Put the yolks, cream and a pinch of salt into the top pot or bowl. Really just a pinch – you can always add more salt later.

Whisk, heat and keep whisking. It takes quite a while. The foam will thicken beautifully, and the yolks shouldn't curdle. How could the yolks curdle? If the water boils too vigorously and you stop stirring.

Fry the bacon in a dry pan until crispy. Place it on a paper towel to soak up the excess fat, then let it cool.

Blitz the bacon into crumbs and stir it into half of the yolk foam. This foam definitely won't need any extra salt – the bacon will make it salty enough.

It's a good idea to fry all the bacon at once. Blitz part of it to sprinkle over the salad and eggs, and keep the rest whole for garnish.

Snip some cress from the pad. Chop it finely and stir it into the other half of the yolk foam.

Using a little of the fat rendered from frying the bacon, cook the scrambled eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining cream and keep them nice and soft – careful not to let them set too firm.

Either toss the salad in a bowl with dressing beforehand, or simply drizzle it on the plate with olive oil and a light sprinkle of fine salt. Go with whichever way suits you best.

Gently shape little nests in the salad to hold the filled eggshells steady. Fill one shell with scrambled eggs, another with bacon foam, and the third with cress foam.

Finish with a garnish of crispy bacon, perhaps some quail eggs, and a very thin slice of bread toasted until crisp.