Sunday brunch in Athens city center has become a favorite tradition among the city’s residents, especially for those who stay out late on Saturday night! It started many years ago, out of the need for people to spend time with friends after a night of revelry, but it certainly still has to do with spending time with loved ones. Brunch is the perfect combination of lunch and breakfast, but it’s much more than just a big morning meal. A group of friends, a huge variety of delicious recipes that we simply can’t get enough of trying, are some of the ingredients that make us want you to fall in love with brunch as much as we have.
Many people say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. They might be right, but for us, they are only half right. When it comes to the most important meal that should give us all the necessary energy to meet the increased demands of the day, then brunch is definitely the king. It is the ideal way to start your day, and if it were up to us, we would make it mandatory for everyone….. 🙂 Whether you like the idea or not, the fact is that brunch on Sundays and other days of the week has come to stay in our lives, and this doesn’t seem to change anytime soon. But before we start talking about the future of brunch, let’s take a quick look at its evolution in the past.
1890s: The term ‘Brunch’ first appears
Many believe that Guy Beringer is the man who invented brunch. In a publication of Hunter’s Weekly in London in 1895, Beringer titled his article “Brunch: A Plea,” essentially a plea or proposal for the establishment of brunch as a meal that could replace the traditional Sunday breakfast and lunch, offering a more pleasant and relaxed social gathering, ideal for those who partied from Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Thus, brunch made its first appearance with the promise of making Sunday mornings brighter for Saturday night owls. His proposal naturally included the idea of brunch being accompanied by alcoholic drinks, and perhaps we should thank him for the existence of Bloody Mary and Mimosa as brunch companions. In 1896, the word ‘brunch’ first appeared in America, specifically in the article “The Newest Thing in Lunches” in New Oxford News and Notes for Women. It introduced this new trend to its readers.
1920s: The luxurious brunch appears in hotels
In the 1920s, brunch became an option served in luxurious hotels for all the elit of USA. It is known that the famous writer Emily Post frequently enjoyed brunch at a luxury hotel, which featured eggs, oysters, and caviar in the 1920s.
1930s: An early adoption of brunch
In the early 1930s, brunch gained considerable popularity in America, as many famous Hollywood stars made stops in Chicago during their train travels, where they would stop for meals during the late morning hours. They would visit the Pump Room at the Ambassador Hotel for brunch.
Later, around the mid-1930s, brunch was adopted by the general public as people realized how easy, convenient, and relatively inexpensive it was. Housewives, singles, and working women began making various brunch recipes at home. Fried bacon, donuts, pancakes, combined with orange juice and coffee, became a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend quality time with friends or family.
1940s: Sunday brunch is now for everyone
By 1940, brunch had become widely embraced, and one of the first cookbooks dedicated to brunch was published. Due to its low cost of preparation and because it was a 2-in-1 meal, it gained immense popularity. On Saturdays and Sundays, people made bacon, waffles, jam, fruit, and coffee, and with a few adjustments and the use of oatmeal, there were more economical recipes for the rest of the week.
1950s: Brunch comes into our homes
In the 1950s, right after World War II, there was a significant decline in Sunday morning church services. As a result, people stayed at home with their families for a relaxed brunch. Some ready-made foods began appearing in supermarkets, making brunch a combination of homemade and store-bought ingredients, which made its preparation even easier.
1960s & 1970s: Brunch breaks the rules
The 1960s and 1970s had a generally free-spirited vibe, and this carried over into brunch with the “do whatever you want with recipes” mentality. All major cookbooks disagreed on what should and should not be served, and the disregard for rules was evident. In these decades, everything was about the spirit of brunch, and the only rule was that there were no rules.
1980s: Brunch at the top
Nearly a hundred years after its first appearance, the media declared that brunch had almost replaced the traditional American meal, i.e., the classic Sunday dinner. Additionally, the rapid development of the 1980s brought brunch back into restaurants and hotels.
1990s: The love for brunch
In the 1990s, people were truly in love with brunch! Restaurants began offering it in huge amounts on Saturdays as well as Sundays. Going out for brunch became a much more popular option than staying home.
2000s: Brunch becomes a global trend
Chinese dim sum, a variety of small Chinese dishes traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch, saw a huge rise in popularity. Almost every cooking style began to include recipes with at least one egg. Most people started forming lines to get into the most famous brunch spots, while others took a stand on its socio-economic implications.
