This invention relates to a novel process for the preparation of optically pure L-(+)-ergothioneine. The process for the chemical synthesis of L-ergothioneine comprises steps which consist of reacting L-histidine alkyl ester with an acid halide, chloroformate or pyrocarbonate in the presence of a base, hydrolysis of the alkyl-(S,Z)-2,4,5-triamidopent-4-enoate to obtain a (S)-alkyl 2,5-diamido-4-oxopentanoate, acid catalyzed hydrolysis of the (S)-alkyl 2,5-diamido-4-oxopentanoate followed by reaction with a metal thiocyanate to obtain the thiohistidine, protection of the sulfur of thiohistidine as the tert-butyl thioether, dialkylation of the primary amine to obtain a tertiary amine, quaternization of the tertiary amine, and removal of the protecting group to obtain the desired (S)-3-(2-mercapto-1H-imidazol-5-yl)-2-(trialkylammonio)propanoate (I). This process affords a better yield and is capable of practical application at large scale.