Chef David Burke's Love Of Caviar

While caviar can seem like a fancy food to cook with, it adds a dose of luxury and sexiness to your cooking that makes the cost well worth its investment. As a chef in the restaurant industry, I've been cooking with caviar and working with people in the business for years — Graham Gaspard of Black River Caviar is a personal friend.

In honor the luxury food on its national holiday, July 18, we have special menus created at two of my restaurants, David Burke Townhouse and David Burke Fishtail. The menu covers everything from oysters to tacos and fried rice, and it's all got a little caviar in it. Caviar to chefs is like expensive paint to artists and is used often in restaurants, but that doesn't mean home cooks can't be cooking with it, as well.

Click here to see the Scrambled Eggs with Lobster and Caviar Recipe

I say cook, but really caviar is used as a garnish in cooking. Dolloped on top of crème fraîche and smoked salmon, resting on top of seared scallops, or sprinkled on creamy scrambled eggs, it adds a rich quality to your food that cannot be replicated by anything else. Because you're spending all the money on it, it's important to remember that the other food on the plate should not overpower the caviar. Make it the star of the show.