Morgan BellContinental Breakfast?
November 29th 2008 10:27
when did the term "Continental Breakfast" come to mean a piece of toast with vegemite and a bowl of cornflakes?
when i think of a "Continental Breakfast" i picture fresh baked muffins or pastries, like croissants, or a danish, or maybe a bagel, with an assortment of jams, and juices, and a fresh fruit platter, usually with an option to include some poached or boiled eggs
i think of a "Continental Breakfast" as being a lighter option as compared to a Full English Breakfast, which is usually greasy fried foods and quite meat heavy
somewhere along the line in Australia we took the idea of a "light" breakfast and translated it into meaning cheap, easy, quick, simple, and basic . . . basically unsatisfying that is
i guess as a nation we are not big breakfast people, its not a big part of our culture, theres always some new study being done saying school kids and working adults regularly skip breakfast altogether . . .
when im at home i think cornflakes and my vegemite on toast are great . . . but when i stay at a hotel and theres hefty price-tag attached to the meal theres a greater expectation
im actually a little concerned about Australian tourism and the hospitality industry when it comes to things like this . . .
if you were a European tourist (ie: actually from The Continent) would you be a little bit annoyed or disappointed if your hotel delivered a little box of cereal to your door in place of the "Continental Breakfast" you actually ordered?
maybe im being a worry wart?
and i do accept that its entirely possible i do not patronise the most classy of establishments . . .
or perhaps im just out of touch with how the term has evolved?
when i think of a "Continental Breakfast" i picture fresh baked muffins or pastries, like croissants, or a danish, or maybe a bagel, with an assortment of jams, and juices, and a fresh fruit platter, usually with an option to include some poached or boiled eggs
i think of a "Continental Breakfast" as being a lighter option as compared to a Full English Breakfast, which is usually greasy fried foods and quite meat heavy
somewhere along the line in Australia we took the idea of a "light" breakfast and translated it into meaning cheap, easy, quick, simple, and basic . . . basically unsatisfying that is
i guess as a nation we are not big breakfast people, its not a big part of our culture, theres always some new study being done saying school kids and working adults regularly skip breakfast altogether . . .
when im at home i think cornflakes and my vegemite on toast are great . . . but when i stay at a hotel and theres hefty price-tag attached to the meal theres a greater expectation
im actually a little concerned about Australian tourism and the hospitality industry when it comes to things like this . . .
if you were a European tourist (ie: actually from The Continent) would you be a little bit annoyed or disappointed if your hotel delivered a little box of cereal to your door in place of the "Continental Breakfast" you actually ordered?
maybe im being a worry wart?
and i do accept that its entirely possible i do not patronise the most classy of establishments . . .
or perhaps im just out of touch with how the term has evolved?
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Comment by ratchet
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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ahhh yah funny!
i see you made your way home to a computer, im glad your plane didnt get lost!
Comment by GlenB
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Herrings Dictionary of Classical and Modern Cookery says a Continental breakfast 'consists of coffee and milk, tea or chocolate, different sorts of bread, rolls and rusks, butter, jam, honey, and to order a boiled or fried egg or other egg dish, cold meat or cheese. Fruit juice is now often in demand and cereals are also getting popular.'
Calling toast and cereal a 'Continental Breakfast' is bullshit.
You should stick it to them and try somewhere more upmarket...Maybe on the mainland?
Comment by ratchet
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Glen, thanks for that definition. A sad contrast to what was on offer this morning.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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thanks for that definition!
the "Continental Breakfast" as described in your book sounds absolutely beautiful!
i note that it says cereals are becoming more popular - i guess some venues are taking that to mean they should replace ALL the other items with cereal! haha
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And crap - now I am hungry!
Comment by Morgan Bell
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oh how good is maccas brekky after you have been out drinking and are feeling seedy!
you might appreciate this little Continental Breakfast joke:
Q - What does "Continental Breakfast" mean?
A - It means you're hungry by 10:30.
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Comment by Lilla
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Didnt it start with a cry from England, with fists raised to France?
*Let them eat Brioche!*
Yummy thick freshly baked bread with cream cheese and strawberries on top, which was indeed, eaten on the Continent (the word the English use for Europe, them being too posh and an island and all, and not really a part of the continent par se).
I can eat brioche served like that any day!
Now my mouth is watering, you bad girl.
Lilla ...
Comment by Chris Champion
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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oh i do love Cornflakes, im also a fan of Weetbix, All-Bran, Museli, Rice Bubbles, and any of the "confectionary" cereals . . . i could go a bit of porridge from time to time . . . but i think on a restaurant menu they should be listed as "cereal" and not "Continental Breakfast"
hi Norm,
ahhh the sub-continent, where the air is full of spices!
i imagine its the kind of food that was depicted in the Indiana Jones movies . . . im sure they were 100% accurate!
hi Jason,
oh i KNOW!!!!!
that 10:30 cut off is really unreasonable!
Comment by Morgan Bell
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haha let them eat brioche!
its funny how England once looked at the rest of the world, and how alot of the language has morphed into the contemporary Australian pysche!
oh strawberries and cream cheese, yummo!
hi Chris,
do they mean the Tasmanian King Island?
or has SA got a King Island too?
maybe they mean "South OF Australia" as opposed to the state? haha
funny story!
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maybe they think it sounds posh, or exotic?
maybe calling it Aussie Brekky wouldnt be as up-market?
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And, yes, I'm sure you and I have probably had our fare share of mcmuffins, but that's always at the END of the night, not the beginning of your day!
Continental fucking breakfast my arse!
Comment by Morgan Bell
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yes "scungy" breakfast! haha
so funny!
the instant coffee and scungy mini-box of cereal has become the norm!
hi alt_ed,
ok you need to stop reading all the biblical blogs, you are starting to describe everything as "filthy"! haha
moving on . . .
look ive probably had breakfast in the morning twice in my whole life - once 8 years ago in a 4 star hotel in Canberra where i had a "Continental Breakfast" that was beautiful and fresh and interesting, and once this weekend at a less than 4 star hotel in Launceston . . . ive had quite a few "all day breakfasts" in the late afternoon in Sydney
Comment by ratchet
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2 X slices of bread (toaster available)
2 X miniature cereal packets (Just Right Corn Flakes)
1X Goulburn Valley fruit tub thingie *shudder*
milk
orange juice
little tubs of jam, honey, peanut butter.
1X jar of Vegemite
I do regret not taking the unopened packets of cereal home with me, after all, they were paid for.
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Plus I slept under a Spiderman blankie
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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the fresh fruit platter . . .
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Interesting post, and reading the replies has made me hungry. Most people have responded directly to what is (or isn't) a Continental Breakfast so I don't think that needs any further clarification, so I thought I'd respond to what you wrote:
im actually a little concerned about Australian tourism and the hospitality industry when it comes to things like this . . .
I have travelled the planet, and yes I smile (and cringe) at some of the ways Australia (and NZ) present themselves to the overseas markets - especially where Australasia attempts to deliver something that is part and parcel to the breakfast & eating culture of Europeans & tourists. The majority of tourists coming to New Zealand & Australia (are ironically each other) followed by the Asian market - so maybe we should be doing more Congee & Miso soups??
My beef is why serve french croissants at a hotel when they are a poor tasteless imitation of what you get in France. Boxes of cereal (yes those tiny ones) are prevalent in hotels /motels and it really is a shame that more effort isn't made, and especially when it comes to localising flavours or AUSSIE tradition. What Aussies and Kiwis eat for breakfast is completely different than Europe, though why don't our markets exploit this fact?
If you come to Australia flushed with Euros, you'll part with them for the "right" breakfast - even if it is a little different than what you'd expect in Europe. It just needs to be done well, be fresh with local flavours and people (tourists) will pay for it.
And as an aside I had some French guests years ago who fell about the floor truly believing I was putting boot polish on my toast (vegemite) and one of our guests ate a raw weetbix and commented it was a bit dry... Once I had them past the initial dilemma of what we eat for breakfast they were very happy to "try" different things, and happier they weren't faced with poor imitations of their own food, but rather they could go wow - that's different. After all that's what travelling is all about.
My biggest beef in travelling around hotels in Australia is they don't make THAT effort to make breakfast interesting or you are faced with weak filter coffee (or over stewed and burnt) and not a brown / raw/ coffee crystal sugar bowl in sight - always those stupid packets of WHITE sugar - what is it with that???
I personally think its going to take a few years yet before Aussies & Kiwis can proudly stand behind what is being dished up in the hospitality industry for breakfast. I cringe thinking about it too...
Dances
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i just remembered that i forgot to answer you over here . . .
yes why have a "Continental Breakfast" at all? why not just throw a few uniquely Australian things together and call it an "Aussie breakfast"?
damper bread, vegemite, lamingtons, pavlova, a meat pie, chiko roll, tropical fruits (including mango, bananas and kiwi fruit), tim tams, a can of VB and a glass of Passion Pop! haha
thanks for the comment!