As I stood over the pan of flawlessly decapitated egg shells floating in a shallow bath of barely simmering water, I might have recognised a modern culinary classic in the making. Each of the yolks reloaded into those shells would soon be masterfully transformed by chef Alain Passard into his signature Chaud-froid d’oeuf  (“hot-cold egg”), an oh-so-gently poached yolk garnished with crème fraîche, minced chives  and drops of maple syrup.

But in the consummate coddling of those eggs I saw only opportunity. Here, at last, was the chance to test an eggsistential hypothesis with a giant of French gastronomy.

Greeting Passard in the kitchen of the Vila Joya at the International Gourmet Festival in Algave, Portugal, I asked the chef at three-Michelin -starred L’Arpège in Paris to imagine a world in which a single egg sold not for 20 cents but for 20 euros. Wouldn’t the humble chicken egg then join truffles, caviar and foie gras amongst our most prized food luxuries?

“I agree with you,” said Passard. “The egg is so valuable in so many ways. It is the treasure of pastry. If the egg didn’t exist…”

The chef paused, took a deep breath:

“Why that’s unthinkable!”