Full English at risk Traditional breakfast favourite under threat as costs rocket

IT’S been the staple breakfast of champions for the working people of Bristol for generations, but now the cost of preparing a full English breakfast and placing it in front of a customer in one of the city’s many traditional cafes is becoming so great that cafe owners say they face a dilemma - either put the price up too much or stop serving them.

- Tristan CORK

This week, the cost of a plate of sausage, eggs, bacon, beans and hash browns, maybe a grilled tomato and some mushrooms too, was debated in parliament, with MPs calling for the abolition of business rates for hospitality businesses like pubs and cafes, just to keep the traditional English breakfast out of danger.

On one of the few remaining streets in Bristol with a range of traditional cafes that still serve a huge plate of a full English, cafe owners confirmed that the prices of the ingredients that go into a full English have rocketed up in recent months and years.

“Oh my word, tell me about it,” exclaimed Adam Tune, pictured inset, who has run the Sunshine Cafe in East Street, Bedminster with his brother and family for almost 15 years. “I don’t think people realise just how much things cost for us now. Just as an example, I used to buy all the milk and bread for the toast at Aldi and we'd be spending £15 each time. Now the same amount is £30,” he said.