Daredevil S01 E08 (2015)
Written by Steven S. DeKnight
Directed by Stephen Surjik
Starring (in this scene): Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. The Kingpin
Chef’s Note: There are many things to say about this ritual Wilson Fisk engages in every morning.
We could note the music he is listening to, the precision and elegance of both the preparation of the omelette as well as its consumption, the structure of his kitchen and the tools it contains, the view from his dining room… etc.
But I believe my erudite colleague PootSnootBoogie covers it all quite insightfully here—
Kingpin’s omelette was nearly as important to him (and the viewers) as Wesley or Vanessa were. I flair’d as artwork because I feel these scenes are just that.
First of all, from an execution viewpoint; Fisk cooks his omelette to near perfection. While there are plenty of arguments as to how to cook an omelette there are a few things that remain constant; butter, milk, egg, salt, no browning of the egg, and the cook’s preferred additional flavoring (in Fisk’s instance; green onion with the first and chives with the second). The footage for both of his omelette cooking scenes are absolutely gorgeous and methodical (speaking from a chef’s perspective, and I’d say I’ve only seen better cooking scenes in Favreau’s ‘Chef’ film). The scenes are very well-shot from a cinematic standpoint but also in trying to tell a story without any words.
We see Fisk in two very iconic omelette cooking scenes and one very iconic omelette eating scene. Why do I find the omelette to be so iconic and under-valued? For a platitude of reasons! Shall we dig into them?
The first time we see the omelette is in season one. Fisk has bought the Rabbit in a Snowstorm painting from Vanessa and he wakes in the morning to take a gaze into it’s wonder as his very first waking moment. We look into his eyes and we see some longing, possibly even some remorse or some apprehension for what the day may bring. The moment fades as he peels his gaze from the painting and Fisk starts the process he does every morning; his transformation into the Kingpin.
Lying down to go to sleep at night is one of the very few moments that can bring a human back down to earth. Usually alone in our thoughts and in our beds, the delusions of our minds can easily fade or the moments of the day finally have a moment to catch up with us. I would go as far as to say that when the Kingpin returns to his bed at night, Fisk slowly begins to come back into the fold. When he rises in the morning, he’s probably very much Fisk and very little Kingpin.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?
Just as is behind the claim of “all successful people start their days off by making their bed”, Fisk’s omelette is his equivalent of making the bed. Should be noted though, we’ll never see Kingpins bed not made either. The omelette is the last moment of the day that Fisk is Fisk and before he needs to put on the Kingpin suit (figuratively and literally). He cooks his omelette in a very mise en place’d manner (this is chef talk for prepared and positioned), he has perfect temperature control and absolutely fluid and calm movements. This is almost a type of flow-state meditation for him. He eats his omelette in peace and in no rush but also showing no leisurely pace either. This is a moment that is vital to him in the time and space that he uses it in. Fisk is fading away from the moment he wakes, views the painting, makes the omelette, clears his mind, and goes to the closet to choose a suit.
The second appearance of the omelette is in season two when Fisk is actually in prison. He is no longer the Kingpin and he’s trying to mind his P’s & Q’s. We all know what happens there, he’s pseudo-forced into becoming the prison Kingpin. We see his episode of season two highlighted by him eating an omelette… in prison. This is meant to show he is once again the Kingpin.
The third (and my favorite) omelette is the one he cooks for Vanessa upon her return in season three. The first time I watched this season I was really happy seeing how awkward the interaction went and how bad it was for Fisk because I was being a petty asshole about him. After my third viewing this scene is absolutely one of my favorites. This time it’s not about Fisk being back on top or being the Kingpin, it’s about him cooking for his Queenpin. We don’t see the omelette being used as a power piece for him, instead it exposes his vulnerability and a glaring weakness in his relationship with Vanessa.
The omelette is still cooked with the same reverence and attention to detail as the first, but he cooks it differently than his preferred omelette because Vanessa likes hers differently. Fisk cooks a straight omelette which he garnishes with green onion whereas Vanessa’s omelette (pictured in OP) is with chives rather than green onion and they’re mixed into the egg mixture rather than used as a garnish. This could just be a cinematographical inconsistency, but I’d like to think it’s a testament to Fisk’s attention to detail.
He even goes as far as to ask if she’d like more salt. This is huge because not only is salt almost always under-utilized in eggs (I was sitting wondering if Kingpin salts his eggs just before he asks her) but because there is a super awkward silence between the two and it’s not something we’re used to seeing in terms of Fisk and his conversational prowess.
It should also be noted that Fisk is using higher-grade Japanese steel chef’s knives. It’s tough to call the brand as most of them are marked with some type of kanji on the blade towards the handle; but most chef’s have a preference between Japanese or German knives and their knife bags lean towards a certain preference typically. I’m a Japanese knife guy and one of the main reasons is that most Japanese knives tend to be made thinner and with slightly more extreme cutting angles. These are preferred amongst a lot of chefs who have to do a lot of knife work involving precision and control; a hallmark of Fisk.
The Fisk/Kingpin omelette is one of my favorite supporting cast members of all three seasons.
Chef’s Note: We must also inquire as to what kind of omelette is Wilson making here, given there are so many variations.
While it is close to a French Omelette or an omelette aux fines herbes it is ultimately neither. The splash of milk at the beginning disqualifies it from both and is, indeed, a cardinal sin for many when it comes to omelettes.
Still, Mr. Fisk is quite well known for doing things his own way and has little patience for the dictates of others. If he wants to add a splash of milk to some eggs and call it an omelette, who are we to tell him otherwise?
I, for the record, have no interest in such needless (and potentially risky to one’s own person) prescriptivism. As such, it is my learned opinion that we can just call this a Fisk Omelette and leave it at that.