Brunch - where did it come from, where is it going?

“a potent symbol of urban decay” - The Guardian

We went shopping this morning of course, and also of course, the cafés were full of people partaking of brunch. My husband commented on it. Why he asked? Well to my mind the answer is pretty obvious - it's a nice thing to do, but as a non cafe/restaurant frequenter or liker, he, I suppose, quite reasonably wondered who were all these people and why did they have time to do this? A stupid question for a Saturday it seems to me. After all most people work for a living and the weekend is their only chance to relax. And they like to relax in cafés. Specifically cafés not restaurants. During the week I do sometimes ask myself the same question - after all, presumably most people are at work, and yet the cafés are still buzzing. With who? Yummy mummies and the retired I reckon.

Anyway it got me thinking about brunch. Brunch didn't exist in my world in my childhood - my youth even. Where did it come from? I added the question where is it going? because the very first article I found said that it was dead or dying - in the US anyway.

Contrary to my belief, brunch is not actually a new thing. Many writers think it began in Britain, evolving from those massive hunters' breakfasts that were served in the mansions of the rural aristocracy. The term itself though was first coined back in 1895 by one Guy Berlinger in an article he wrote for The Hunter's Magazine. His description of the meal is really very contemporary.

"Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week." Guy Beringer - 1895 in The Hunter's Weekly

And just to compare here is something from Future Food. who, I think are a market research organisation.

"Brunch is known for it’s social sense. Cafés on the weekends are packed with tables of friends and family, crossing stories and sharing intimate time together. This still happens in other day-parts as well but brunch offers a much more casual experience (as opposed to a full-service dinner, lets say) making it appealing and very accessible - a socialising activity that can be carried out every week. This is very important to note as it’s all the younger generations that are needing this type of social interaction." Future Food

And indeed according to their research it does seem to be the Millenials, the Gens X and Y who are mostly frequenting these places. And they do need the social interaction, because otherwise they seem to just spend their lives hooked into the digital world of the internet and the Cloud. Mind you there are always loners in these places on the communal tables hooked into their computers and iPads. But then I suppose they are at a communal table and this may lead to social interaction.

So why do people think brunch is a dying thing? Well according to the Australian sources I found, it isn't. Indeed it is thriving so much that some commentators claim that brunch is actually an Australian invention and that we are exporting it to the world.

They point to Bill Granger as the man who started the rage for brunch. He began with one café in Sydney and now has a world, and I do mean world, empire and is based in London. From him most probably come the things that seem to be distinctively Australian when it comes to brunch. Industrial chic design of the space, communal tables, coffee and juice not alcohol, poached eggs and smashed avocado. Well I think the world lays the blame for smashed avocado at Bill Granger's door. I don't know who invented the breakfast bowl, though I did do a post on that, and I probably found something when I wrote it. Oh and did I say friendly and cheap? Well not cheap, but not outrageous. Not dinner prices. Coffee, whilst not cheap is not nearly as expensive as alcohol.

"And you can expect to pay between $20-$30 for your meal so whilst the food is innovative and exciting, the price point tends to match the casual experience rather than the high end one. This makes having brunch approachable, affordable and enjoyable in the eyes of the consumer." Future Food

Brunch is apparently dying in the US where some famous pop group guy put it down as a symbol of urban decay. Not good for Millenials to be out there enjoying themselves with smashed avocado and coffee. And it seems these same Millenials are spending all their money on the experience sector - food, health stuff, travel, adventure and not on clothes and other material things. I find this a somewhat dubious statement though. Surely you need a lot of the right gear to do all those health/sporting things, as well asconstantly updating your electronic gadgets. There's always something new and must have out there.

But back to the difference between America, the UK and Australia. In America it seems alcohol with brunch is de rigeur and the UK is still struggling with the café concept.

"Brunch in the The Big Apple comes with benefits – specifically alcohol. It’s almost impossible to get your eggs with hollandaise without a compulsory serve of mimosa (champagne mixed with fruit juice) alongside. While in the UK, brunch is still the poor cousin of Sunday lunch at the pub." The Guardian

Here in Oz - coffee is the thing. it's what we do so well. Which is still amazingly interesting to me. And juice. We do that well too.

"Weekend brunchers in Australia appear often to have come straight from their ride/yoga class/crossfit session (and are still wearing the Lululemon gear to prove it). Or they’ve rolled out of bed so hungover that they can’t bear to be even in the same room as something alcoholic. Forget the mimosa, it’s all about pressed juices and cold drip coffee." The Guardian (Australia)

And this is what Australia is exporting to the world and why we can lay some claim to inventing brunch.

But what do we eat at brunch that isn't just breakfast or lunch? Well it seems to me that it is an elaboration of the basic breakfast fare - eggs and bacon, or cereals or toast and honey, to dishes that whilst being more elaborate than breakfast are not as elaborate as formal lunch fare. I'm not talking about snack kind of lunches that you make for yourself and your family to eat on the run, but the kind of lunch you might have in a proper restaurant. For brunch tends not to be served in restaurants. It is served in cafés. And yes it's a fine line between the two, but there is a difference. But just because it's sort of simpler, it doesn't mean to say it is uninteresting. Here are some of the most popular kind of dishes and none of them look ordinary -

From left to right - egg and bacon, smashed avocado and toast, quinoa breakfast bowl, pancakes, french toast.

Interestingly when looking for images for this bit I couldn't find anything interesting without including the word Melbourne. Put in Melbourne and all manner of tempting looking stuff comes up. Which sort of proves the point about Australia and brunch really.

“It has a lot to do with our early-morning lifestyle and climate ... (And) we have an exciting combination of wellness, design, underpinned by a highly sophisticated food scene.” Bill Granger

I would love to do brunch every now and then with my beloved. After all breakfast is his favourite meal, and although it isn't mine when you have it as the very first thing of the day, give me an hour or so to pull myself around with a shower and I could be very interested. We have lots of spots in Eltham from the very casual to the almost restaurant - Second Home - which is shown at the top of the page and which really is an absolutely typical Australian brunch venue. Though they do lunch too - and coffee and cake.

"the key successful aspects of brunch include a casual yet inviting environment, a menu that announces excitement the moment the customer opens it and a spend bracket that is not too high, not too low but just right for a relaxing yet sophisticated dining out experience." Future Food