If you hear this question in a hotel or a small, ambitious B&B, it bodes well. Because we’re not talking about the scrambled eggs from the bulk pack that have been sitting on a rechaud on the buffet for hours.

This yellow mass, made from ready-made products, is tasteless and has nothing in common with a freshly prepared egg.

When preparing a scrambled egg, it takes seconds to find the ideal moment when the scrambled egg is still slightly runny. It should then come out of the pan and be eaten immediately.

The test order

When asked which eggs we would like for breakfast, we always start by asking for eggs in a jar.

Two soft-boiled eggs in a jar have two advantages.

The first advantage: If the order is accepted with a yes, we can better assess the knowledge and level of the kitchen. However, if it’s “And what’s that supposed to be?”, we become cautious with further, more ambitious egg orders.

The second advantage: no egg shells spoil the view at the breakfast table, as at this breakfast in a Berlin hotel, where the soft-boiled eggs are served without their shells.

With lovingly prepared eggs in a glass, a little Maldon salt glistens on top and small rolls of chives as a color contrast provide an additional flavor stimulus, which is almost superfluous with a very good, buttery tasting egg.

Egg Florentine

With a good assessment for the kitchen, we order Egg Florentine the next morning. The poached egg with young, fresh spinach leaves and Morney sauce, on toast or perhaps even on a toasted English muffin tastes wonderful.

Poaching the egg is quick and easy. Cleaning and briefly sautéing the spinach and whipping up the béchamel sauce with the help of a nice Gruyere or Comte cheese takes time, which we usually prefer to invest in sport at the weekend.

Egg Benedicte

If you have a ravenous appetite in the morning, you can also have Egg Benedicte, where the poached egg rests on fried ham or bacon and is topped with hollandaise sauce.

Egg Royal

Still very excited about the coronation in the English royal house, because we love perfectionism in preparation and execution, our order next weekend would be Egg Royal.

In this version, the poached egg is served on toast or a toasted muffin with pickled salmon. Pure royal pleasure.

On a rainy Sunday with plenty of time on your hands, these three classic dishes can also be prepared at home. As a reminder, it’s worth watching Jamie Oliver’s guide video on poached eggs again, which you can find here.

Fresh eggs

The most important tip for the success of poached eggs is the freshness of the egg, which can be seen on the carton. Eggs may be sold on the market up to 28 days after the laying date.

The fresher the egg, the tastier it is. The other markings for the rearing of the hens are as follows:

0 – Organic production

1 – Free range

2 – Floor rearing

3 – Cage farming

According to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food, organically produced eggs, which are subject to particularly strict rules on feeding and rearing, currently have a 9 percent share of a huge market of 13.7 billion eggs a year.

The ideal source of fresh eggs are enthusiastic friends who are passionate about looking after chickens and creating conditions for their hens similar to those that the then Prince of Wales and now King Charles III has been providing on his Duchy Estate for many decades:

• Organic diet
• Calm, yet stimulating environment
• Plenty of space to roam and forage, peck and perch
• British blacktail hens

Fresh ideas

A simple egg in a glass is also perfect at home at the weekend. Soldiers are a great idea: toast cut into strips that can be used to top the yolk, just as they were served in a hotel in Paris:

At asparagus time, the poached egg also tastes good on green asparagus that has been roasted in the pan, with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Nordic inspired

Smoked prawns with scrambled eggs on brown bread are also irresistible.

If you like the combination of eggs and salmon in the Egg Royal, but find it too time-consuming to make your own hollandaise sauce, you can stir sour cream with dill, finely chopped spring onions and salt until smooth to give the poached egg and salmon on toast a fresh touch.

Japanese inspired

If you want a hollandaise sauce from the packet, you can refine the taste by stirring in miso.

Of course, a squeeze of natural lemon on the salmon is a must for a fresh kick in the morning.

Everything but egg monotony.

Photography © GloriousMe 2023