English breakfast

I think “breakfast” is interesting words and interesting food. When I was a junior high school student in Japan, my English teacher taught us the origin of the words. Breakfast “breaks” a “fast” which people do with sleeping. In Japan, we call breakfast just “morning meal” if I translate in a direct way. Therefore, we do not have the idea of breaking fast with the meat at morning.

In the stories of Sherlock Holmes, Doyle merely gives the readers the descriptions of eating, but sometimes he gives it and it often nearly ends of the narrative. It means that Holmes almost solve the case and not in rush. It seems to emphasise Holmes's priority, solving cases and not eating, again. For example, Watson says that

A bath at Baker Street and a complete change fresh-ened me up wonderfully. When I came down to our room I found the breakfast laid and Holmes pouring out the coffee. 
‘Here it is, ‘ said he, laughing and pointing to an open newspapers. ‘The energetic Jones and the ubiquitous reporter have fixed it up between them. But you have had enough of the case. Better have your ham and eggs first’
(Sign, 81)

Watson is relaxed with having the bath, and Holmes seems to be relaxed with eating and drinking. Doyle does not give the description of Holmes’s eating in this narrative, but those descriptions help to imagine that Holmes enjoys his meal with his friend.

According to Joshi, “Breakfasts were not uncommon. A breakfast meal consisted of dishes such as fruits, scones, bull’s eye, bacon etc. Meat, fish, and poultry were common and fresh or canned vegetables were served with most meals” in Victorian Era. “Breakfast was an important meal. Even the simplest of middle class breakfasts consisted of bacon, eggs, ham, haddock, toast, coffee and fruits” (E2BN). 

Therefore, their breakfast is not “full” English breakfast and I think it emphasises Holmes’s rationalism of eating.

I associate breakfast with like white rice, miso-soup, grilled fish, and some kind of pickled vegetables. Of course, some Japanese prefer the western-style and they eat bread, eggs, and salad for breakfast. I feel the western-style food is modern and I did not know about “English breakfast” before I came to the United Kingdom for my study abroad. However, many people said me that “you should try English Breakfast! “.

Then I have tried some English Breakfast in the United Kingdom.

There was a dish of fruit but I forget to take a photo with it. I think the reason why I forget to take a photo of the dish of fruit as “English breakfast” is I do not have a habit to eat fruits with breakfast. In addition, a roasted tomato surprised me. I had never eaten a roasted tomato in Japan. I have cooked tomato for soup, sauce, some kind of heating tomato but no a roasted tomato. Sometimes I cook English breakfast by myself, and I usually put a roasted tomato on the plate.

I have tried other types of English breakfast in York.

It was the first time to eat “black pudding”. Honestly, I do not like this pudding. In Japan, we do not have this kind of “blood” pudding. And I noticed eating full English breakfast takes a long time because of the number of foods. I thought it is because Holmes does not take a full English breakfast and he often eats only ham and eggs.

In BBC’s SHERLOCK, there is a scene of breakfast in the Victorian era.

Doyle does not give the detail of Mycroft Holmes in the original stories, however, he likes eating in BBC’s SHERLOCK series. There are so many dishes and meets but those kinds of meets on the clip are not ordinary according to Joshi and E2BN. Mycroft says he already knows the truth of case but he would not like to investigate it himself because he would not like to walk and ask Sherlock to do.  It seems to be one of the dramatic interpretations to emphasise his richness and interest for eating food and it is same way of using food to describe one's priority.