Breakfast matters: Dubai Chef reveals his breakfast habits

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Breakfast matters: Dubai Chef reveals his breakfast habits
Chef Troy Payne

Published: Wed 31 Aug 2016, 11:05 AM

Last updated: Tue 11 Oct 2016, 11:11 AM

FOR ALL THOSE hardcore Dubai residents who believe 'Brunch is the most important meal of the day', we are sorry to burst your bubble. 
If you insist, we can perhaps consider it the 'most important meal on weekends'. But as your mum, doc and sundry other health experts have been saying over the years, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Or is it? While doctors and nutritionists have constantly come up with facts and figures to support this theory, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that after keeping your stomach empty for over 9 hours (which is the recommended daily sleep cycle for a human being) it makes sense to feed yourself energy-providing grub in the morning. 
But how many of us are able to start the day with breakfast? In a fast-paced country like the UAE, breakfast is often sacrificed at the alter of time-keeping - where 5 minutes of delay while leaving your home in the morning can make the difference between reaching office on time or an hour late.
We speak to Troy Payne, Executive Chef at The Sum of Us, to know about his breakfast habits.
Breakfast is a very important meal, but I believe that all meals and what or how we eat is as just if not more important. 
A typical day starts with more often than not, a classic song from my wide array of vinyl collections. With coffee at hand, taking in the morning sun at my balcony and enthusiastically looking forward to what the day could bring.
The first thing I consume when I wake up... Ice cold water or coconut juice.
On a regular work day breakfast is Espresso or cold brew, with a small bowl of yoghurt with sliced banana and bee pollen.
Home is where a perfect breakfast is. Real and healthy home-cooked food, good produce and great conversation that is shared with family, friends and loved ones. There couldn't be anything more perfect than that! Rushed affair? No, it should not. Be it at home or somewhere else. 
My earliest, memory of breakfast... When I was younger it was never about what we had for breakfast, it was more about always starting the day together as a family, whether it was fruit salad and yoghurt, watching dad make porridge, nan sprinkling brown sugar over grapefruit, mum making toast layered with cottage cheese and vegemite, or just seeing how many weetbix my sister and I could eat.
Working in hospitality you don't get to have 'normal weekends' as such but yes, weekends are special be it on the actual weekend or not. No rituals at all. Just making sure that it is spent with family, friends and loved ones.
I like to shop for breakfast supplies at the Farmers Markets in winter. Being able to talk with the people behind the produce or ingredients is awesome. They give you not only insight on how these ingredients were made but it's their personal stories that comes with producing the same that inspires me to do nothing but create great meals out of their produce.
If you were to open my fridge right now, you'd find yoghurt, cucumbers, feta or halloumi, herbs and coconut juice.
Troy's perfect breakfast spot in Dubai
I'll have to be biased on this. I personally love the breakfasts at The Sum of Us. Great kitchen team and brilliant FOH team with amazing coffee, healthy but cheeky breakfast dishes and did I say excellent customer service? What's not to love? But I also like spending mornings off at The Farm. Chilling on the deck outside, surrounded by nature and you can never go wrong with their classic dish such as egg Florentine and their famous smoothies. (ambica@khaleejtimes.com)
 
 
 
 

By Ambica Sachin

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