The perfect poached egg
The most important aspect of making the perfect poached egg, is of course... the egg! It's no good using a small, flavourless egg that some poor freedom-starved hen has lived, suffered horribly and died for. Give the bird some respect! Half a dozen free-range eggs only cost about a pound which means each egg is only about 17p. Surely you can afford that!
Eggs for poaching should be perfectly fresh, but not quite new-laid; those that are about 36 hours old are the best for the purpose. If quite new-laid, the white is so milky it is almost impossible to set it; and, on the other hand, if the egg be at all stale, it is equally difficult to poach it nicely. So get down the farm and try to get your hands on some.
So the three things you need are the egg, a good non-stick frying pan and a reliable toaster.
A non-stick frying pan (any size)
A reliable toaster