A couple of months ago I jumped on the sleeper to Cornwall to see Clarence Court HQ with Mark Hix, having recently been made an ambassador for the brand. After seeing all the happy birds I thought it seemed like a good time to put on an egg night at The Secret Larder.

Anyone who has ever eaten a Clarence Court egg will know why this was such an exciting prospect – from the bowling ball-sized ostrich egg to the pretty little quail eggs they are all stunning, with fat, rich, yolks and a flavour that makes the pale, insipid budget eggs seem on a par with pus-charged phlegm.

But I was wary of overdoing it on the egg front; it’s a special and not particularly pleasant feeling, that nausea you get when you’ve eaten too many eggs. So I came up with a menu that, I hope, showcased the versatility of eggs without totally, ahem, overegging it.

On arrival guests drank raspberry gin and tonics all frothed up with egg white – it’s a pretty straightforward drink. Blend raspberries with a little sugar and lemon juice and then strain. For one drink put equal parts raspberry juice and gin in a shaker with an egg white. Shake and pour over ice and top up with tonic water. Serve with a raspberry.

There were soft boiled quail eggs with a version of celery salt – fleur de sel with celery seed – on the tables for everyone to pick at and chat over.

To start I’d wanted to do bantam scotch egg arancini but 1) couldn’t find bantam eggs and 2) slightly undercooked the risotto (by arancini standards – you need to overcook the rice) and so couldn’t form the rice around the eggs. Things don’t always go according to plan. So I did yet more quail eggs perched on a half an arancino. A nest, if you will.

Next was a chilled watercress, parsley and lovage soup with a poached hen’s egg. 

By the main course I thought everyone might have had enough of eating whole eggs and so did very slowly braised lamb neck with an anchovy sabayon. A sabayon is like a hollandaise, in that it’s an emulsion of egg yolks and butter. This one contained a puree of anchovy and garlic. Guests seemed willing to drink it.

Pudding was creme brulee. Well, almost brulee. My blowtorch ran out of gas and so I had to put it under my misfiring grill. It didn’t quite look the part but ramekins came back clean.

Finally coffee and tea was taken with some mini meringues that I squidged together with a grand marnier-infused cream and a blueberry.

A huge thanks to Clarence Court for providing such amazing eggs. And there’s more!

COMPETITION!

Clarence Court are offering a chance to win two spaces to The Secret Larder in October. Just ‘like’ their Facebook page and give a reason why you should win.