the waiting dish.
10. Making an omelette once you have had a go or two you will find is a quick, simple and unelaborate affair, producing a dish which is excellent for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner or whenever you have missed a meal and require quick and immediate sustenance. The following variations are taken from Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking.

Omelette Fines Herbs

Prepare 1 tablespoon of mixed finely chopped parsley, tarragon, chives and if possible, chervil. Mix half of this, with salt and pepper, in the bowl with the eggs, and the other half when the eggs are in the pan. If you like put a little knob of butter on top of the omelette as it is brought to the table

Omelette À La Tomate (Tomato Omelette)

One medium size tomato, skinned, deseeded and chopped small, cooked hardly more than a minute in butter, with salt and pepper, is added to the eggs already in the pan

Omelette Au Jambon (Ham Omelette)

Chop a tablespoon of ham finely, mix with a little parsley and add to the eggs already in the pan. A little extra butter melting on top on the omelette is a good addition

Omelette Molière (Cheese Omelette)

This delicious omelette is named after a little restaurant in Avignon frequented by David.

Dice 1 tablespoon of very fresh Gruyère cheese into minuscule dice. Beat 1 tablespoon of finely grated Parmesan cheese with 3 eggs. Add the egg mixture to the pan, to this add the Gruyère cheese and 1 tablespoon of thick cream. In a few seconds the Gruyère starts to melt and your omelette is ready. Fold it over and serve without delay.

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