TYPES OF MEALS
Early morning tea historically was brought by a housemaid who lit the bedroom fire while
the lady sipped her tea, was accompanied by paper-thin bread and butter, or plain biscuits:
these were home-made. The ritual of early morning tea was strictly observed in even
moderately wealthy. Today it is referred to the tea served by room service in the morning
usually placed by the guest while placing the wakeup call also referred to as the bed tea by
many hotels.
Breakfast The longest period of time we go without eating is at night, it is the first meal of
the day, usually consumed in the morning. The word is a compound of "break" and "fast",
comes from an old saying "breaking the fast," referring to the conclusion of fasting since the
previous day's last meal. Breakfast meals vary widely in different cultures around the world,
but often include a carbohydrate such as cereal or rice, fruit and/or vegetable, protein,
sometimes dairy, and beverage.

Continental – It is also termed as “simple breakfast” for it includes breads and rolls
with butter and preserves and beverage. Breakfast rolls can include croissant, brioche,
Vienna rolls etc. and preserves include jam, marmalade and honey.
Juice
Breads
(served with butter and preserves)
Hot Beverages
a)
b)
c)
d)

Café complet- continental breakfast with coffee
Café simple- only coffee and nothing to eat
Thé Complet – continental breakfast with tea
Thé simple- only tea and nothing to eat
American – Traditional American breakfast is one which is neither too heavy nor too
light consisting of the following dishes:
Juice
Breakfast Cereal
(Served with warm/cold milk)
Eggs to order
(Served with meats, tomatoes and potatoes)
Bread rolls
(Served with butter and preserves)
Hot beverage

English/ Full breakfast – A full breakfast menu may consist of from two to eight
course and usually includes a cooked main course. Traditionally this was a very
substantial meal and including such items as chops, steak, kippers and porridge as the
main part of the meal. Traditionally it was known as the English breakfast now it is
commonly referred to as Scottish, Irish, Welish or simply British breakfast.
It is a heavy breakfast including the following dishes:
Juice/ stewed fruits/ fresh cut fruits
Breakfast cereals
(Served with warm/cold milk)
Fish
Eggs to order
(Served with meats, tomatoes and potatoes)
Meat
Breads
(Served with butter and preserves)
Hot Beverages

Indian – Indian since is a land of varied culture and varied eating habits depending on
the topography for the south Indian breakfast would be very different from the north
Indian breakfast or any other regional breakfast.
While planning the following courses are planned according to the dishes of the
region:
Cold Beverage
Hot main course
Hot beverage
A breakfast menu can be compiled from the following foods:
Fruits: Grapefruit, orange, melon, apple, papaya, grapes etc.
Fruit juices: Grapefruit, orange, tomato, pineapple, etc.
Stewed fruit: Prunes, figs, apples, pears, etc.
Yogurt: A selection.
Cereals: Cornflakes, shredded wheat, etc, porridge.
Eggs: Fried, boiled, poached, scrambled; omelets with cold cuts (streaky, back or gammon)
or tomatoes, mushrooms or sauté potatoes.
Fish: Grilled herrings, kippers or bloaters; fried sole, plaice or whiting; fish cakes, smoked
haddock.
Meats (hot): Fried or grilled bacon (streaky, back or gammon), sausages,
kidneys, calves’ liver, with tomatoes, mushrooms or sauté potatoes, potato cakes or bubble
and squeak.
Meats (cold): Cold cuts, Cured meat, pressed beef with sauté potatoes.
Preserves: Marmalade (orange, lemon, grapefruit, ginger), jams, honey.
Beverages: Tea, coffee, chocolate.
Bread: Rolls, croissants, brioche, toast, pancakes, waffles.
Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch eaten usually during the late morning but it
can extend to as late as 3pm. The word is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch. Brunch
originated in England in the late 19th century, served in a buffet-style manner, and became
popular in the United States in the 1930s. The term was coined in Britain in 1895 to describe
a Sunday meal.
Lunch is a midday meal, of varying size depending on the culture. The origin of the words
lunch and luncheon relate to a small meal originally eaten at any time of the day or night, but
during the 20th century gradually focused toward a small or mid-sized meal eaten at midday.
Lunch is the second meal of the day after breakfast. With the onset of industrialization in the
19th century, male workers began to work long shifts at the factory, severely disrupting the
age-old eating habits of rural life. Initially, workers were sent home for a brief dinner
provided by their wives, but as the workplace was removed farther from the home, working
men took to providing themselves with something portable to eat at a break in the schedule
during the middle of the day.
The lunch meal slowly became institutionalised in England when workers with long and
fixed hour jobs at the factory were eventually officially given an hour off of work as a lunchbreak, to give them strength for the afternoon shift. Stalls and later chop houses near the
factories began to provide mass-produced food for the working class and the meal soon
became an established part of the daily routine, remaining so to this day
Afternoon Tea/ Low Tea – it is served mainly in establishments between 3 pm and 6 p.m.
Observance of the custom originated amongst the wealthy classes in England in the 1840s.
Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford, is widely credited as transforming afternoon tea (or
low tea) in England into a late-afternoon meal. She found a light meal of tea (usually
Darjeeling) and cakes or sandwiches was such a perfect balance that she soon began inviting
her friends to join her. Afternoon tea quickly became an established and convivial repast in
many middle and upper class households.
It is generally served in the order they are listed, beverage being the first. An afternoon tea
pastry stand (Charlie stand) is often used as part of the service of full afternoon tea.
Hot beverage
Assorted tea sandwiches
Bread and butter with preserves
Hot toasted items
Scones
Cakes and pastries
High Tea – A high tea maybe available in addition to the full afternoon tea. It is usually
modified in an ala carte form wherein in addition to the normal afternoon menu items such as
grills, toasted snacks, fish, meats, salads, cold sweets and ices coexist.
Hot beverage
Hot snacks
Assorted tea sandwiches
Bread and butter with preserves
Hot toasted items
Scones
Cakes and pastries
Dinner – Historically, the term originated in Europe, the fashionable hour for dinner began to
be incrementally postponed during the 18th century, to two and three in the afternoon, until at
the time of the First French Empire an English traveller to Paris remarked upon the
"abominable habit of dining as late as seven in the evening.”
In many modern usages, the term dinner refers to the evening meal, which is now often the
most significant meal of the day in English-speaking cultures. When this meaning is used, the
preceding meals are usually referred to as breakfast, lunch and tea. In some areas, the
tradition of using dinner to mean the most important meal of the day regardless of time of
day leads to a variable name for meals depending on the combination of their size and the
time of day, while in others meal names are fixed based on the time they are consumed.
Supper - Supper may refer to either a late-evening snack (working and middle class usage)
or else to make a distinction between "supper" as an informal family meal (which would be
eaten in the kitchen or family dining room) as opposed to "dinner", a generally grander affair
(either or both in terms of the meal and the courses within the meal itself), which would be
eaten in the best dining room, could well have guests from outside the household, and for
which there might be a dress code. It is common for social interest and hobby clubs that meet
in the evening after normal dinner hours to announce that "a light supper" will be served after
the main business of the meeting.