Eggo waffles in Stranger Things: why Eleven is obsessed with them
Universe · Cult objects · The Eggo
A yellow box of frozen waffles became, in a few episodes, the most recognizable object in the show: Eleven's Eggos. Here is why she loves them, where they appear, and how a supermarket scene sent the sales of a 1953 American brand soaring.
The essentials
- First appearance: Season 1, breakfast at the Wheelers'
- The cult scene: Eleven goes through a supermarket window with four boxes
- Hopper's sign: Eggos left in a box, in the forest
- Brand: Eggo, frozen waffles sold in the United States since 1953
Contents
Breakfast at the Wheelers'
Eleven is twelve and has never eaten anything but what the lab gave her. Hidden in the Wheelers' basement, she discovers in the morning, on the kitchen table, a toasted waffle. She eats it with her fingers, without a word. It is the first thing she chooses, and the show makes it the symbol of everything she never had: sweetness, home, choice.
Mike teaches her the word, “Eggo”, and repeats it. A few days later, when she runs, it is toward the waffles that she goes.
The Eggo T-shirt, for basement breakfasts.
In the shopKids' Be an Eleven T-shirt24,90 €See the product
The supermarket window
Alone in Hawkins, Eleven goes into a supermarket, takes four boxes of Eggos, and leaves without paying. When the manager tries to stop her, the glass door explodes. The scene, in season 1, sums up the character: a child who does not know the rules, and a power nothing stops. It is also the first time we see her smile.
Years later, in season 3, it is still with waffles that the show shows her at home, in Hopper's cabin, negotiating her outings.
Hopper's signEnd of Season 1: Hopper, alone in the forest, leaves Eggos in a wooden box. It is the proof he knows Eleven is alive, before Season 2 even shows it. The show does not explain it; fans understood.
The cabin Eggos
In season 2, Eleven lives hidden in Hopper's cabin, and the waffles are everywhere: at breakfast, as dessert, as currency. Hopper imposes rules on her, including not eating only Eggos, which she systematically circumvents. The show makes it a father-daughter relationship in fast-forward, with a food as a common language.
The high point is the “triple-decker Eggo extravaganza” scene, stacked waffles with cream and candy, which Hopper makes for Eleven's birthday, and which he ends up eating alone.
Why such a small object matters so much
The show needs simple objects to tell complicated feelings. Eleven does not know how to say she is afraid, that she is alone, or that she is happy; she knows how to eat a waffle. Every time the Eggos appear, they measure where she is: stolen when she is on the run, shared when she has a family, negotiated when she becomes a teenager. It is a barometer, not an accessory.
What the show did to Eggo
Eggo is a real brand, born in California in 1953 and sold everywhere in the United States. It did not pay to appear in season 1: the Duffers chose it because it was the breakfast of their childhood. After the show's release, sales climbed, and the brand ended up collaborating with production, going so far as to release a limited edition for season 2.
For fans, the yellow box became a costume, a convention accessory, and a symbol: where there are Eggos, Eleven is not far.
| Season | Eggo scene |
|---|---|
| 1 | Breakfast at the Wheelers'; the supermarket; Hopper's box in the forest |
| 2 | The cabin waffles; the missed birthday |
| 3 | The waffles as a bargaining chip with Hopper |
| 4 and 5 | Discreet callbacks, Eleven having grown up |
The Eleven figure, waffle in hand.
In the shopLego Jonathan Byers mini figure on skateboard14,90 €See the product
Every Eggo scene, in order
-
The Wheelers' breakfast, 1983
Mike brings Eleven, hidden in the basement, a waffle from the family toaster. She does not speak; she eats.
-
The supermarket, 1983
Eleven, alone in town, steals boxes of Eggos by the armful and blows the store's automatic door.
-
The box in the woods, December 1983
Hopper leaves waffles in a box at the foot of a tree: he knows she is alive.
-
The cabin, 1984
At Hopper's, Eleven eats Eggos at every meal, until he imposes vegetables. She makes stacks of them, with cream and candy.
-
New Year's, 1984
The cabin's Christmas dessert: a stacked pile of Eggos, the “Eggo extravaganza.”
-
The last season
The waffle comes back as a relic of the character, in the objects the show reviews before the end.
Why a waffle, and not something else
The Duffers wanted for Eleven an everyday American object, that the audience would recognize on instinct and that a child raised in a cell would never have tasted. The frozen waffle, cheap, reheated in a toaster, was the food of rushed 80s mornings. For Eleven, it becomes the taste of freedom: the first thing she is given with no counterpart.
The object also says what the show thinks of family. Mike offers the waffle out of kindness; Hopper uses it to say “I know you are there”; then to negotiate, in the cabin, between a father who is learning and a daughter who is testing the limits. A child's food becomes the language of an adoption.
What it changed for the brand
The show never had an initial deal with the maker of Eggos, an American cereal group. The waffle appears in Season 1 with no counterpart, like the other period brands. Facing the success, the brand took the image as its own from the second season, to the point of appearing in the trailer aired during the Super Bowl of February 2017, and publishing recipes and messages inspired by the show.
It is one of the first examples of an 80s product relaunched by a streaming fiction, before Kate Bush or Metallica. In France, where the brand is not distributed, the waffle has become a piece of merch rather than a product: keychains, T-shirts, decorations, and homemade waffles for theme nights.
The waffle keychain, lighter than the box.
In the shopChibi Eleven blond wig and waffle keychain12,90 €See the product
Frequently asked questions
Why does Eleven love Eggos?
Because it is the first food she discovers outside the lab, at the Wheelers'. The waffles become the symbol of her freedom and of her family life with Hopper.
What is Eggo?
An American brand of frozen waffles created in 1953, to reheat in the toaster. It is real and did not pay to appear in season 1.
What is the Eggo scene in the forest?
At the end of season 1, Hopper leaves waffles in a box, in the woods: the sign that he knows Eleven is alive.
Can you buy Eggos in France?
They are not sold in large stores in France, but you find them as imports in some American grocery stores.
How many Eggo scenes are there in the show?
A half-dozen striking scenes, from breakfast at the Wheelers' in 1983 to the waffle rounds of the cabin in 1984, the most famous remaining the supermarket theft.
Did the Eggo brand pay to appear?
No, not at the start: the waffle appears in season 1 as a period object. The brand then took the image as its own, through the Super Bowl trailer of 2017.
What does Eleven put on her waffles in the cabin?
Whipped cream, candy, and sweets, in stacks several stories high: the “Eggo extravaganza” of New Year's Eve 1984, before Hopper imposed vegetables.
Where does Hopper hide the waffles for Eleven?
In a box set at the foot of a tree, in the woods, in December 1983: it is the sign that he knows she is alive, before taking her in at his cabin.