How to make a hotel breakfast at home

At Thon Hotels, breakfast is important to us. Your weekend should be a break from a busy week, so here we share how to serve up a wonderful weekend breakfast in a cosy hotel atmosphere.

Preparation is key

One of the best things about staying at a hotel is waking up to a ready-made breakfast. So it’s a good idea to prepare as much as possible the evening before.

Set the table with your best tableware and cutlery. Get some candles of different shapes and sizes and large cloth napkins. If you don't have cloth napkins, tea towels will be fine. Set out large plates and small bowls and save your favourite newspaper to read at breakfast.

Prepare as much as possible in advance: pancake batter, smoothies, chia porridge and Skagen shrimp salad are examples of items that can be made the evening before.

Tips to set the mood

Choose a suitable playlist for background music to set the mood. Try for example "Jazzy Morning" on Spotify or Stacey Kent's album "Raconte Moi".

The secret behind a proper hotel breakfast

What else is typical of a hotel breakfast?

Variety matters! A full buffet of delicious food, a combination of warm and cold dishes, and wonderful drinks in different forms and colours. Not to mention a selection of sweet pastries and cakes! One of the best things about a hotel breakfast is treating yourself to a dessert after your savoury breakfast.

It would be hard work to serve such an extravagant buffet at home, but you can copy it on a smaller scale. Offering greater variety than normal and including a few luxury treats will do the trick.

Coffee tips

Organic filter coffee is a must at all our hotels. Take a look at what is available in the store. We really love the "Green World" brand, for example.

Add some colour to your breakfast table.

The secret behind a good hotel breakfast is doing that little bit extra – and adding the surprise of something a little out of the ordinary. Here are some suggestions for how to bring some hotel ambience to your breakfast table.

• Freshly brewed tea or coffee in your favourite cup.
• A cold, fresh beverage – like a smoothie or juice. Can be served in a stemmed glass on ice.
• Fresh bread or bread rolls straight from the oven can lift any breakfast to new heights, although toast is always a “must”.
• A good topping or salad – like a Skagen shrimp salad or tuna fish salad.
• Good cheese with lots of flavour.
• Soft, good butter – try a flavoured variety.
• Eggs the way you like them ; and don’t forget the bacon.
• Fresh fruit and colourful berries, like grapes, strawberries, melon or raspberries.
• Sliced or cubed vegetables such as tomato, cucumber and red peppers are healthy options. You could also fry up some potatoes and mushrooms, or oven bake some root vegetables, if you want to try something new.
• A delicious yoghurt – or maybe a healthy porridge?
• Tasty ham or smoked salmon make great toppings!
• A warm dish raises the bar – what about crumpets, pancakes or chicken meatballs?
• Something sweet to round off with, such as cheese and jam, croissants or fruit compote.

Serving tips

Arrange your toppings and side dishes on elegant platters and serve some of the dishes in portion-sized bowls. For example, chia porridge topped with granadilla/passion fruit can be served in a jam-jar. Play the host – pour the coffee, offer something to drink and decorate the table with fresh flowers.