3 RE-ENGINEERING

YOUR BREAKFAST
MENU
 This topic at a glance …
Re-engineering your Re-engineering your breakfast menu sounds great,
but where do you start? This topic looks at everything
from simplifying and innovating your menu, to working
breakfast menu with the seasons, to healthy options, to local flavour.
Once you’ve decided to change your menu, then check
out the ‘Tips on Design and Layout’.

Support tools include examples of different menu

templates (for all-inclusive and for à la carte) and
tasty ideas for a breakfast bag to go.

Driving efficiencies and responding to customer preferences

For some, the idea of completely redoing their breakfast menu will fill them with excitement and they’ll already
have lots of ideas. For others, the enthusiasm might be there but they’d welcome some suggestions and ideas.

Wherever you are on the ideas front, take a look at the seven topics below (each is explored in more detail over the
following pages) and get started on a fresh, new exciting breakfast offering. It will drive efficiencies in your kitchen,
cut down on waste, and your customers will thank you for it. Make their gorgeous breakfast one of the standout
experiences from their stay with you.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Simplify and Health What’s What’s in Local Too much Make your own or
innovate and vitality in stock? season? flavour meat? buy in the best

3. RE-ENGINEERING YOUR BREAKFAST MENU 1

1. Simplify and innovate
Your breakfast offering can be appealing and cater to everyone’s needs without being Benefits and efficiencies of a short core menu
overly extensive.
Improves order efficiency helps guests choose more quickly
A well communicated, short, core offering - with flexibility for customisation - can contribute to
Reduces the number and quantity of ingredients you need to stock
operational and cost efficiencies, while still giving the customer the choice level they expect.
Improves operational efficiencies in the kitchen
Short core menu with customisation

} Create a short core menu of main breakfast items for order from the kitchen. Use ingredients that can be mixed
and matched in the different dish options offered to guests.

} Working from that base of core menu items, offer simple customisations to give guests choice and flexibility.

} Set out the options clearly and simply on your menu.

How does this affect food costs & operations?

} Balance costs across your menu: if you add one or two lower margin items to enhance/innovate your selection,
compensate for this with some popular high margin dishes.

} Balance operational efficiencies across your menu: a mix of cook to order options and items which are largely
prepared in advance and easily assembled.

On the one hand, variety is the spice of life and

TIPS
guests are used to having plenty of choice at
 Source quality: Use the best quality core ingredients that you can.
breakfast time. On the other hand, an efficient
 Small is beautiful: With high quality items - like sausages and rashers - you can serve a little breakfast operation requires that you keep stocks
bit less but actually increase customer satisfaction and reduce plate waste. and food costs in check and minimise waste.
 Shop local: Use local suppliers where possible: this will elevate your breakfast to a new level
But keeping the offer tight and cutting down on the range of
and gives you a good story to tell.
options doesn’t mean sacrificing quality or customer satisfaction.
 Four seasons: Add some excitement to core ingredients with changeable seasonal
In fact, quality or customer satisfaction can be greatly enhanced by
ingredients. Preserving fruit and vegetables is cost effective.
offering guests enticing menu items and a bit of local flavour.
 Local flavour: Complement core ingredients with changeable local ingredients.
 Vegetarian and plant-based: Include enticing vegetarian options (ideally which can be
customised to be fully plant-based).
 Eggs and more: While eggs are a wonderful basis for many low-cost breakfast dishes,
try to have at least one option that is not egg-focussed.
 Make your breakfast accessible to cater for different dietary needs such as coeliac, vegan,
vegetarian and dairy free.
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2. Health and vitality
With consumers wanting to live healthier lifestyles, understanding
nutrition and food science are key to developing healthier menus.
Nutrition Breakfast is often described as one of
The opportunities and potential role that chefs can play in the health and wellbeing of their the most important meals of the day.
customers are growing. Studies have shown positive effects on
academic achievement, quality of life
It is widely known that a healthy immune system can decrease the risk of a wide range of Food and cognitive performance.
illnesses and several breakfast items can play an important role in this regard. science
Culinary Source: Lundqvist, Vogel and Levin, 2019.
Because they stimulate the immune system, here’s why you should think about including
probiotics and prebiotics on your breakfast menu: nutrition
} Probiotics improve the balance of bacteria in the gut

} Prebiotics encourage the growth of good bacteria in the gut

} Synbiotics are foods that have combinations of probiotics and prebiotics

GOOD SOURCES OF

PROBIOTICS PREBIOTICS SYNBIOTICS

Yoghurt Nuts (almonds, pistachio) Kefir smoothie

with raw oats, honey
Kefir Bran and bananas
Traditional buttermilk Oats
Kombucha with chia seeds
Kombucha Flaxseeds, chia seeds
Oat muesli, fresh berries,
Naturally aged cheddar Bananas, watermelon, grapefruit Greek yoghurt, nuts and flaxseeds

3. RE-ENGINEERING YOUR BREAKFAST MENU 3

3. What’s in stock?
While many traditional breakfast items may be
bought in exclusively for the breakfast menu,
innovation can come from using items you already
stock or prep for use across your other menus.

Have a look at lunch and dinner – what do they feature that Daily Breakfast
Specials ❧
could be turned into a clever and exciting breakfast option?

Leftover mashed potato/champ/colcannon could make

great potato cakes to pair with poached eggs and spinach or
bacon for a simple but popular breakfast, easily adapted for Just as you would do so at lunch or dinner,
a vegetarian version. consider creating a breakfast special using
pre-prepared items from other meals that
Don’t forget about fish! Many people enjoy fish for breakfast might otherwise go to waste.
and a simple pan-fried fillet of fresh fish provides an excellent
healthy breakfast option. Why not add fish from the dinner menu What about a quiche, an omelette,
as a breakfast special or add a changing seasonal fish option as a a breakfast burrito or a frittata?
staple on your breakfast menu? Consider including smoked fish Feature these dishes on the dining room’s
- smoked trout or smoked mackerel - which, if vacuum packed, Daily Breakfast Specials blackboard.
have a longer shelf life.
Daily specials are easily interchangeable
and guests see new choices each day to offset any
Careful stock management and use of specials concerns you or they may have about
to utilise product that is over-stocked or a scaled back menu.
prepped, will cut food waste - saving you
Just make sure to have a different
money and doing your bit for the planet.
special each day!

A great way to use up black

and overripe bananas are kefirs,
banana bread, parfaits, ice cream.
They can also be kept frozen.

3. RE-ENGINEERING YOUR BREAKFAST MENU 4

4. What’s in season?
Don’t forget the children!
Write your menu with the flexibility to include seasonal produce.
The hotel breakfast is a big occasion for children, and if
kids are happy, parents are happy, so make sure they are
Seasonal specials: not an afterthought.
Ensuring you have child-friendly portions/options and
Breakfast specials can be used to celebrate the seasons. In autumn, why not add a dish like
calling this out specifically on your menu, or with a
Pan-fried field mushrooms on sourdough toast (option to add farmhouse blue cheese)?
dedicated child menu, will make them feel looked after
as well as reducing the potential for waste.
Seasonal substitutions: Popular dishes for children include French toast or
buttermilk pancakes. French toast is a great way to use
Seasonal sourcing doesn’t have to mean creating whole new dishes or re-writing menus. Substituting one or two yesterday’s bread while pancake dry mix can be prepared
ingredients as they come in and out of season is a great way to incorporate seasonality. Write your dish descriptions the night before and buttermilk added as and when
to accommodate this. This is a great way to keep your target margin on a dish as ingredient prices fluctuate. they’re ordered. Both are cheaper options than a cooked
Irish breakfast and a more popular treat for children!

SEASONAL BREAKFAST IDEAS

Light/Healthy Breakfast Vegetarian Breakfast

Homemade granola or porridge Poached eggs on sourdough toast

with seasonal fruit compote with in-season vegetables

Strawberries, rhubarb or berries Think spinach, kale, purple sprouting broccoli

in summer to apple or pear in as they come into season, to mushrooms, tomatoes,
autumn and winter even asparagus during its short Irish season

Preserve in season:

If you can source fruit and vegetables at a good price at the peak of their season and make compotes, jams, relishes,
chutneys, and pickles to preserve them, you will build an incredible larder of garnishes and accompaniments that
will really step up your breakfast offering. This is an effective way of making efficient use of labour at times when
business is low.

Talk to your supplier You have heard it before, but the number one thing
to find out what’s you can do to make your business more sustainable is
coming up and where to keep your menu seasonal. Maintain dish margin by
best value and flavour having the flexibility to substitute ingredients rather than
are to be found. buying the same produce even when prices fluctuate or
they’re imported. The quality is well worth the effort. 3. RE-ENGINEERING YOUR BREAKFAST MENU 5
5. Local flavour
Businesses need each other’s support now more than ever, and what goes around comes
around; businesses that support local get it back in spades.

Look around for suppliers in your local area, county or region – or outstanding artisan suppliers from across Ireland.
Is there a local food network you can tap into to connect you with local small producers directly? If you work Want to break with convention? …
through distributors/wholesalers or have existing contracts in place, ask them to help you source the producers Focus on a gourmet local breakfast
you want to feature. The changes enforced on us by Covid-19 are hard, but they
do present a great opportunity to do things differently.
} For core breakfast items like Irish breakfast meats, there will be a price premium for high quality local produce.
What about a gourmet Taste of Place breakfast?
Trial cooking, plating and eating these items; can you reduce portion size based on the quality they offer? Good
artisan sausages tend to have a much higher meat content and are more filling and flavoursome. Dry cured rashers What if you dispensed with all the usual extensive list of
do not have the high water content found in cheaper rashers and therefore will not lose as much weight when cold breakfast items and just offered a really special local
cooked. Plate waste will be reduced by offering customers a small but tastier portion. Enhance these core items and artisan cook to order breakfast?
with a balance of fruit or vegetables and some fibre, like a little sage
This could go up on a blackboard daily and offer the best
and apple stuffing as a bed to your artisan sausage or a slice of baked
of what’s in season.
apple as a base to your local award winning black pudding.
It is something unexpected but, if done well, could earn
} Can you move to locally sourced free range or organic eggs? Again,
you a reputation for really special breakfasts.
there is going to be a price differential here, but as a relatively low-
cost ingredient, this could be a good opportunity, both to elevate your Knowing your customer/s and understanding the market/s
breakfast offering and show your commitment to local suppliers. you operate in will help you make the right decision.

} From yoghurt and preserves, to fruit, cheeses, honey and breads, there
are lots of opportunities to tell a local story at breakfast that will
enhance your guest’s stay and contribute to your local economy

Sourcing direct and local adds to your sustainability credentials by reducing your
carbon footprint. It also has the feel-good factor of supporting and being part of
your local food community and really elevating the experience for your guest –
giving them something to talk about!

Adding local flavour to your breakfast menus enhances your guest experience,
raises the quality of your menus and allows you create a menu that has its own
local food story and helps give your business greater stand out.

Today’s guest has an ever-greater awareness of the importance of buying local –

they want to see it in action on your menu too.

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6. Too much meat?
The full Irish breakfast is not going away, but lots of people are moving away from meat and
looking for lighter breakfast options. Think about how you can offer vegetarian and plant-based
options, as well as light, healthy options that are not fried.

These changes may help guests consume less meat

‘Vitality’/’Healthy’/’Light’ breakfast overall at breakfast, making your menu a little more
sustainable and also reducing food costs.
This could be about taking items that you currently offer but positioning or selling them
differently, for example:

} Homemade granola, or porridge, with raw local honey

} Local natural yoghurt, fresh fruit salad (or seasonal fruits)

} Carrot, orange and ginger juice

Add efficiencies by leaning on menu items already

featured on the dinner menu or using up left over
prepped ingredients.
Charcuterie & cheese

Do guests really need to be offered a selection of meats as part of the cold breakfast before
ordering their main breakfast item?

Instead why not make a charcuterie & cheese board a stand-alone main item on your
breakfast menu, rather than as a prelude to a cooked breakfast?

Source a small selection of quality Irish produce, pair with good quality bread and a nice
chutney/preserve, and make it a standout item in its own right – and one that can be easily
assembled when ordered.

The humble spud

An inexpensive ingredient loved by most people, being creative with potatoes could offer an
opportunity to add high margin but appealing dishes to your breakfast menus and is a great
way of using up last night’s mashed potato or baked potato.

3. RE-ENGINEERING YOUR BREAKFAST MENU 7

7. Make your own or buy in the best
Are there items on your breakfast that you are buying in that could be made in-house?
Do you have the labour and skills available? Could it work out to be more cost-effective?

Items like:

} Granola, brown bread, jams and other preserves are very simple to make
and allow you to add something unique to your menu. Pay attention
to the strengths, skills Grow it yourself: Do you or anyone on your
} What about overnight oats, made up in house and presented in recycled, and interests of your team team have green fingers? Is there space in
sterilised glass yogurt pots or small Kilner jars? members; you may have a your hotel grounds for a small garden? Think
staff member who would really apples, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries,
} Even something like sourdough bread, which is a long process but very
thrive on taking charge tomatoes, herbs … As well as getting a new
inexpensive to make and normally quite expensive to buy, can be woven
of making breads and appreciation for these items in your cooking,
into the daily kitchen routine relatively easily if there is someone who
preserves. your customers will love them and doing so
takes an interest in it.
will also reduce food miles. All in all, it’s a
great part of your breakfast story.
Do the costings on ingredients and labour – does it make sense to make them in-house?
Trends that will be around well into the future
Sometimes it can make more sense to leave things to the experts; if you can source include; supporting local businesses, using
a high-quality product from an excellent supplier at a viable price that can be a seasonal ingredients, a Taste of Place and
better option. Do the maths. environmentally responsible practices.

A whole team approach to breakfast

Involve the entire kitchen team in reviewing and innovating your breakfast Ideas for using up breakfast items
menu - from patisserie, to commis chefs at starters section, to chefs on
Is your breakfast menu on
main course dinner. No matter how well you plan, invariably there will be some
your website? An appealing
leftovers from breakfast.
Breakfast is too important ‘a moment of truth’ for guests not to have breakfast offering may help
everyone’s input. make the decision to book. 1. Rashers: lardons for salads, soups, and pasta dishes
Let people know what is
Good communication between those responsible for dinner and those special about your breakfast 2. Black & white pudding: croquettes, frittatas, stuffing and
responsible for breakfast is essential, even for things like agreeing what on their booking journey. crusts for meats
leftover dinner ingredients are available for use as breakfast specials. See the section on ‘Upselling 3. Sausage: soups, cassoulet, pasta and ragu dishes, hash
and Communications’ for
more tips. 4. Tomatoes: soups, sauces, salads, side dishes, dressings
Senior chefs and Good communication Breakfast chef and
F&B manager and handover breakfast service 5. Mushrooms: sauces, risottos, pasta dishes, soups
closing down the are essential supervisor/manager
6. Bread: French toast, breadcrumbs, bread and butter pudding
kitchen at night between the two the next morning

3. RE-ENGINEERING YOUR BREAKFAST MENU 8

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contains clickable links
Inspiring breakfasts
If you’re looking for inspiration, these interesting and award-winning breakfast menus and concepts should get the ideas
flowing and the taste buds tingling.

Run in association with Fáilte Ireland, the Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards celebrate the people and businesses
that make the first meal of the day as memorable as any fine dining experience. Some winning and highly commended
breakfasts in the 2020 awards programme include:

} Limerick Strand Hotel Overall winner in 2020. A lot of care goes into choosing items for the breakfast menu and
highlighting local suppliers. The menu has a clear layout with a straightforward offering which references local producers.

} At The Twelve Hotel, Barna, Co Galway, as well as all the classics, the breakfast menu includes slow cooked duck with
poached eggs and warm wild rabbit on rosti.

} Lough Bishop House, Collinstown, Co Westmeath is a an example of a tourism business where everything for breakfast Other great examples include:
is either made, reared or grown on site, including eggs, soda bread, plum jam and apple juice from the orchard.
} The Bloombury (Doyle Collection), London
} Cliff at Lyons, Celbridge, Co Kildare is a good example of a concise breakfast menu where everything is prepared to order. presents its breakfast menu in a similar style to a
} Breakfast at Stauntons on the Green, Dublin includes an award-winning Irish tea brack sourced from a local artisan dinner menu with beverages at the top, followed
producer The Cupcake Bloke. by To Start, Mains & Sides. Ordering is clear and
simple for guests and it makes breakfast feel like
} At Sheedy’s Doolin Boutique B&B, Doolin, Co Clare, all products are locally sourced from artisan suppliers and herbs are
a real occasion. All the food from the breakfast menu
from their own garden.
is prepared fresh from kitchen upon order.
} The breakfast menu at Ashford Castle in Cong, Co Mayo is inspired by its former owner, Lord Ardilaun, whose insistence
} At Breac House, on Horn Head in Donegal, breakfast
on only the freshest and most varied of produce from local orchards, fields and gardens is maintained today. The hotel won
is delivered into a private hatch outside each room
the Breakfast Sustainability Award for its use of local ingredients.
for guests to enjoy in their room, on the terrace or in
} Rua Café in Castlebar, Co Mayo uses lots of local produce and its breakfast dishes range from Leon chorizo with fried egg, the garden. Local and seasonal produce are to the fore
sautéed spuds and spinach to Achill Island smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and home made brown soda bread. and they have also collaborated on a unique range of
pottery designed and made by a local potter.

} At Inis Meain Suites on Inis Meain, Aran Islands,

Co Galway, its breakfast box is delivered to each suite
without disturbance. Items include freshly baked
breads, boiled eggs from their own hens, cured meat,
fish, and soft cheese. Most elements change daily
and it’s designed to give healthy breakfast options
for every taste.

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