It’s off the breakfast table and onto the fine dining menu for the humble egg. A retro throwback that’s been simmering in quiet corners of brave restaurants has cracked into a full-blown dining trend – we’re declaring it the season of the egg.

Devilled eggs, in particular, have been cropping up around the world in restaurants spanning from Tuome in New York, where a deep-fried, pickled devilled egg helped secure a Michelin star, to London’s Cora Pearl, which has garnered a cult following for its classically executed devilled egg. 

More recently, the resurgence of the gastropub in Australia and egg flights taking off on TikTok have well and truly cemented the understated ovum as the “it” dish everywhere.

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The now-closed Bar Suze in Surry Hills experimented with an egg-on-egg-on-egg dish of rich mayonnaise cradling a soft-boiled egg, topped with grated yolk. Manu Feidel’s new menu at The Red Lion in Rozelle features amaranth-hued devilled eggs with herb garnishes and beetroot. 

Further south, newcomer Reed House in the heart of Melbourne has highlighted the soy-spiked ramen egg on its bar menu and Carlton’s celebrated Bar Bellamy offers a semi-soft-boiled egg draped luxuriously with a couple of salty anchovies. 

Cured egg yolks snowing down on potatoes, oeufs en gelée to start, son-in-law eggs, Scotch eggs, devilled eggs topped with caviar… how did we get here? To see the future, we have to look to the past. And not just to the kitschy cocktail parties of the 1970s where cabanossi, cheddar, and under-seasoned devilled eggs reigned supreme.

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Eggs have long been a classic component of fine dining, but recently they’ve experienced a surge in popularity, thanks in part to chefs experimenting with their textures, colours, and cooking techniques. High-end restaurants are now featuring eggs as a central ingredient in dishes that are as comforting as they are addictive.

Our obsession with vintage touches like the table-side Caesar salad at Sean Connolly’s Gowings, where a just-set egg is whisked into a creamy, punchy dressing, and the ability to find steak tartare – crowned with a raw orb of yolk – in every corner of every capital city, mean that this year all eyes are on the egg.

How to make devilled eggs

Ingredients

• 8 eggs
• 1/3 cup (100g) whole-egg mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, plus extra to serve
• 1/2 bunch chives, finely chopped

Method

1. Place eggs in a saucepan filled with cold water and place over high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce temperature to medium and simmer for 6 minutes.
2. Drain and refresh in iced water, then peel and halve the eggs. Using a teaspoon, scoop yolks into a separate bowl with the mayonnaise and cayenne pepper.
3. Place egg white halves on a serving platter. Using a fork, combine egg yolks with mayonnaise and cayenne until smooth. 
4. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle and pipe into egg white halves. 
5. Top with chives and extra cayenne pepper to serve.

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