Toast Toppings and Champagne

Though we primarily think of toast at breakfast time, in fact it is quite a popular food throughout the day and regularly partnering dishes from canapés to main dishes. Surprisingly, toast sits in second place for the most popular breakfast choice with us Brits thus seeing cereal taking the top spot, nonetheless 12 million loaves (of bread) are sold each day which means that oven grills and toasters are immensely active toasting a decent percentage of those slices daily!

With regards to toppings for toast we open up a vast selection of preferred options from savoury to sweet. Many will of course opt for plain toast and others will have a specific preference on their toasty levels such as lightly toasted or burnt. Once we have set the toaster at the heating levels to tickle our toasty fancy, we can then explore the various toppings which we can add. Outside of non spreadable options such as eggs / salmon / bacon etc we have a wide variety of flavours to take the knife to and layer the top of our freshly toasted slice of bread. I’ve decided to also leave out the much acclaimed and loved Welsh rarebit at this point with me seeing it more as a lunch / dinner  meal over a spreadable breakfast option.

Popular toppings for toast:

Butter

Jam

Marmalade

Peanut butter

Avocado

Cottage cheese

Marmite / yeast extract / Bovril

Honey

Paté

and much, much more… Just how creative can you be?!

Now to spice things up a bit we want to bring in Champagne and for this article why not rely upon a classic gold medal winning example from Roger-Constant Lemaire and their Trianon label. This fine example of 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir gets a total of four years resting on the lees down in the Tournant family cellars in the village of Villers-sous-Châtillon.

Champagne for breakfast is actually quite a common request and desire for many of us, plenty of hotels across the country will offer such a service with a common accompaniment being eggs benedict with smoked salmon.

“I remember a very fine wine tour I was on in Georgia and many of the finer hotels we stayed at always had sparkling wines on offer for breakfast with at least one Champagne on offer along with another traditional method sparkling wine (I did not see Prosecco funny enough). To be honest, it was a bit too early for me in the morning for enjoying a glass of Champagne, but it must be known that morning time sees our palates untainted by foods and drinks we’ve consumed during the day thus our palette is far more alive, sensitive and alert to taste sensations.” Christopher Walkey

Champagne Roger-Constant Lemaire ‘Trianon’ – Tasting notes: “Always a bold Champagne. 40% Chardonnay 60% Pinot Noir. Citrus, rich yellow stone fruits, red berries, flaky pastry nose. Flavours are intense and refreshing. A gold medal winning Gastronomic Champagne at the Glass of Bubbly Awards. Once again yellow fruits on the palate, floral, yeasty, citrus and more.“