The giant omelette of Bessières

In her delicious new book, Amuse Bouche, a journey through France by its culinary treasures, Carolyn Boyd describes an extraordinary culinary event that honours Napoleon Bonaparte – the giant omelette of Bessières. Only in France!

France’s love and skill in making the humble omelette has been elevated to legendary status thanks to such figures as Mère Poulard on the Mont Saint-Michel, whose nineteenth-century recipe is kept secret but involves much whisking and butter. More recently Julia Child shared the revered Cordon Bleu technique in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Here, she explained in great detail how the correct pan and a deft wrist action is key; she recommends using just two or three eggs. Imagine then, trying to make an equally delicious omelette with 15,000 eggs. Who could possibly take on such a challenge other than the Global Brotherhood of the Knights of the Giant Omelette?

L’omelette Geante, the giant omelette of Bessières

Every Easter Monday since 1973, the town of Bessières just outside Toulouse has cooked up giant omelette to share with everyone in town. What started as thirty-five eggs grew over the years to be more than 15,000, cooked in a pan that measures 4.2 metres in diameter and has a telephone pole for a handle.

The story that gets quoted as its origin is that Napoleon Bonaparte once stopped off at an auberge nearby, where he was so enamoured with the delicious omelette he was served that he insisted he would return the next day with his army and that the innkeeper would cook one large enough to feed them all. When you go to the festival, though, it becomes clear that this is a yarn that has been spun over the years, inflated in its importance by the internet. The real and more heartfelt reason is that it brings people together from the town and from all over the world, like a kind of giant omelette twinning association. There are brotherhoods of the omelette in six other places around the world: Fréjus in Provence; Malmedy in Belgium; Dumbea in New Caledonia; Granby in Quebec, Canada; Pigué in Argentina; Abbeville in Louisiana, USA.

When I visited, around 1000 volunteers – dressed head to toe in yellow and white – were cracking the 15,000 eggs on a long row of trestle tables, while the Chevaliers themselves in their tall toque hats wheeled the giant frying pan over a bonfire to begin melting 70 litres of duck fat. The aroma was intoxicating. Soon, the eggs were transferred into huge aluminium pots and whisked with hand-held paddle mixers (usually used for concrete mixing), into which chopped chives, the mild chilli pepper piment d’Espelette and salt and pepper were added. When the frying pan had reached its optimum temperature, the knights poured in the egg mixtures and started stirring with huge wooden paddles (usually used for canoeing). As the giant cook off took place, and the frenetic activity hit a lull, I chatted to some of the volunteers; a couple from the brotherhood in Malmedy in Belgium took turns between helping to put slices of sourdough bread on hundreds of paper plates and holding their baby daughter; a lady from Quebec had come as the solo representative from the Canadian contingent to see old friends; and a retired GP from Fréjus explained to me that each of the world’s seven giant omelettes has its own flavour – in Provence, they use olive oil and add fines herbes.

After half an hour, it was time to serve. A military operation saw the volunteers serve the omelette on to 6,000 plates which were quickly distributed with wooden forks to the spectators gathered around the square. I admit, I didn’t have too high hopes on the taste of the omelette, which is really scrambled eggs after all that stirring, but it was excellent. Incredibly tasty, warming and filling. I’d have gone in for seconds but after another half an hour the pan was almost empty. The crowds had had their fill and were now wandering off. I tracked down a chevalier to thank him for welcoming me into the arena, but first asked how they managed to make such a delicious omelette at this size. He reluctantly told me he thought that year’s omelette was a little lacking in salt, which floored me – they’d just cooked a 15,000-egg omelette, an incredible achievement in itself. But this was France, and flavour was everything.

Find out more about the event at: omelettegeante.fr

Leading expert on French food and culture Carolyn Boyd shares the stories behind the country’s most fascinating foods and ingredients. Spanning every region of France and divided into 200 separate vignettes, each entry blends history and travel, personal anecdote and recipes.
Amuse Bouche is a book to be devoured: a beautifully illustrated, joyous celebration of French food, and a charming, practical guide to inspire your own travels – whether you’re a proud Francophile or don’t know your ficelle from your flûte.