Breakfast is the new Brunch

You've heard it before: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. With breakfast on a new lease of life, chefs are bringing on their A game with creative dishes and reimagined classics.

- Nivedita Jayaram Pawar

Breakfast, especially on a weekday, is usually an afterthought. Maybe, a banana while sprinting out the door, a bowl of cereal, a dry toast or the aspirational avocado toast if you are feeling truly ambitious. But that's changing with mornings becoming a favoured time for people to connect, or for breakfast meetings during the week. Turns out, a 'power breakfast' is the new power lunch. Business professionals are finding that early morning meetings are more effective for deal-making and networking.

Professionals are also increasingly using breakfast as an opportunity to combine friendship and work, a trend reminiscent of Milan's 'Aperitivo Milanese' phenomenon of the 90s, where pre-dinner drinks served as a backdrop for business discussions and networking. These days, breakfast is the new happy hour. It's when we catch up with friends before work and turn work buddies into actual friends. “Cafés offer consistency. You know exactly what you are signing up for, whether it is a quick weekday bite or a leisurely weekend indulgence. Then there is the social aspect—breakfast is no longer a private, homebound ritual, but a meal to be enjoyed with friends, colleagues, or even alone in a vibrant setting,” says Hussain Shahzad, Executive Chef, Veronica's (Hunger Inc. Hospitality).