Feast of the morn
But there are exceptions, where the food is fresh, homemade and, as far as possible, local like at Le Manoir au Quat'Saisons in Great Milton outside Oxford in England.
It was here I woke on a glorious autumn morning, eager to walk through the gardens before breakfast.
I particularly wanted to see Michelin-star chef Raymond Blanc's kitchen garden. It was a splendid sight, with rows and rows of organic vegetables and herbs.
Raymond, in pristine whites, was already out there, gesticulating excitedly as he explained some new ideas to Tom Lewis, the general manager of Le Manoir a country house hotel with 19 luxurious rooms which is renowned for its food.
Raymond is passionate about the quality of ingredients he uses and is single-minded in his search for the best varieties.
We exchanged ideas. I got so carried away I almost missed breakfast.
The breakfast buffet had all the usual breakfast foods, except the quality of each item was superb crusty sourdough and pain de campagne, flaky croissants, pain au chocolat, and sticky Danish pastries.
There was thick sheeps' milk yoghurt and a diced seasonal fruit salad, Bircher apple and oatmeal muesli with plump yellow sultanas.
The choice was unbearable.
There were also Turkish figs, Moroccan apricots and Medjool dates.
I rarely eat a cooked breakfast but couldn't resist trying the "le petit déjeuner Anglais traditionnel".
It was dry-cured Oxfordshire bacon, fresh free range eggs, Oxfordshire sausage and a sweet Sicilian tomato. Also on the menu were scrambled free range eggs with tomato and smoked salmon from the Isle of Orkney, eggs Florentine poached with sautéed spinach and mornay sauce and eggs Bénédicte, poached with Oxfordshire bacon served on an English muffin with hollandaise sauce and garden herbs.
Grilled Scottish Loch Fyne kippers and smoked Scottish haddock also featured as did traditional French black pudding with apple purée and French and English farmhouse cheeses.
This quality doesn't come cheap but its refreshing to be able to find a place which actually delivers what it promises. Here are some of Le Manoir's breakfast recipes.
Serves 2
120g 1 ripe mango, peeled, stone removed, roughly chopped
120g pineapple, skin & core removed, roughly chopped
100 ml orange juice
150 ml water
10g fructose
In a blender, puree the mango, pineapple, orange juice, water and fructose for 30 seconds. Pour into glasses and serve.
Serves 2
1 ripe banana, peeled and roughly chopped
200ml Soya milk
2 tbsp honey
In a blender, puree the banana, Soya milk and honey for 30 seconds. Pour into glasses and serve.
Serves 4-6 depending on the size or helping.
Makes 14 x 3" pancakes
We love to cook American pancakes on the Aga for Sunday brunch.
250ml (8 flozs) buttermilk
1 free-range egg, preferably organic
15g (½oz) butter, melted
85g (3ozs) plain white flour
Good pinch of salt
1 tsp bread soda
Butter
Crispy bacon
Maple syrup or Irish honey
Mix the buttermilk, egg and melted butter in a large bowl, until smooth and blended. Sieve the flour, salt and baking soda together, stir into the buttermilk until the ingredients are barely combined, don't worry about the lumps. Do not over mix or the pancakes will be heavy.
Heat a heavy iron or non-stick pan until medium hot. Grease with a little clarified butter. Spoon 2 generous tablespoons of batter onto the pan, spread slightly with the back of the spoon.
Cook until the bubbles rise and break on the top of the pancake. Flip over gently. Cook until pale golden on the other side. Spread each with butter.
Serve a stack of three with crispy streaky bacon and maple syrup.
Serves 4
8 freshly laid free-range organic eggs
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Creamed Spinach see recipe below
4 thickish slices of homemade white yeast loaf
900g (2lb) fresh spinach
salt, freshly ground pepper and freshly grated nutmeg
Put the leaves in a heavy saucepan on a very low heat and cover tightly.
After a few minutes, stir and replace the lid. When the spinach is cooked after 5-8 minutes strain off the copious amount of liquid that has been released and press between two plates until almost dry. Chop roughly and return to the pan. Add 225-350ml (8-12fl oz) cream to the spinach and bring to the boil, stir well and thicken with a little roux if desired, otherwise stir over the heat until the spinach has absorbed most of the cream. Season with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.
Poach the eggs.
Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, add a little salt, reduce the heat, swirl the water, crack the egg and slip gently into the whirlpool in the centre. For perfection the water should not boil again, but bubble very gently just below boiling point. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes until the white is set and the yolk still soft and runny. Lift out gently on a slotted spoon and drain thoroughly.
Meanwhile, toast the bread. Heat 4 plates and butter the hot toast.
Spread two large spoonfuls of Creamed Spinach over each slice of the toast. Top with two plump poached eggs.
Serve with freshly ground pepper and Maldon sea salt divine.
Serves 8
This is a huge favourite with all our family and friends. It's such a good recipe to know about because it's made in minutes and so good. We vary the fruit through the seasons strawberries, raspberries, loganberries, blueberries and grated Cox's Orange Pippin apples or Egremont Russet in the Autumn. At Le Manoir they add pistachio and brazil nuts and a variety of seeds like linseed, amaranth, alfalfa, and raisins and dried blueberries and some natural yoghurt all organic.
6 heaped tbsp rolled oatmeal (Quaker Oats)
8 tbsp water
110g (8ozs) fresh strawberries
2 tsp honey
Soak the oatmeal in the water for 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, mash the strawberries roughly with a fork and mix with the oatmeal. Sweeten to taste with honey, a couple of teaspoons are usually enough, but it depends on how sweet the strawberries are. Serve with pouring cream and soft brown sugar.
Serves 1
1 dash of olive oil
10g butter
3 medium organic/free range, fresh eggs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
30g smoked salmon, roughly chopped
In a mixing bowl gently beat the eggs together with a pinch of salt and pepper.
In an omelette pan heat olive oil and butter till it begins to foam. Pour in the mixture and cook for a few seconds, with a fork stir the omelette repeat the process until the eggs are cooked to your liking (rare, medium rare and well done).
Add the pieces of salmon in the middle of the omelette. Roll the omelette and turn on to a plate.
With kitchen paper give form to the omelette. Brush the omelette with olive oil and serve.
Serves 4
2 grapefruit
2 oranges
2 tbsp freshly chopped mint
1 tbsp sugar approx.
4 sprigs of fresh mint
Peel and carefully segment the oranges and grapefruit into a bowl. Add the sugar and chopped mint; taste and add more sugar if necessary. Chill.
Serve in pretty bowls or, alternatively, arrange the segments of orange and grapefruit alternatively on the plate in a circle: pour a little juice over the fruit. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.
Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Church Road, Great Milton, Oxford, England. OX44 7PD; Tel: 0044 1844 278881; email: lemanoir@blanc.co.uk
Blackwater Valley Farmers Market which is the umbrella group for Kilavullen, Fermoy and Lismore Farmers Markets will launch their market today at 11am on the Quay in Fermoy, and on Sunday, November 6, in Lismore from 11.00am-3.30pm in the GAA and Community Centre. Enquiries about these markets to Michael Walsh; tel: 086-8377590.
Serving a City The Story of Cork's English Market by Diarmuid and Donal O'Drisceoil which is published by Collins Press is a wonderful read and one to put on the Christmas list essential reading for any Cork person.
Winter Food on RTE Radio 1 on Saturdays at 7.30pm, starts this evening. This is a new food series which focuses on the foods which are available to us seasonally. The programme will be presented by food writer and presenter Clodagh McKenna and produced by Aoife Nic Cormaic.
