Instructions: Before you begin have everything ready: bowl eggs omelette pan fork tablespoon salt and pepper butter and oil. Put the plates in a warm oven.

One omelette will serve one person and because it is so quick to make its not worth cooking a large one for two. So according to how hungry you are use two or three large eggs per person. just break the eggs carefully into a bowl add a seasoning of salt and freshly milled black pepper then gently combine the yolks and whites with a fork dont overbear them combine is the word you need to think of here. Under rather than overbeating the eggs seems to make a fluffier omelette.

Oil or butter?

You can use either but remember that butter burns very easily on a high heat. Some oil will prevent this from happening so if you like a buttery flavour I would recommend that you use half a teaspoon of each. For extra butteriness or creaminess you could add a teaspoon of melted butter or double cream to the eggs in the bowl.

Heat
Heat is a vital element in omelettemaking because the essence of success is speed. Begin by turning the heat to medium place the pan over the heat and let it get quite hot (about half a minute). Now add the butter and oil and as soon as it melts swiftly swirl it round tilting the pan so that the base and the sides get coated. Turn the heat up to its highest setting now when I first demonstrated this on television I remember saying hot as you dare and that still stands.

Cooking the omelette

When the butter is foaming pour the eggs into the pan tilting it to and fro to spread the eggs evenly over the base. Then leave it on the heat without moving it for a count of five. Working with a spoon After 5 seconds a bubbly frill will appear round the edge. Now you can tilt the pan to 45 and using a tablespoon draw the edge of the omelette into the centre. The liquid egg will flow into and fill the space. Now tip the pan the other way and do the same thing. Keep tilting it backwards and forwards pulling the edges in with the spoon and allowing the liquid egg to travel into the space left all this will take only half a minute. Soon there will be just a small amount of liquid left just on the surface so now is the time to start folding. Tilt the pan again and flip one side of the omelette into the centre then fold again. Take the pan to the warm plate and the last fold will be when you tip the omelette out on to the plate.

Remember an omelette will go on cooking even on the plate so serve it immediately. For this reason it is important to have some liquid egg left before you start folding but if you have left too much leave it to set on the plate before eating. The perfect omelette is one just tinged with gold on the surface and very soft and squidgy on the inside.

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