Why English and French breakfasts are so unalike

The ‘Full English breakfast’ was most probably invented to distance itself from France and its gastronomy, Patrick Rambourg, a  historian of French gastronomy, confirmed to The Connexion.

The claim was raised by American anthropologist Kaori O’Connor in The English Breakfast (Bloomsbury Academic, 2013) in which she wrote that: “There was no such thing as a French breakfast... So breakfast time became the bastion of Englishness and breakfast emerged as the national meal.”

“From a general standpoint, the argument stands considering the hegemony of French gastronomy within elite circles in the 18th century. It was served at every table,” said Mr Rambourg, adding that London was already attracting French chefs with positions in restaurants. 

Mr Rambourg offered different reflections on the Victorian period when both the English and French breakfasts appeared and left open a debate about its English equivalent.

Breakfast a result of change in working patterns

The French petit déjeuner only appeared around the 19th century when France shifted its two-meal per day system to three, breaking a longstanding tradition.

People had a habit of eating a déjeuner but the first meal was considered le dîner, which took place from 10:00am to 12:00pm.  

Then came the souper (supper) at 17:00, Rambourg explained.

Over decades, as the working day was reorganised, dîner and déjeuner were put off until later in the day and souper progressively disappeared.

The petit déjeuner was invented but given other names at the time. It was referred to as ‘déjeuner à la tasse’ (lunch from the cup) or ‘déjeuner dinatoire’ in a reference to the meal that preceded the dîner, resulting in a profusion of confusion amongst French people.

It was around this time, during the Victorian era, that the first English breakfasts appeared.

“Large cooked breakfasts do not figure in English life and letters until the 19th century, when they appeared with dramatic suddenness,” wrote Ms O’Connor.

Breakfast a 'British invention'

“Breakfast, it is undeniable, is a British invention. It is a way of eating that is very English. When you look at the ingredients, there are eggs, bacon, sausages...,” said Rambourg.

Indeed, it included ingredients such as bacon, sausages, eggs, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, and fried bread or toast.

It signals the importance given by the British population to it, as it is the most calorifically dense meal of the day.

French people later organised their breakfast around coffee, bread and jam and croissants, signalling that the country was still placing importance on déjeuner.

“The ‘full English breakfast’ raises the question, did the population have access to that profusion of meat? 

It is a rich meal with a diversity of products that benefits a part of society that has access to everything,” Mr Rambourg said.

“I wonder whether breakfast, at the core of it, was a meal meant for the people,” he added.

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