Chef and sustainable food pioneer Alice Waters has always been a controversial figure. While people argue back and forth about the practicality of her all or nothing farm to table philosophy, the most heated and contentious part of Waters appears to be her egg spoon.
The $250 dollar, handmade, iron egg spoon has been receiving criticism since it first appeared on 60 minutes when Waters cooked Lesley Stahl an egg over an open fire with the now famous spoon.
A recent slew of articles from Kat Kinsman for Extra Crispy and Kim Seversonfor the New York Times has brought the spoon back into the spotlight. Both Kinsman and Severson push back on the criticism that the spoon exemplifies out of touch elitism and that criticism of the spoon is, in fact, sexist.
“Is it any more practical to sous-vide an egg? No, But it’s this amazing thing because a man is using it,” Cookbook Author Samin Nosrat told Severson.
Food writer Corby Kummer also stands behind any professional or home chef who has purchased the $250 egg spoon. “The farther you get from Alice Waters, the crazier and more laughable and more lampoonable she seems," Kummer told Boston Public Radio Tuesday. "The closer you get the more it makes sense and you are utterly seduced by her."
Corby Kummer is a food writer and senior editor for The Atlantic, To listen to the entire interview, click the audio player above.
