Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club is my favourite day of the month, it’s a morning to indulge yourself with good company and a hearty breakfast.

This month we were lucky enough to hold Breakfast Club in The Delectable Garden. All thanks to the beautiful August bank holiday weekend we have just had. It was as fun and interesting as ever, particularly when Maggie locked herself in our toilet. Her knight in shining armour, Tony, came to the rescue by removing the lock. Fortunately the rest of us were there to mock and take photos.

Our Breakfast Club is coming up to 4 years and started when my cousin, Jo, needed some work doing and bribed people with a breakfast. If you have read the Vietnamese Beef Stif-fry post you will notice a pattern of food for jobs in my family!

To me Breakfast Club is about surrounding yourself with friends and family that have a positive impact on your life and can put a smile of your face even on the worst of days. We don’t always get to see each other all the time as one big group so it’s nice to reconnect over the breakfast table once a month, a delicious breakfast is an added bonus.

Breakfast Club Members

Uncle Ian (coach) and aunty Ann, almost second parents to me as I spent so much time at theirs growing up, Ian is my dad’s brother.

Jo, lifelong best friend, cousin, Ian and Ann’s daughter.

Maggie and Tony (big t), Ian and Ann’s neighbours since forever who happen to be the best of friends, which makes them almost family in my eyes.

Margaret, Ann’s mum and quite possibly the funniest woman I know. Her quick witted remarks and incorrect use of words always has everyone in stitches.

Honorary Members

Derek, Margaret’s Husband and Ann’s dad.

Gordon, Ian’s dad, mine and Jo’s Grandad.

Both were with us from the start but are sadly no longer with us. They attend every breakfast club in our hearts and memories.

We have a set rotation and aim to meet up the first Sunday of every month. The host is the chef and they may invite somebody along. We all happen to be capable cooks and have our own specialities. To me Ann is the best all-rounder, sweet or savoury she’ll bake it and there will always be plenty of it. Jo is the most experimental one and will through in a curveball. Doing the men proud is Big T with his taters, what this man can do with a potato! My speciality would be eggs, the girls give me a constant supply so I like to experiment and find new recipes to use them all up. I made Egg Muffins this month and they went down a treat.

As well as the hosts speciality there is always a full English, tea/coffee, juice and most importantly Prosecco, I did say it was indulgent! When it comes to Prosecco I adore Bottega Gold. It’s delicious and the stunning bottle design impresses everyone, making it perfect for special occasions.

Tips

Arrange the next breakfast club during the current one, if you don’t things will get in the way and you’ll not get round to organising it.

Set up a text group, this helps me remember the next date and is easier to contact everyone if you have to rearrange.

Always treat breakfast club as a priority in your calendar. If you have to cancel be sure to rearrange a new date straight away. We skip a month or hold it on alternative days/weeks if we have to.

Don’t stress too much about the food or try to out do each other! This is a fun morning so don’t get bogged down in the kitchen. People will be happy with a bacon cob and a cuppa (for people outside of the east midlands a cob is the correct word for what you may call a balm, bap, or bread roll ?).

Prepare as much as you can in advance. My Egg Muffins can be made up to three days before and reheated on the morning of Breakfast Club.

Try to keep washing to a minimum. I line baking tray’s with tinfoil then baking parchment to cook sausages and bacon in the oven. You can then dispose the tinfoil/baking parchment and your baking trays are clean.

Foil tins with lids are also great for minimising dishes. I use them to heat up and serve chopped tomatoes and beans.

Empty the dishwasher and sink/draining board before you start. This will make it easier for you to clean up after breakfast club.

Bear in mind any specific food requirements of your guests. We don’t have any allergies in our group but we have people who don’t like tomatoes and cheese.

Set up serving stations if your dining table is not large enough, or lay the food out on your kitchen worktop and let people help themselves.

Don’t forget to take a dodgy selfie! It’s fun to look back at all the good times.

Share this post with your friends, see who’s interested and set up your very own breakfast club. Please get in touch, I’d love to here about your breakfast club and see your selfies!

My Creamy Lemon and Herb Overnight Oats are also perfect for breakfast.

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