Licking The Plate Clean: finishing off the Breakfast World Cup

So, I've had plenty of time to mull over the final stages of the Breakfast World Cup. It is now time for me to lay this ghost to rest, finish off the last few scraps that remain on the plate and digest it all in time for engaging once more with my original raison d'ėtre.


SECOND ROUND:

Mexico beats Chile

Brazil beats Australia

Costa Rica beats Greece

England beats Japan

Switzerland beats Argentina

Iran beats Ecuador

USA beats Algeria

Portugal beats South Korea

In these match-ups, it was a variety of flavours and textures that tended to win the battle. Each winner just had a wee bit more depth than the opposing breakfast. In close run clashes, a warmer, heartier dish would win the day over a colder one. A bit of warmth gets me going better at the start of the day.

And so, on to the...

QUARTER FINALS:

Mexico beats Costa Rica - the huevos rancheros flavours were more vibrant than those of the gallo pinto.

England beats Brazil - the hosts just couldn't match the total breakfasting of the English dish.

Switzerland beats USA - this was incredibly close, but the ease at which the Swiss breakfast was created gave it an edge for me over the pancakes.

Portugal beats Iran - another close one. Iran's breakfast was great, but the hearty warmth of the Portuguese dish did it for me.

Oh shiiiiiiii...we're getting close now...

SEMI FINALS:

Mexico beats Switzerland - vibrancy, warmth, spiciness...Although the muesli was easy to make, so too were the huevos rancheros, and with them came a much heartier depth.

England beats Portugal - the Portuguese dish was a powerful adversary, but ultimately lacked the incredible versatility of the full English, whose vast array of textures and moisture levels was too great to be overcome.

There can be only one...

FINAL:

England beats Mexico.

Slightly predictable, you might think. For me though, the full English breakfast is just the best way to go. Yes, my opinions may be Anglocentric and biased by years of eating this particular meal. Yes, yes, yes, yesyesyesyesyesIdon'treallycare.

Ultimately, the Breakfast World Cup was not about what is the greatest breakfast in the world. Rather, it was a way to try out new things and an exercise in making time to enjoy what should be a delicious and relaxing occasion, as opposed to a rush madcap dash to wolf some poorly cooked bread. Or worse, nothing at all.

Hopefully this has been an interesting read. There are a great many dishes here that I would recommend, but above all I would recommend making time in the morning to break your fast good and proper. The video below shows how one can feel if they do just that.