The great Spanish omelet fiasco

They knew it was impossible but they put on a show regardless. This is the hypothesis favored by city officials in Vitoria, run by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) since the May municipal elections, about their predecessors’ attempts to set a Guinness world record for the biggest Spanish omelet ever made.

Now it looks like the new administration will have to pay out the full €50,000 cost of the botched record attempt, which formed part of the events to mark Vitoria’s status as last year’s Spanish Gastronomy Capital. The city, which serves as the de facto capital of the Basque Country, was until recently the only major Basque municipality under Popular Party (PP) rule.

The Guinness bid cost city coffers €50,000, which the mayor decided he would not pay out following the fiasco

An email sent to City Hall by the head of the Spanish Gastronomy Capital Association in July 2014, prior to the much-publicized cooking attempt on August 2, clearly states that the world record was held by Japan, where a Spanish omelet was once prepared with a weight of 11,036 kilograms.

However, the aim in Vitoria’s Plaza de la Virgen Blanca square was to cook an omelet of just 4,000 kilograms. What's more, it would not be prepared as a single omelet, but rather assembled like a puzzle using smaller pieces.

In a statement following the attempt, Guinness said that “in addition to the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy Association omelet not weighing more than the current record, it did not prepare the omelet correctly and in accordance with our guidelines.”

Then-mayor Javier Maroto and his team argued that the Japanese version had used milk rather than olive oil, which, along with eggs and potatoes, is the traditional ingredient in a Spanish omelet.

Maroto decided he would not pay out the €50,000 cost of the event to the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy Association following the fiasco. In turn, the group threatened legal action to get its money.

In a press conference this week, the current deputy mayor Borja Belandia said the government has a report making it “crystal clear” that Maroto’s team knew ahead of time and “with absolute certainty” that the record could not be broken.

The new government of Vitoria is also accusing its predecessors of leaving debts totaling over €60 million in the city.

The bid to cook the world’s largest Spanish omelet received ample media coverage and was documented in Juanma Bajo Ulloa’s movie El Rey gitano.

PP sources said on Tuesday that “the mere fact of having tried for the record was very positive for the city.”

English version by Susana Urra.