Chef James Martin ‘banned' from making an omelette in public

02 March 2016 by
Chef James Martin ‘banned' from making an omelette in public

Chef James Martin has revealed he is banned from making an omelette in public.

Martin, who runs James Martin Kitchen in Stansted airport and James Martin Manchester in the Manchester235 Casino, last week announced that he was stepping down after 10 years of presenting BBC Saturday Kitchen, which includes the famous Omelette Challenge. Martin was speaking to celebrity magazine Heat when he revealed that his contract banned him from making an omelette in public.

He said: "I'm not allowed to skydive, I'm not allowed to deep-sea dive, and then, ‘Not allowed to make an omelette in public'. People would do all these ridiculous things on social media now and put it out there, like, ‘Oh, he's made an omelette.' The whole point about [the Challenge] is that I've not made one. So, there you go. Legally, not allowed to make one."

The Omelette Challenge is a regular fixture on the BBC One Saturday morning show, and asks the programme's two guest chefs to make an omelette as quickly as possible using three eggs.

Martin's job is to time the omelette-making and judge whether the often-uncooked dishes qualify for the leaderboard. Martin is also well-known for the terrible and ever-stranger egg puns he makes while introducing the contest.

Chef Paul Rankin had previously held the record for the fastest omelette, but that accolade now goes to chef Theo Randall, chef at his eponymous site at the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel, whose 14.76 second effort from May 2015 has now been officially listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Chefs that have appeared on the show include Jason Atherton, Tom Kerridge, Ken Hom, Theo Randall, Nathan Outlaw, Clare Smyth and Thomas Keller.

Last week, Martin announced that he would be leaving Saturday Kitchen after 10 years, and stated: "I would like to personally thank all the viewers for turning Saturday Kitchen into a three million-plus smash hit. I could not have done it without them. I would also like to thank the BBC and Saturday Kitchen for the great opportunity they gave me. It has been an amazing journey and I have been privileged to work with some of the world's greatest chefs."

James Martin to leave BBC Saturday Kitchen after 10 years >>Are you looking for a new role? See all the current hospitality vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs >>

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