Personally I can’t stand it!!!
Love it or hate it, the time-honoured testament to day-drinking we call brunch has existed since the 1890s.
A brief history of brunch
According to Jay, K. the very word “brunch,” a portmanteau of the words breakfast and lunch, was reportedly first used in print in 1895 by British writer Guy Beringer. Beringer, a writer for Hunter’s Weekly, wrote an article entitled “Brunch: A Plea,” which made the case for a Sunday meal that was lighter than the typically heavy, traditional Sunday supper. “Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting,” Beringer implored. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” The popular periodical Punch picked up his article in 1896, and the idea began to spread, reaching American shores by the 1920s
The first brunch in the UK
Many believe the first brunches to have been England’s hunt breakfasts, which were a feast of meats hunted that day, along with eggs, stews, fruits and sweets. Others believe it was the Catholics who first enjoyed a late-morning brunch, a result of their early-morning pre-church fasting. (Jay, n/a)
The first brunch in the USA
According to Mashed, (2019) the United States brunch got its start in Chicago, the halfway point on transcontinental train journeys made by Hollywood celebrities and the wealthy elite. Passengers arrived seeking a sophisticated late-morning meal, and the local hotels — like the famed Pump Room at the Ambassador Hotel (now the Public) — were only too happy to oblige, as most restaurants remained closed on Sundays.
Brunch today
Brunch, for one, is inextricably tied to drinking culture. Not only did the meal popularise the habit of daytime drinking, but it gave birth to several cocktails, like the Bloody Mary and Mimosa. (Ferdman & Ingraham, 2015)
“This popular phenomenon has recently stepped up a notch, embracing the bottomless brunch well and truly with open arms. Inspired by Manhattan’s trend, many popular London restaurant now offer, not only top-notch food, but as many glasses of bubbles and/or cocktails as take your fancy; after all there’s nothing like a little hair of the dog” (Richman, 2015)
Why I can’t stand the bottomless culture
Brunch has become one of those meals that people think justifies alcohol before midday according to Dr Omair Ahmed, consultant. This is not my issue, many countries around the world drink before midday, my issue is what bottomless represents. One could argue that the drink quality may be a little below average, “Just keep in mind, that most places use lesser quality ingredients when offering these extreme drink discounts.” (Jackson, 2018), however that has not killed anyone…yet. My issue is bottomless does not suddenly mean ‘i don’t know my limits’. Jackson (2018) asserts how it doesn’t feel good for anyone that has to witness it, particularly the grown adult that is wasted on pear Bellini’s because they haven’t touched any of the free water.
Drink enough to enjoy your food and enjoy your experience, otherwise that brunch will end up in the back end of your toilet or mine. Why mine? Many people finish their bottomless brunch at around 2 pm and move onto a bar. They order cocktails with good quality alcohol and real measurements… guess what…. game over! Alcohol tolerance or rather the perception of tolerance is an interesting thing and when you ‘day drink’ people believe they won’t get as drunk as they would do on a night out. Remember it’s about the number of units you drink rather than how long you drink for.
References
- Ferdman, R. A. & Ingraham, C., 2015. How brunch became the most delicious—and divisive—meal in America. [Online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/10/how-brunch-became-the-most-delicious-and-divisive-meal-in-america/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.027e7be5ecdd [Accessed 11 April 2019].
- Jackson, K. C., 2018. How to Make the Most of a Boozy Brunch. [Online] Available at: https://www.myrecipes.com/extracrispy/how-to-make-the-most-of-a-boozy-brunch [Accessed 15 April 2019].
- Jay, K., n/a. The brief history of brunch. [Online] Available at: https://www.mashed.com/22358/brief-history-brunch/[Accessed 11 April 2019].
- Richman, N., 2015. THE RISE OF THE BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH. [Online] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/the-rise-of-the-bottomless-brunch-10017513.html[Accessed 11 April 2019].