The idea of the English breakfast is infinitely more interesting than a plate of breakfast foods should be,” says the English Breakfast Society (yes, there really is such a thing as the English Breakfast Society). Eggs, bacon, sausages, tomato, mushrooms – perhaps some beans and fried bread on the side. Each on their own a prosaic food, but in combination – irresistible
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The full English that won’t give you a heart attack (and yes it includes bacon)
There’s nothing better than a proper cooked breakfast. Here’s how to get the day off to a heart-healthy start (and save over 700 calories)
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Miranda Levy
15 February 2025 6:00am GMT
Miranda Levy
Breakfast
An English breakfast absolutely must be enjoyed – but as an occasional treat, rather than a daily ritual Credit: Andrew Crowley for The Telegraph
“The idea of the English breakfast is infinitely more interesting than a plate of breakfast foods should be,” says the English Breakfast Society (yes, there really is such a thing as the English Breakfast Society). Eggs, bacon, sausages, tomato, mushrooms – perhaps some beans and fried bread on the side. Each on their own a prosaic food, but in combination – irresistible.
What is it about the good old fry up that has stood the test of time? It’s as English a ritual as complaining about the weather or losing a World Cup semi-final. The cooked breakfast transcends social boundaries, from the formica table of a lorry drivers’ café, to a hungover feast the morning after an Oxbridge ball. Whether we’re on a country-house mini break, or feeding visiting relatives in the kitchen, the full English is the breakfast of choice.
TC Callis is a nutritionist and the author of The Building Blocks of Life: A Nutrition Foundation for Healthcare Professionals. “The meal itself started in the Regency period, when upper-class families would gather to eat vast breakfasts such as devilled kidneys, sausages and black pudding,” she says. “Everyone else would eat porridge, or gruel.
UK NEWS WEBSITE OF THE YEAR 2024
Log in
Health Diet Weight loss
Explore Health and Fitness
The full English that won’t give you a heart attack (and yes it includes bacon)
There’s nothing better than a proper cooked breakfast. Here’s how to get the day off to a heart-healthy start (and save over 700 calories)
193
Gift this article free
Miranda Levy
15 February 2025 6:00am GMT
Miranda Levy
Breakfast
An English breakfast absolutely must be enjoyed – but as an occasional treat, rather than a daily ritual Credit: Andrew Crowley for The Telegraph
“The idea of the English breakfast is infinitely more interesting than a plate of breakfast foods should be,” says the English Breakfast Society (yes, there really is such a thing as the English Breakfast Society). Eggs, bacon, sausages, tomato, mushrooms – perhaps some beans and fried bread on the side. Each on their own a prosaic food, but in combination – irresistible.
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What is it about the good old fry up that has stood the test of time? It’s as English a ritual as complaining about the weather or losing a World Cup semi-final. The cooked breakfast transcends social boundaries, from the formica table of a lorry drivers’ café, to a hungover feast the morning after an Oxbridge ball. Whether we’re on a country-house mini break, or feeding visiting relatives in the kitchen, the full English is the breakfast of choice.
TC Callis is a nutritionist and the author of The Building Blocks of Life: A Nutrition Foundation for Healthcare Professionals. “The meal itself started in the Regency period, when upper-class families would gather to eat vast breakfasts such as devilled kidneys, sausages and black pudding,” she says. “Everyone else would eat porridge, or gruel.
“But as the middle-classes expanded during the Industrial Revolution, so did the English breakfast, which pretty much resembles the plateful we see today.”
Meat, fat and eggs were rationed during the Second World War, but after the middle of the 20th century, industrial farming increased, making meat, dairy, eggs, and other foods more readily available.
As joyous an occasion as an English breakfast can be, it does come with a health warning. “A cooked breakfast is one of my favourite meals,” says Nicola Marsh, a registered dietitian and sports nutritionist. “And while it’s entirely possible to eat this meal in a health-promoting way, you definitely need to think about your heart.
“For example, fried foods do not have the healthiest fatty-acid profile. This is largely down to the presence of saturated fat, so-called because of the large number of hydrogen atoms surrounding each carbon atom in the make-up of the food.”
