A week ago, poultry and egg farmers from every corner of the world came together at the annual International Convention in Atlanta to learn what’s new in their respective agricultural fields. It was truly an international affair! My employer, the American Egg Board, maintains a “booth” there where weary exhibit-goers can relax on a comfy sofa and learn about the latest research and nutrition information.

What an appropriate place to call attention to America’s egg farmers’ response to Haitian Relief.  As part of the Good Egg Project (which I’ve written about in the past), they are in the process of donating eggs to the hundreds of thousands of families affected by the earthquake disaster there. Only dried egg product is accepted, so everyone is chipping in to make it happen. The farmers are providing the shell eggs to the processors who then turn them into the dried product that can be shipped to Haiti where it will be reconstituted. And, before you think that reconstituted dry eggs are similar to how they were when first developed for soldiers in battlefields several wars ago, think again! Today’s dried whole eggs reconstitute beautifully.  When they’re cooked you can hardly tell the difference.

But, the egg farmers gave more than just eggs! The picture below shows my boss, Joanne Ivy, the President & CEO of the American Egg Board accepting a generous donation of money from Jacques Klempf, the American Egg Board Chairman and President of Dixie Eggs. This donation will be used to purchase additional dried egg product for the Haitian effort.

Although my primary job at this convention is to visit with all of our friends who come by the booth to say hello, I also help the United Egg Producers host a breakfast for 250 to 300 folks who gather to make their own omelets and to conduct a meeting. We set up 32 cooking stations where all of the hundreds of guests fix their own omelets in less than 30-minutes time. The logistics are quite an undertaking. And it’s always successful.

This year’s convention was slightly different for me because I was asked to give my omelet demonstration at the Culinary Pavilion, an area set aside for chefs to demonstrate the trends and the new product applications that they’re using in their restaurants. I was in very good company. The chefs came from every popular restaurant in Atlanta. I talked about the growing popularity of the breakfast meal category in both fast service and casual restaurants. I demonstrated the “grab n’ go” omelet tortilla wrap that’s become so popular on menus along with combinations of fillings that go beyond ordinary ham and cheese. I demonstrated about 15 different omelets, omelet styles and filling combinations, all of which were served to the audience. I was assisted by two young culinary students (pictured) who confessed that they had no clue that the classic omelet they were taught to make in culinary school could be so versatile. Good. That was the point!

I just returned from cooking omelets with the members of the Tri-State Bed & Breakfast Association, the three states being Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. It was an omelet workshop – where about 90 people cooked their own omelets. Since there are all sorts of ways to make an omelet, guests often ask if it’s okay to cook their omelet with their own technique. This year, there were a lot of people who were at a loss when confronted by a simple frypan! Not anymore! All of my cooks learned to turn-out picture perfect omelets, most in a minute or so.

This being a B&B affair, I was lucky enough to be put-up in what must be the most beautiful B&B around! I was given the DuPont Suite in the actual DuPont Mansion - it was fabulous! The mansion is located in the historic Old Louisville District surrounded by similarly old, perfectly-maintained, Victorian mansions. As I looked around the room from my huge four-poster bed, I thought this was what it must be like to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House!

I arrived in Louisville around lunchtime and immediately went to the restaurant that is most well-known for their eggs and egg dishes - Lynne’s Paradise Café. It’s a 70’s kinda’ gaudy, quirky, high energy place fully packed with people, almost all of them, far as I could see, eating eggs in one form or another. I learned that the owner, Lynn herself, was up against the Food Network’s Bobby Flay in one of his “Throwdowns” so I ordered the dish that Lynn competed with - The Kentucky Farmhouse Scramble. The dish consists of three “fluffy” eggs scrambled with country ham, roasted red peppers and Jarlsberg cheese made in Austin, Kentucky (and here I always thought that Jarlsberg cheese was made in Jarlsberg – wherever that is).

The eggs are served with tobacco onions, which are called that because they’re thinly sliced onion pieces which, after they’re fried, look like loose tobacco. Also on the plate were fried green tomatoes and terrific buttermilk biscuits. The biscuits were made in a pan rather than individually and were really high, light, airy and especially delicious slathered with honey-sweetened sorghum butter. (Hmm….‘fraid I’m not sure what sorghum is – sorry!)

The entire trip was absolutely incredible! I loved the local cuisine, the beautiful and historic Old Louisville District and most of all, teaching my omelet tricks to the folks in the B&B industry.

Speaking of incredible places and people…I almost forgot to tell you about a contest being held by America’s egg farmers (the folks I work with).  They’re looking for the next incredible person! You can visit www.IncredibleEgg.org to upload a video of you or your child’s extraordinary body or mind skill and have a chance to appear in an incredible, edible egg ad, receive free eggs and donate to a local food bank! What are you waiting for? I know there are incredible people out there!