Giant Omelette Festival – French Town Celebrates Easter With 15,000-Egg Tradition

People around the world usually enjoy eggs for breakfast. However, the lovely little town of Bessières in France takes their love of eggs to the next level. Every year, the townsfolk gather for the Giant Omelette Festival where up to 15,000 eggs are used to create a massive dish.

This isn’t a new thing that just started a few years ago. The Brotherhood of the Giant Omelette has been gathering in Bessières every Easter since 1973. Each year, they crack thousands of eggs, cook the gigantic omelette then hand it out to the townsfolk.

Although the town initially made smaller omelettes, the celebration has grown massive over the years.

So how exactly did the Giant Omelette Festival come about? According to legend, Napoleon Bonaparte once visited the town and was served the egg dish. Napoleon reportedly loved it so much that he asked for a larger omelette to be served to his army.

Preparing an omelette that would please a giant is no small feat. Around 50 members of the Brotherhood of the Giant Omelette have to come in and crack each of the 15,000 eggs. They mix the eggs up with salt and pepper then cook it in duck fat.

The preparation of the omelette requires several volunteers.

Not surprisingly, the cooks need to use wooden spoons that look more like oars. They also need a massive pan with a diameter of 13 feet to ensure the omelette is cooked perfectly. Although regular omelettes can be cooked in just a few minutes, the Bessières omelette needs about 30 minutes to cook.

There is more to the Giant Omelette Festival than just eggs. Like most festivals, there is dancing, music, and parades during the event. Nevertheless, the preparation of the massive egg dish is still the main event.

We weren’t kidding about the size of the pan.

The festival has certainly made Bessières a major tourist spot during Easter. Thousands of visitors flock into town to get a taste of the omelette completely free of charge. If you love eggs, you’ll find the Giant Omelette Festival to be quite egg-ceptional.