The Breakfast Bible

by Seb Emina

When it comes to the most important meal of the day, this is the book to end all books, a delectable selection of recipes, advice, illustrations and miscellany.

The recipes in the robust volume begin with the iconic full English - which can mean anything as long as there are eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding, bread, potatoes and beans involved - before moving confidently on to more exotic fare such as kedgeree, omelette Arnold Bennett, waffles, American muffins, porridge, roast peaches, channa masala from India, borek from the Balkans and pães de queijo from South
America. There are also useful tips like the top songs for boiling an egg to, and how to store mushrooms.

Interspersing the practicalities of putting a good breakfast together are essays and miscellanies from a crack team of eggsperts. Among them are H.P. Seuss, Blake Pudding, Poppy Tartt and Malcolm Eggs, who offer their musings on such varied topics as forgotten breakfast cereals of the 1980s, famous last breakfasts and Freud's famous Breakfast Dream.

Whether you are a cereal purist, a dedicated fan of eggs and bacon or a breakfast-aficionado with a world view, The Breakfast Bible is the most important book of the day.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cooking, Food, Cookbooks

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2013

Reviews

[Fiona]

If you love breakfast and brunch this is a great book full of recipes and tips. I found the tips on how to make the perfect poached egg really useful

[Magrat]

This handsomely produced volume is the sort of book which would not be nearly as appealing in an ebook edition. It is a marvellously entertaining jumble of history, literary quotations, factual information, personal anecdotes by the authors and even recipes. Although written in a breezily conversational style the content is clearly the result of much solid research by quite a few people (all duly acknowledged). Much more fun to read at breakfast than the morning newspaper!

[Terri]

YUM! Lots of yum. Well worth your time if you are into reading cookbooks.

[Mark Anthony]

As a self confessed home cook food loving breakfast addict, this book had me on the first page. A bunch of funny recipe recommendations, historical tidbits, essays and interesting brekky related paraphernalia. Enjoy. You will not be disappointed.

[TinHouseBooks]

“There have always been two kinds of breakfast,” writes Seb Emina in The Breakfast Bible, “the everyday and the event.” In his cookbook, breakfast dishes large and small, sweet and savory are defined, refined and celebrated. Emina is the creator and editor of the spirited and very fun blog The London Review of Breakfasts which, in addition to special dispatches from the UK and the US for breakfast hotspots, includes an “Opinion & Eggitorials” section that is not to be missed. Recipes in The Breakfast Bible are comprehensive and clear and there’s no need to look further than this cookbook for all that you need to know about tasty Bubble and Squeak or the best songs to tune into in the kitchen in the section “Songs To Boil An Egg To.” (Spoiler alert: for a classic soft boiled egg, Emina recommends, among others, The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”) Breakfast is served all day every day, on the page.

[Michele Beacham]

It's a book about breakfast! Got this from the library thinking it would be a recipe book, but it turns out to also have fascinating (and funny) stories about breakfast, ideas to expand my breakfasting options, and of course, recipes.

[Andrew Wiggins]

A well-researched and entertainingly written book with some very inspiring recipes.

[Sarah]

Surprisingly sophomoric and uninteresting. A few good nuggets, but generally not worth the time or money.

[Henry]

Witty essay-style cookbook dedicated to breakfast, how nice!

[Rachel England-Brassy]

I love this irreverent take on all that is holy about #breakfast; my favourite meal of the day.

[Gregory Butera]

Man, do I love breakfast, and I loved reading this book. So many great options here. Eggs, pancakes, the Full English, mmmmm...so hungry now.