You'll Never Guess Why Brunch Was Created
Ah, brunch: that midday meal that cleverly combines all the best that breakfast and lunch have to offer. Whether your brunch venue involves a large family affair, a neighborhood potluck, or a buffet at a nice restaurant, it's hard to deny this meal's appeal. Shirking the restraints of what foods should be eaten at which times, brunch invites you to load up your plate with everything from a fried egg to bratwurst to chocolate cake. Yes, the person who devised this meal of the gods truly appreciated the merits of dinner and dessert-time fare early in the day. Basically, they were genius.
Some say that this feast owes its existence to the meaty breakfasts that often followed a British hunt, while others say it became imperative as Roman Catholics were required to fast until after Mass (via Smithsonian Magazine), but the actual term "brunch" was created by one man. And, along with this clever moniker, he provided future partakers with his reasons why brunch was a necessary thing.
Brunch was devised to accommodate folks experiencing hangovers
The New York Times reports that in 1895 a British writer by the name of Guy Beringer invented this meal in a piece called "Brunch: A Plea." What follows is a discourse that recommends a new meal served around noon that will make "life brighter for Saturday-night carousers" by eliminating their need to rise early (via Gothamist). And brunch is purported to bring out the best in people, as Beringer concluded that brunch was also "cheerful, sociable and inciting," adding that it encouraged conversation and improved one's mood (via Southern Living). This all sounds like great public relations as far as brunch is concerned, but what did he really mean by all this flowery talk?
The Culture Trip attempts to cut through this language cloaked in a shroud of respectability by saying Beringer's true purpose for promoting this meal was to enable those with hangovers to recover before being forced to eat solids. Yes, brunch was designed for those who love to party hearty until late in the night, but the history of brunch has since evolved.
Anyone who has ever woken up a few shades greener after a night of drinking liquor owes a debt of gratitude to this imbibing Brit. Because of him, you can go back to bed for a while longer. And you don't have to face the spectacle of a runny egg just yet. Thanks to Guy Beringer, you can eat whatever the heck you want at a much more palatable time of the day and you can get away with it by calling it "brunch." Still, some of the best breakfasts can cure your hangover, so we suggest starting with some classic brekky foods.