Manderley: Hollywood’s evocation of the English Country House, Rebecca, 1940
Possibly one of our most significant contributions to civilisation is the idea of a proper breakfast. Personally, as much as I am a fan of all things Franco-Italian, the so-called ‘Continental’ breakfast, as served in numerous hotels across Europe leaves me cold. The little packets of plastic apricot jam, the stale croissant, the bowl of coffee, the slightly acidic curdled hot milk. Awkward bleary-eyed guests bumping into each other over the orange juice machine. And in the worst cases, muzak.
No, given half a chance, I would much rather be sitting at a shiny mahogany dining room table, the Spring light beaming through latticed windows on a raw morning in March or April, slightly naff coaching or hunting table mats, red-hot silvered chafing dishes on a rosewood George IV sideboard; haddock kedgeree, sausage, kippers, porridge (traditionally eaten standing up) and all the trappings that come with this vanishing ideal.
I included ‘British’ rather than ‘English” in the title deliberately, as Scotland has contributed enormously to the Country House Breakfast, and in recent years, a little bit of America has crept in with the cornflakes too; historically, like the Gordon Keeble, the Bristol or Jensen, the British breakfast is a hybrid, in this case, English, Scottish and American.
The Victorians and Edwardians had huge appetites (quite possibly, I suspect, a) because of the lack of central heating and b) because of the nineteenth century’s colder weather patterns) and in 1861 Isabella Beeton lists, as a matter of course and with a nonchalant insouciance: cold joints, potted fish, cold game, veal and ham pie, game and rump steak pie, cold ham, tongue, mutton chops, rump steak, broiled sheep’s kidneys and kidneys à la mâitre d’hôtel: all as suitable dishes for the breakfast sideboard, to be ‘nicely garnished and placed on the buffet’.
“Her Majesty Queen Victoria at Breakfast with Princess Beatrice and Princess Victoria in the 60th year of her reign...”
I thought it would be fun to compile the ultimate Country House Breakfast list, which I suppose is a recreation of a breakfast from the 1930s. I’m a big fan of lists. So in no particular order (with links to previous posts on The Greasy Spoon) here it is.
Porridge
Finian Haddie
Sausages
Herrings in Oatmeal
Oat Cakes
Bacon & Eggs
Boiled Eggs
Orange Juice
Tea & Coffee
'But who on earth’s got the time for all this! I hear you shout, and of course, I must put up my hand and accept the charge as read; for my breakfast list is a romanticised relic from a previous age- these days, you’re as likely to be gulping down a hurried mug of black coffee on a rainy Monday morning (along with a few spoonfuls of organic bran and those bizarre yoghurt drink thingys Mrs Aitch likes), as tucking into a slice of Lea & Perrinsed kidney or savouring the smoky, curried delights of haddock kedgeree. But if you can squeeze in the time to cook one or two of these dishes on a Saturday morning, and serve them to your friends and family sitting down at a table, the world, I think, would be a better place.
Let me know if I’ve left anything off the list. I couldn’t, incidentally, bring myself to include baked beans. Can’t quite put the finger on why exactly, even though I’m still a fan of Heinz and it’s 57 varieties. And should I have included hash browns? Coming to think of it, what are hash browns?
