Let’s Have Brunch

How many of you enjoy a good Sunday brunch? How did we end up with Sunday Brunch? Why Sunday? Why not Tuesday Brunch? Believe it or not, there is a whole history on how Sunday brunch came to be. As I was doing some research on brunch I came across the most helpful and informative blog on the subject.¹ I wanted to talk about the logistics of planning a brunch, but got caught up in its history.

Brunch first showed up in the 1890’s in England as a way to make getting up later and having breakfast easier for the Saturday night party-goers. It shortly thereafter became the “Newest Thing in Lunches” in a publication for women in the US. In the early 1900’s brunch was a formal affair followed in the mid 1900’s by a more casual era of brunch when people figured out they could stay home, make eggs, pick up donuts, have a 2-for-1 meal, and save money. By the 1980’s brunch ruled. It replaced Sunday dinner as “the thing” and returned to the restaurants and hotels as a decadent affair (but let’s face it, what wasn’t “fat” in the 80’s?). By the 1990’s brunch was also offered on Saturdays and by 2000 even the Chinese were on board.

These days brunch has become a mix between a competitive sport and a laissez faire. Anything goes when it comes to the menu; from tiny expensive food to chicken, waffles, and a stack of pancakes to the sky. You can dine in or out, wear your PJ’s or a dress, and have it with a cocktail or coffee. Regardless, the focus of brunch now is relationships. You could have either a lazy morning with your family or a fun social gathering with friends; both celebrating the compromise between breakfast and lunch.

There really are no rules for brunch. It can be fun and spontaneous; zero planning involved where the menu consists of what is in the pantry and who is in the room, there’s no decor, and you’re eating off TV trays while wearing slippers and watching reruns of “Leave It To Beaver”. Or, you can be planning a formal brunch for months at the hottest venue in town, coordinating what you are going to wear for weeks, working with the city’s hottest chef on what will be on the menu, ordering seasonal centerpieces, and timing the meal service just right so the sunrise is starting to peek over the mountaintop so your guests think you have actually learned how to control both time and space….(which, by the way, should be a class for event planners as it’s a regular expectation).

And, if you’re lucky, especially when on vacation, you’ll find a restaurant which serves breakfast all day long and can have brunch anytime you want. Every once in a while it is really nice to have eggs, bacon, waffles, and a pile of grits for dinner, right? You can’t call it linner, dunch, or high tea. Brunch is the only name that works.

What brunch story do you have? Share it here or send me an email!

Like this blog, share it with your people, and definitely on your social media!

Did you know Tracy recently released a discussion guide for her book “Cultivating a Healthy Volunteer Team?” Find both HERE!

1. Thank you to Touch Bistro and their blog on the history of brunch for some content for this blog!