Although it may sound more like planting a garden, the key to making the perfect omelet is to dig and fill.

Howard Helmer, the Guinness World Record holder for making 427 omelets in 30 minutes, visited Ohio State Monday with the message anyone can cook an omelet in 40 seconds.

With a clear enthusiasm for omelets, Helmer demonstrated his technique to about 40 people at the Martha Morehouse Medical Plaza.

Helmer said the omelet is a great choice for everyone – even college students who often prefer fast food to cooking.

“It may not always be easier than going to McDonald’s drive-thru, but it is healthier and cheaper,” he said.

Helmer has been making omelets professionally for 37 years. He said when he worked for the American Egg Board he needed a way to get press to the opening of an omelet restaurant.

“Everyone was breaking records for things like piling people in a Volkswagen so I thought it’d be a great way to get press,” he said.

Helmer said he trained for months before gaining the title of world’s fastest omelet maker.

“The only good thing about the training was I worked in the egg industry, so there was no shortage of eggs,” he said.

With his title came an opportunity to teach others his quick technique.

Helmer gives about six demonstrations every month in countries all over the world, from England to Dubai. However, one of the few countries where he has never given a demonstration is France – the country where the omelet was invented.

“Maybe they feel I have nothing to teach them,” Helmer said with a grin.

Erin Stynchula, an employee of the Ohio State University Medical Center, was impressed by the demonstration and said she is excited to make an omelet on her own.

“I saw him on ‘Oprah’ and since I eat a lot of eggs I decided to come,” she said.

After Helmer taught the procedure, each person was given the opportunity to cook their own omelet.

Stynchula said her omelet was a lot easier than expected and she plans to eat more in the future.

As for how many omelets the world’s fastest maker eats?

“I have OD’d on omelets, but I do eat some sort of egg every day,” Helmer said.

Helmer cooked five omelets in front of the audience, adding a joke to each step to help prove that cooking omelets is fun and easy.

The technique he teaches is to first have all the ingredients out and then heat a 12-inch frying pan “to the point where it makes you nervous.”

The ingredients needed for an omelet are two eggs and two tablespoons of water. The filling of the omelet varies but can include anything from tomatoes and ham to apple pie and pecans.

He said to melt butter around the pan and then pour in the eggs and water, which should be mixed together before adding.

Once the egg begins to bubble, the maker should “dig a hole” in the egg by pushing it toward the center of the pan and then fill the hole. After 20 seconds of “digging and filling,” add the ingredients of choice to the left side of the omelet (if left-handed add to the right side).

The final step is to fold the omelet in half by sliding the spatula underneath and folding the unfilled side on top of the filled side. Helmer said to flip the pan upside down when putting the omelet on a plate so even if there is a tear from folding the omelet it will not be visible.

“What’s so great about an omelet is that no matter how badly you screw up the appearance when you cook it, it goes upside down,” he said.

Kacia Strous can be reached at [email protected].