Heat a large saucepan with several litres of boiling water. Then turn the heat down so the water is just gently bubbling.

My foolproof method of poaching eggs is to take a sheet of clingwrap and line the inside of a small mug with it.  Crack the egg into the bottom of the cup and discard the shell.  Gather up the sides of the clingwrap being careful to collect the whole egg well within the bounds of the wrap, and twist the top very tightly.

Drop the little parcel inside the water.  It should stay twisted at least long enough for the white to start to set, if it doesn’t you need to use more clingwrap and twist more tightly (or even knot it if you can).

Set a timer for 3 minutes, and when it goes off, remove the parcel with a slotted spoon and stick it whole into a bowl. Three minutes should produce a good soft poached average size egg, but you may want to experiment a little.

Continue with the egg parcels – note where you place them in the pot, so you know which one to remove when the timer goes off.  You may have to do a little guesswork for when to pull some of them out if you’re working on dropping new eggs in mid-timer, but it’s not a perfect art anyway.  The little hot parcels will continue to cook for a period after they are removed.

Toast the muffins.  You may want to put them under the grill of the oven at around 160 degrees celsius, so they’re all hot at once, but keep a close eye on them if you do this.

Boil the jug for the hollandaise sauce and remove the eggs from their plastic parcels, discarding the plastic.  You may need to employ a pair of scissors to aid in this task – but be careful with the fragile soft yolks.

You will now need to work quickly to save the eggs from getting cold.

Butter the muffins, top with the eggs.  Whisk the hot water into the hollandaise sauce and lather a good tablespoon or two on top of each egg.

Serve these with a side of bacon, or a sliver of smoked salmon or spinach and mushrooms are all great options.