When you work in professional kitchens, you often get asked to do a practical cooking test as your job interview. You get a few ingredients and you turn it into something delicious in order to show your skill and creativity. One chef I worked with used to get potential new cooks to do an ‘egg test’. At first this may sound simple, but the new cooks had to cook eggs six ways – perfectly. Poached, fried, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, omelette, scrambled, over-easy, frittata or baked – whichever way they were cooked they had to be just right. Needless to say, not all cooks passed the test – so don’t get down on yourself when your poached eggs don’t go as planned.
You will need:
3 eggs
3 tbsp finely chopped chives
¼ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp butter
Method:
Combine eggs, chives, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk with a form to combine. Heat a small non-stick pan over medium heat. Wait until the pan has warmed up before adding butter. Swirl in pan to coat.
Add egg mixture. Using a non-stick spatula quickly stir the eggs, like you would scrambled eggs. Then leave the eggs to set. Shape into a round with your spatula. When eggs are just about cooked, fold the omelette either in half or roll into a round and let cook for 1 more minute.
