What’s on offer in today’s breakfast menu

When it comes to breakfast, consumers are becoming more adventurous, and chefs in the café, pub and breakfast eatery market need to respond accordingly with innovations on the menu. That’s the word from Markus Werner, Corporate Executive Chef at Delaware North Australia, who adds: “I think breakfast as a distinct meal occasion is becoming increasingly hard to categorise. I don’t like the word ‘brunch’ but it does seem as though that time of day between breakfast and lunch is merging into one meal time.”

Therefore, elements of the traditional breakfast and lunch menus are being blended together – with a hefty sprinkle of innovation. “It’s not so trendy anymore to have the traditional big breakfast – we’re moving to simpler options,” Markus says. “You might serve some raw fish or something similar to a poke bowl where you have a soft egg on top. Strong flavours are what customers are looking for – so serve some kale, some pickled vegies, some tasty green bowls. Consumers are much more health conscious in what they’re ordering and tend to be moving away from those ‘big carb’ dishes. They’re looking for lighter food, not stodgy like some of your traditional options.”

Eggs have always been a hero ingredient on the breakfast menu, but today more customers are going for chilli scrambled, baked or poached eggs rather than fried. “Baked eggs in particular are a great choice because you can make up a nice sugo to cook them in, serve with some chorizo and you have a meal which is low in carbs but still packed full of flavours,” Markus points out.

Earth bowls are another popular menu option: “Hommus is very on trend right now and you can make lots of different varieties – green with peas and herbs, orange with pumpkin, and this is filling and tasty and you can serve with some chickpea chips or polenta chips. And if a customer is looking for a heartier, fried breakfast, look at making it with a smaller protein serve. For example you can use some really good quality free range chicken, or a good sustainable fish - a smaller serve but a more high end, flavoursome product.”

As for traditional cereal choices like bircher muesli, Markus says “They’re not going away but they need to be dressed up a bit – you might add some chia seeds, toasted quinoa, coconut or cacao spelt. Put some health in there and some flavour too. Flavour is the big thing at the moment, not so much through seasoning as in the old days – now it’s all about natural flavours being imparted from herbs, different grains, different ingredients to bring out different notes.

“The influences of pickled vegies and other flavours from Asia were maybe ignored a little in the past, but now pickled daikon, cabbages and other ingredients from Japanese and Korean cuisine have made big inroads and found a place on the Australian palate. You might make a hommus, add some turmeric and then dress with kimchi and aioli – you can mix the flavours around, from the poke bowl to the ramen and have it all on the same menu.”

Markus adds gluten free also needs to be part of the breakfast menu – “and it should be a readymade recipe, an established part of what you’re offering, not an add-on. It’s no longer a special dietary choice, it’s become mainstream, so you need to have those gluten free dishes ready to go.”

Vegetarian and vegan are also important meal choices to include, but Markus advises shying away from plant-based proteins in the form of what he calls “fake meat”: “I think this is disappearing – we’ve seen products which were said to perform like meat and taste like meat, but they didn’t satisfy in the same way. If I read the ingredients list and I can’t make sense of it, I get worried. There are some terrific vegetarian and vegan products on the market, from high end lentil patties to really great field mushroom burgers and they’re packed with good, healthy ingredients – people love them and enjoy them, but this fake meat where you can’t make sense of the ingredients seems to be fading out because it’s missed the market. It didn’t make you feel good, and that’s what good food is supposed to do. If you eat an earth bowl or some soft eggs with a bit of dukkha and fresh kale, you’re going to feel great because you’ve had really healthy food.”

Korean influences trending on the menu

Chef Adam Moore cites contemporary choices like Matcha French toast, Kimchi scrambled eggs and the Korean influences already mentioned, adding: “There are a lot of places doing something really bold with the traditional eggs benedict, for example a pulled pork bulgogi style benedict – recently I’ve even seen a fish benedict. 

“Cheese toasties are back, but they’ve gone very gourmet, high-end with pulled pork or Bolognese sauce. The other day I was asked to make a cheese toastie with Vegemite, three types of cheese – parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella, lots of butter on the outside and finished with sour cream poured on top.

“We’re also seeing a lot more whipped up eggs - a whipped up fried egg perhaps served with bacon that’s been cured in vodka, which imparts a different flavour profile and gives the meal a lot more refinement. Or a triple pepper bacon which again gives a bit more depth to the flavour.”

Offer a highly diversified menu

George Diamond, Group Executive Chef at Trippas White, says your breakfast menu should have plenty of diversity. “Customers these days are so knowledgeable – they’ve seen all the reality cooking shows, they’ve read cookbooks, they’ve followed chefs online – and they know what they want. They expect plenty of choice so it’s all about offering an eclectic menu with lots of healthy options.

“We all know bacon, eggs and sausage isn’t the healthiest meal, but presenting a healthy breakfast poke bowl with some gorgeous organic quinoa, pickled ginger, roast onions, sesame seeds, ginger and soy dressing and maybe topped with poached eggs and avocado is going to be really enticing.

“Or you might serve some chickpea, sweetcorn and dukkha with goat’s cheese, hazelnut and crushed eggs. Those kinds of dishes allow for lots of add-ons, from smoked salmon to halloumi cheese, sausage and hash browns allow customers a lot more variety and that’s the key these days.

“Of course we shouldn’t overlook the classic choices – you’ll always want to offer eggs, but people are moving away from fried to poached; you can also mix it up by perhaps making a roasted pepper and zucchini frittata, perhaps with some oyster mushrooms, chives and a side of quinoa bread, or perhaps some chickpea hommus and goat’s cheese with fresh berries.

“Another great choice is a Chicken Schnitzel Holstein served with fried eggs, baby capers, anchovies, a little watercress salad and some lemon butter sauce.

“I think these types of meals are basically contemporary spins on childhood favourites – we’re wanting to evoke the comfort of childhood memories while trying to connect with our patrons by putting in elements with different flavour profiles.

“It could be a Lebanese style breakfast or cuisine influences from the Italian, French or Asian – we want to make the dishes quite eclectic, but at the same time harken back to those good memories and sense of comfort while eating.

“I think the most important thing is to try to keep your breakfast menu really diverse and innovative – look at local produce, what’s beast in season at the time, and keep innovating to make it fun for your customers.”