Supper Partying: The Breakfast Club or the Day I Ditched Dinner Parties for Brekkie Dates

According to a 2014 study, Brisbanites are the earliest risers in the world. As someone who lives in Brisbane, I understand the appeal of being the bird that catches the worm (aka a five-minute queue at Christian Jacques). Getting up early, exercising, then getting coffee or breakfast with friends is a religion here. It makes sense. The sun is blazing and we must all carpe diem before we go home tomato-faced.

In the hotter months leading up to Christmas, it can be tricky to schedule, plan and host dinner parties. People’s schedules are crazy and it’s just too hot to cook. My answer to this problem is a breakfast party. Most people are free for an hour or two on a weekend morning; breakfast food requires practically no prep; and ultimately, it’s not as hot. Don’t be afraid to ask people to pay a reasonable per-person fee – eggs are expensive. You could even do it on a fortnightly basis and call it Breakfast Club, à la Molly Ringwald.

Here are my tips for hosting an excellent breakfast.

DIY stations are key

Never assume that you know what people want – especially when it comes to breakfast. People are very particular about what toppings they want on their pancakes, how toasted toast should be or how they like their butter spread. For example, a friend of mine prefers her butter to be spread on the non-holed side of a crumpet. (I know, you think you know someone.)

The main acts of a breakfast party should be dishes that can be easily customised – pancakes, crepes, French toast, hash browns, waffles. Then, you can lay out popular accompaniments and let people do their own thing. I think crepes are the best for this because they can be paired with sweet or savoury toppings and condiments and they’re shockingly easy to make (four ingredients! Nigella’s recipe rules). My crepe station included jam (Bonne Maman always), Nutella, kaya, homemade caramel, blueberries, strawberries, lemon and sugar and whipped cream.

Latkes make another great customisable dish. They’re a criminally underrated side. (I love Alison Roman’s recipe). Smoked salmon, sour cream, chives, dill, sliced red onion and caviar are conventional add-ons but you could go all-out and offer tuna ceviche or sliced radish and butter. If you’ve never latke’d before, I would recommend making them for yourself first (it’s a bit finnicky if you’re uninitiated) or I would buy supermarket hash browns and serve with the above – potato is potato, after all. 

Batch on, batch off

Breakfast food is simple, but the catch is that you have to cosplay as a school camp chef and dole out big batches of eggs, bacon, sausages etc, to ensure there is enough to go around. I assume that everyone’s going to eat at least two to three of everything and go from there. If in doubt, cook more than you think you need.

You can’t host a breakfast club without breaking (serving) a few eggs. I like mine poached. There’s a conspiracy that poached eggs are particularly challenging. I just keep a large pot of water on a rolling simmer, crack the eggs into the water and fish them out after 3-4 minutes. You don’t need to add vinegar to the water or swirl it to create a vortex (I personally think all those hacks are hoaxes). If the thought of poaching five eggs at the same time stresses you out, switch to soft boiling. Pop a bunch of eggs in a large pot and remove after six minutes for the perfect gooiness.

Another superb way to cook a bunch of eggs is in a shakshuka. You could even do this in a deeper baking tray for peak efficiency.   

I always cook my bacon rashers in a 180-degree oven on lined baking trays – it’s crispier, more efficient and easier to clean up. The same goes for sausages of any kind.

Drinks

To beat the summer heat, I made cold, easy-to-batch drinks like espresso lemon tonics and iced coconut matcha. I don’t often enlist a sous because I loathe sharing the kitchen, but in this particular case I strongly recommend you ask someone to help with the drinks, especially if you’re serving mostly hot coffee. A carafe of orange juice is also a classic.

Other breakfast-y suggestions

Here are some other offerings that would be great at a breakfast party:

• Scones: plain, fruit-filled or made savoury with leek and pecorino. Scones can easily be prepped in advance and frozen until the day of the party. Make sure to serve with lots of salted butter, clotted cream or jam.
• Congee! A big pot of plain congee is a treat and can be served alongside a plethora of toppings like pickles, soy marinated eggs, youtiao, fried pork mince and fresh herbs.
• Frittata is an unrivalled way to do a fridge cleanout at the end of the week. Serve it with aioli, hot sauce and lots of lemon.
• Local pastries are great if you’re time-poor. Just cut them in half or thirds so everyone can try a bit of everything. Plain croissants also make a great base for bacon and eggs.

Keep up with Becca over on @supper.partying