James Corden: Concern about wife’s ‘serious allergy’ to omelet dish sparks new questions

On his “Late Late Show” early Tuesday, James Corden tried to quell the P.R. crisis over his alleged abusive behavior towards staff at a New York restaurant by offering both an explanation and an apology.

While Corden admitted in his opening monologue that he was “ungracious” when making a rude remark to a server at Balthazar, he also said he initially became annoyed because his wife, Julia Carey, has a “serious allergy” and the restaurant incorrectly prepared her order for an egg-yolk omelet. He said she told the server about her allergy and asked that the omelet be made with egg yolks only — no egg whites.

But, according to Corden, the kitchen sent out a dish that Carey “was allergic to” — presumably because it contained egg whites. “She hadn’t taken a bite of it. No worries, we sent it back, all was good,” Corden said. Unfortunately, other missteps by the Balthazar staff prompted Corden to make “a sarcastic, rude comment about cooking it myself,” he said.

“It is a comment I deeply regret,” Corden said.

It’s too soon to say whether Corden’s apology will make the public believe he’s still a nice guy — and not “a tiny cretin of a man,” as Balthazar owner Keith McNally called him in an Instagram post last week that ignited the controversy. But the talk-show host’s mention of his wife’s allergy and her desire for an egg-yolk omelet raises a few more questions.

First of all, it appears that Corden was saying that Carey has an allergy that’s triggered by ingesting egg whites. Thus, she ordered the egg-yolk omelet — a request that in of itself sparked a flurry of comments among foodies last week before it was known that Carey has an allergy.

Omelets made only with egg whites are fairly common, but not egg-yolk omelets, Washington Post food writer Emily Heil noted last week. For one thing, an all-yolk omelet would be heavy in cholesterol and fat, unlike the egg-white version that is popular among health-conscious diners.

Curious about Carey’s unusual order, Heil herself prepared an egg-yolk-only omelet to find out what one was like. Unfortunately, the result was crepe-thin, “violently gold” and so “dense” and “heavy” it turned “leathery” as it cooled. It was missing the “signature puff” that omelets get from egg whites, Heil wrote.

Now comes Corden’s explanation about his wife’s allergy. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology said on its website that egg-related allergies are a common form of food allergies. They occur when the body’s immune system becomes sensitized and overreacts to proteins that are usually found in egg whites.

When someone with an egg allergy ingests some of those proteins, the “stakes can be high,” the academy warns. The body’s reactions can rang from a mild rash to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition that impairs breathing and can send the body into shock.

The academy’s website noted that egg allergies are usually seen in children. As many as 2% of children are allergic to eggs. Fortunately, studies show that about 70% of children with an egg allergy will outgrow the condition by age 16.

Egg allergies can occur in adults, though this condition is rare, according to Healthline. As with children, symptoms of an allergic reaction in adults can range from mild nausea to an anaphylactic reaction.

Generally, people with egg allergies are advised to avoid eggs as much as possible, which can be daunting because they turn up in many dishes, including canned soups, salad dressings, ice cream, meat-based dishes and even some commercial egg substitutes, the academy said.

People with an egg allergy can sometimes tolerate them in baked goods, when the eggs are heated for a prolonged period of at a high temperature. But for someone sensitive to egg whites, as Corden’s wife appears to be, it’s also “not possible” to avoid them in a dish that presumably contains only egg yolks because it’s “not possible to completely separate the white from the yolk,” the academy said.

Corden’s P.R. crisis began last week when McNally, the famed restaurateur who’s known for being brash and provocative, accused the entertainer of being “the most abusive customer” in his popular restaurant’s 25-year history. McNally issued a brief ban against Corden and described two incidents when Corden was rude to his staff.

The most recent incident happened earlier this month when Corden and Carey went to Balthazar with a couple of their friends for breakfast. McNally acknowledged that the problem began when Carey was served her egg-yolk omelet “with a little bit of egg white” mixed in. When the staff brought out an amended order, the plate had a side of home fries instead of her desired salad. At that point, McNally said, “Corden began yelling like crazy to the server. ‘You can’t do your job! Maybe I should go into the kitchen and cook the omelette myself!’”

McNally’s account of Corden’s behavior ignited a rising torrent of online accusations about other instances when Corden was allegedly rude and “terrible” to other restaurant waiters, as well as to colleagues and people who work for him. The accusations threatened to puncture Corden’s image as a genial entertainer and relatable, easy-going celebrity.

McNally said he lifted his ban against Corden when the entertainer called to apologize. But he went off on Corden again on Friday, after Corden gave an interview to the New York Times Thursday and refused to say he had been rude to staff.

Indeed, Corden didn’t do himself any favors when he lashed out about the controversy in the Times interview and emphatically denied doing anything wrong.  “I haven’t done anything wrong, on any level,” Corden told writer Dave Itzkoff. He also said that he felt that the controversy was “so so silly.” He said, ” I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your publication.”