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Photograph: Kate Whitaker
If your guests are impressed by the quail's eggs, they'll be blown away when you tell them you've made the celery salt yourself. Follow this recipe and find out how easy it is (but don't tell the visitors!)
Preheat the oven to 120°C, fan 100°C, gas ½ and line a large baking tray with nonstick baking paper. Shave the celery sticks into thin ribbons with a flat-bladed peeler and pat dry with kitchen paper. Transfer to the baking tray and bake for about 1 hour until dry. Leave to cool. Whiz in a food processor with the salt, tip into a bowl and set aside.
Boil the eggs for 3½ minutes; drain and cool under cold running water. Peel the eggs and slice off a little piece at the base of each one so they can stand upright (leaving a few half-peeled looks attractive). Dip the tip of each egg in celery salt and stand the eggs on a serving plate. Serve with the remaining celery salt in a small dish.
Get ahead: make the celery salt a few days ahead; store in an airtight container. Boil and peel the eggs a few hours ahead.
Kitchen secret: this will make more celery salt than you need, but it keeps well and is delicious in a Bloody Mary or used to season a tomato salad.