One of my favourite books is David Ogilvy’s entertaining autobiography Confessions of an Advertising Man. Ogilvy was a maverick advertising legend, the genius behind “The Man in the Hathaway Shirt”, the splendidly urbane "Commander Schweppes” (in reality Cdr. Ed Whitehead RN (Rtd), president of Schweppes USA) and the pithy advertising slogan: “at 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in a brand new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”.
Before Madison Avenue, Ogilvy had enjoyed a varied career as a hotel chef, Gallup researcher, door-to-door Aga salesman and Pennyslvanian farmer. Sent down from Christchurch, Oxford without a degree, Ogilvy became a cook- I hesitate to use the word chef- at the Hotel Majestic, Paris.
Apparently the brigade’s favourite after-work dish was this variation on the French working man’s classic, Ouefs au Beurre Noir. It’s one of the recipes listed in the back of his book.
It more usually includes vinegar, rather than Worcester Sauce and lemon juice, and you might want to substitute the latter two with say, tarragon vinegar. Ogilvy also suggests the use of coriander, but I would have thought that chopped flat-leaf parsley might work better:
Eggs in Black Butter (4 People)
2 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcester Sauce
4 thin slices of bread
Chopped fresh coriander (optional)
24 capers
Melt the butter in a small frying pan and heat until it goes black. Add the Worcester Sauce, the capers and a squeeze of lemon juice. Fry the eggs very gently in this sauce, basting frequently. When cooked, trim into rounds with a pastry cutter. Drain. Fry bread in the sauce. Transfer the cooked bread to a warm plate and place the egg on top. Pour remaining sauce around the egg. Decorate with fresh chopped coriander.
