A true culinary showdown. The contenders? Bourdain, Ramsay, Teigen, Blumenthal, and Stewart.
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Hello world! I'm Jesse from BuzzFeed's food team, and I love to cook.
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I especially love to cook eggs. They're cheap, easy, and something that everyone cooks at home.
Columbia
Eggs are also one of the first things they teach you how to make in culinary school. Between that and working in restaurants, I've probably made scrambled eggs about a billion times. They never get old. 🍳
Still, I know that pretty much everyone has a scrambled egg method that they swear by — or their trick to getting the fluffiest, most delicious eggs ever.
So I decided to test five of the most popular. A ~scrambled egg showdown~, if you will:
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This was my lineup:
1. Anthony Bourdain: Because he's very ~opinionated~ about his scrambled eggs.
2. Martha Stewart: Because there is no denying she is the OG queen of cooking.
3. Gordon Ramsay: Because deep down I secretly wanted to call him an idiot sandwich if his eggs turned out bad.
4. Chrissy Teigen: Because I wanted to include someone who wasn't a professional cook to spice things up (a wild card!) — and people swear by her cookbook.
5. Heston Blumenthal: Because he is a chef who owns one of the best restaurants in the world. (So his eggs must be good, right?)
Here are their methods and how they stacked up:
Anthony Bourdain was up first. He says you should cook your eggs over high heat with only butter. Whisk them, but not too much — because you want a "ripple of white and yellow throughout."
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Then add salt and pepper.
Once they hit the pan, stir them in a figure-eight motion.
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But TBH? These didn't taste great at all.
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Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed
The eggs looked like a cheap scramble from a greasy diner. The ripple of white and yellow looked lazy, and cooking them in a hot pan made them dry and rubbery. Would not recommend.
Rating: 🍳
Get Anthony's recipe here.
Next up: Martha Stewart. She follows a traditional method for making her scramble and believes that if you start with good eggs, you don't need to add anything to them.
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Simply whisk them together and don't add anything at all (not even salt).
Then melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium heat and add your eggs.
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As they cook, you're supposed to pull in all of the sides — or push everything toward the center — to create beautiful ripples of egg (kinda like ribbons).
So were they as good as they looked?
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Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed
Sadly, no. They were beautiful eggs ― but they weren't that tasty. Because she doesn't season her scramble until the end, the seasoning wasn't incorporated well or evenly, and could have benefited from a pinch of salt in the eggs before they hit the pan.
Rating: 🍳🍳
Get Martha's recipe here.
Then came Gordon Ramsay's internet-famous scramble. He starts by adding cold eggs and butter to a sauce pot.
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Cook them over medium heat for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Remove the pot from the burner, stir them off the heat for about 20 seconds, and put them back on the heat for another 30 seconds.
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Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed
Continue this back-and-forth cooking technique until they firm up and immediately season with salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of cold crème fraîche (to prevent them from overcooking).
So, were they worth the hype?
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Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed
Actually, yes. The butter, crème fraîche, and delicate cooking method made these eggs slightly looser than a traditional scramble, but damn good. The eggs were buttery, seasoned throughout, and custardy without being runny.
Rating: 🍳🍳🍳🍳🍳
Get Gordon's recipe here.
Up next: Chrissy Teigen's scramble. She starts by combining eight eggs with a quarter cup of cream.
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Then add salt and pepper.
Melt three tablespoons of butter in a pan over low heat and add your eggs.
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Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed
Cook them low and slow until set. She says this can take anywhere between "20 and 30 minutes, depending on your stovetop."
How did they taste? (And what did Chrissy think of my attempt?)
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Unsurprisingly, these eggs were super creamy and custard-like (thanks to a generous amount of cream and butter). They had the classic texture of soft curds without the usual dryness. And in case you were wondering, Chrissy — who just HAPPENED to be walking around the BuzzFeed offices as I was writing this post (no joke, lol) — approved of my attempt. (But wasn't too happy about — spoiler alert! — not coming in first place.)
Rating: 🍳🍳🍳🍳
Get Chrissy's recipe here.
And last but not least came Heston Blumenthal's method. He starts by combining milk, cream, eggs, salt, pepper, and butter in a heatproof bowl using a fork.
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He says you don't want to "incorporate any air" into them.
Put the bowl over a pot of simmering water (aka a bain-marie) and gently cook them, stirring constantly, until small curds form.
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Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed
This could take up to 25 minutes.
So was it worth all that hassle?
Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed
Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed
Not really. The scramble was a bit too runny for my taste, however, the flavor was spot on. It was buttery, seasoned throughout, and custardy due to the milk and cream. I liked how indulgent they tasted, but I don't think they were worth the effort.
Rating: 🍳🍳🍳
Get Heston's recipe here.
SO WHO WON?
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THE WINNER: Gordon Ramsay
These eggs were incredible. They were custardy, rich, perfectly seasoned — and worth the extra steps of cooking them on and off the flame. Get the recipe here.
SECOND PLACE: Chrissy Teigen
If you prefer a firmer scramble, go with this method ― they're moist and custardy without being runny. Get the recipe here.
THIRD PLACE: Heston Blumenthal
These eggs tasted great but were slightly too loose and certainly not worth the hassle. Get the recipe here.
FOURTH PLACE: Martha Stewart
Although they were pretty, these eggs were nothing special. Bland, a bit dry, and overall unimpressive. Get the recipe here.
LAST PLACE: Anthony Bourdain
These eggs were trash. Dry, rubbery, and lazily executed. Would not recommend.
Get the recipe here.
