The word “brunch” is a combination of “breakfast” and “lunch”, first appearing in print in an 1895 Hunter’s Weekly article. In his book “Brunch: A Plea”, British writer Guy Beringer suggested a lighter, late-morning meal as an alternative to the heavy, after-church Sunday meal.

“Brunch is a hospitable meal; breakfast is not…

…Eggs and bacon are adapted to solitude; they are consoling, but not exhilarating. They do not stimulate conversation.” Beringer says.

“Brunch, on the contrary, is cheerful, sociable, and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper; it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow-beings. It sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.

Long story short – brunch history

The brunch has made its way to the US, to Chicago via transcontinental train journeys taken by Hollywood celebrities. They ordered luxury meals combining breakfast and lunch. Brunch was distributed by hotels rather than restaurants, as the latter took Sundays off.

From luxury to economy

The 1930s are marked as the era when the middle class adopted brunch into their Sunday routine. Housewives and bachelors brought significant changes to the brunch format, making it cheap, easy to prepare and delicious. People were open to brunch and in the 1940s brunch cookbooks began to be published. Brunch became popular among the middle classes because it was quite economical. In the end, a certain current standard late breakfast menu has evolved, i.e. coffee or tea, possibly juice, eggs prepared in various ways (depending on the country, Eggs Benedict, scrambled eggs, egg omelettes, etc.), bagels, salmon fillets, ham, cheese, fruit, cereals, etc. Brunch became very popular for a leisurely late morning with friends.

Brunch in Europe

Although it is said that brunch is distinctively American, food historians do not give credit to this idea. The combined breakfast-lunch meal probably began in the 16th century in Vienna, where people called the mid-morning meal Gabelfruhstuck, meaning “fork breakfast”.

The habit of eating fork food in the morning is widespread throughout Europe, of course among the wealthier classes. According to one food dictionary, brunch originated in upper-class British society and made its way to the United States.

Italy has also created a word called “colanzo”, which is a combination of “colazione” (breakfast) and “pranzo” (lunch). If you are intrested in how to say “Brunch” in different languages, check our article here: Exploring Brunch Across Cultures: How to Say “Brunch” in Different Languages

Traditional menu ideas for brunch are limitless

In France or Canada, you can get croissants, French toast, waffles, sweet and savoury pancakes, cinnamon rolls, quiche for a brunch, in the UK you can get ham, bacon, sausages, sandwiches, hash browns. In the South, it’s more salads, olives, fish – in short, a variety of dishes.

As for alcoholic beverages, the standard late breakfast is a Bloody Mary or Caesar cocktail, champagne, spritzers and Irish coffee.