Six years ago, when he fell out with club owner Roman Abramovich, Mourinho complained about not being able to shop at a supermarket for "class one eggs."
Asked about the quality of his eggs this season, Mourinho answered: "Beautiful young eggs, eggs that need a mum, in this case a dad, to take care of them, to keep them warm during the winter, to bring the blankets and to work and improve them and one day we'll arrive in a moment when the weather changes, the sun rises, we break the eggs and the eggs are ready to go for life at the top level."
German side Schalke hosts Steaua Bucharest in the other Group E match.
"After one defeat you just want the next match to come as soon as possible, and probably the Champions League is the best way," Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata said. "These nights at Stamford Bridge have a different feeling, even more so since we won the title two years ago. This competition brings great memories to all of us and makes us feel really excited."
Mourinho is likely to be excited, too, even though the Portuguese coach won't be remembered as the "First One" if he ends up winning the Champions League with Chelsea this season. The former Real Madrid coach was just a spectator when the Blues defeated Bayern Munich to win the prestigious trophy under Roberto Di Matteo.
"When I was watching, I was with the Blues," said Mourinho, who won the Premier League and League Cup twice and the FA Cup once during his first reign at the London club. "The side was full of players from my time and you know they suffered a lot.
"They deserved to win the Champions League. It's a competition that has a special aura. Everybody wants to reach the 'El Dorado' of football. It is a club competition for excellence so it has some magic."
Against Basel, Mourinho is likely to make tactical changes after midfielder John Obi Mikel picked up a knee injury that could prevent him from playing. Ramires is suspended and Frank Lampard should get a spot in the starting team.
The Swiss team lost 5-2 on aggregate to Chelsea in the Europa League semifinals last season and prepared its next trip to England by edging fourth-tier side Muensingen 1-0 in a Swiss Cup match.
Basel comes to London with two young internationals in prolific scoring form for club and country.
Egypt midfielder Mohamed Salah scored six times in his country's perfect African qualifying group program to advance to a playoff against Ghana. Defender Fabian Schaer struck three as Switzerland gained four points against Iceland and Norway this month and closed in on a spot in next year's World Cup.
The 21-year-old players also scored against both of Basel's opponents in Champions League qualifying rounds, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ludogorets Razgrad.
Schalke relied on new signing Kevin-Prince Boateng's first goal for the club to win 1-0 at Mainz on Saturday.
"Before the game we wanted to cut down on the number of goals we've been conceding. So I'm particularly happy that we managed to keep clean sheets for two games in a row," Schalke coach Jens Keller said.
Schalke defender Benedikt Hoewedes wants a similar performance against visiting Steaua Bucharest. The Romanian champions warmed up with a 5-0 win at home over Sageata Navodari.
"If we stay as concentrated and focused against the Romanians we should keep the three points in Gelsenkirchen," Hoewedes said. "We want to get our fourth win in a row with our fans behind us."
