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Since guests prefer to have sealed packages, I am wondering how some of you present breakfast items you offer. When responding please let me know if you have a shared kitchen, separate studio, or a whole home. I am only referring to people who offer a help yourself breakfast. Obviously if you cook/prepare the meal for your guests then they will get served however you plate it up.
Jams/jellies/butters: do you provide the individual ones you get at restaurants? Squeeze bottles that all guests share, or a regular twist jar that all guests share?
Breads and bagels: do new guests use the opened bag left from previous guests, or do you keep the bags frozen and just set out a few in a pretty plastic container?
Sausage pattie/Bacon: do you just take a few out of the freezer and put in a clear container with a cooking instruction label on the container?
Cereals: small boxes of Kellog cereal, large boxes of cereal and all guests share, or you fill a clear canister with cereal and fill from your stash as needed.
How many of your guests eat things you pre-cooked for them, and what do you make? muffins, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, quiche, or whatever?
Basically my guests will have access to a microwave and toaster oven, full size fridge in the efficiency. I think a hot plate may be added, but dirty dishes need to be kept to a minimum. I don’t want to get into trying to build a kitchen and providing all kinds of things to cook with.
I don’t list breakfast as an amenity or mention it anywhere in my listing. I offer a private bedroom in my home with ensuite bathroom and private entrance. But if I am going to be home in the morning when guests get up I show them the kitchen and tell them to help themselves to breakfast items in the morning. I have bagels in packages of six and loaves of bread, sticks of butter, jugs of juice, block of cream cheese, etc. Sometimes l hard boil some eggs but I never offer any meats. There is usually at least one kind of fruit in the house. I tell them to help themselves to whatever they’d like. I show them where the coffee and teamaking items are though I usually make the tea. I treat my guests, as much as possible, like I would if friends or family were visiting. It’s “homestyle” for the most part. If I had a self contained apartment I probably would switch to single serving items. I’ve never gotten the feeling that anyone was like “eww, who has been touching this bread?” But with a rate comparable to the nearby Motel 6, I haven’t had any complaints. The stand alone cabin I went to a month ago didn’t have any single serve stuff except snacks and teabags. Creamer, condiments, etc were all large sizes like an ordinary person would have in their home.
I rent out the upstairs–queen sized bedroom and bathroom. So far this year, I’ve only had 8 guest stays (since January). So, I don’t get much traffic.
I never do bagels, because I don’t want cream cheese sitting around my house. I’m likely to eat it with a spoon.
I’ve done lots of different things since I’ve started, but currently what I offer is this, and I have most of it in a tray on top of my refrigerator, I just pull it down for them in the morning.
English muffins, granola bars, instant oatmeals, organic pb, the coffee, tea, packets of sugar and sweetener honey is in the tray also. The jam is some local made stuff, I take that and the tub of real butter and Earth Balance out of the frig and put on the counter. I usually have some kind of fruit here that I eat anyway such as bananas and tangerines, I like to give them fruit that doesn’t need cutting. I always feel bad that I don’t offer any juices but I never drink juices so it makes no sense to have it here only to throw it away.
Edited to add: I do have eggs in the house as a rule and only a few times have guests cooked themselves eggs. I never have any kind of breakfast meat here. I used to offer yogurt in individual sized containers until the weekend one guy ate 2 containers each damn morning, along with 2 packets of oatmeal and a granola bar, and a banana. I buy yogurt in bigger containers and keep it in a drawer so guests don’t really see it.
Edited again to add that when I rent the whole house, I leave about the same thing
Hi @cabinhost - I provide the makings for continental breakfasts which my guests help themselves to with the aid of an electric kettle, toaster, bar fridge and microwave. I buy the budget brands of bread, jam/jelly,marmalade, margarine or butter, muesli/granola, other cereal (cornflakes or puffed rice) and milk in the largest sizes. I then transfer enough of each item for my guest’s stay (2-5 days) into smaller, pretty jars, containers and bottles. Means that there is very little waste and everything looks homemade! I get a LOT of compliments on my breakfasts and think it’s largely down to presentation…oh and I also put out a selection of individually wrapped tea and coffee bags
@brook2adks I had a couple like that, a father daughter pair. They had some of everything : hard boiled eggs, steel cut oats, fruit, juice…I watched incredulously while the dad put sugar, honey, half and half and hazelnut flavoring in his coffee to the point I thought I would gag. Then he actually asked if I had a “to go” cup so he could take his oatmeal with him. I just laughed and provided him with a to go cup I had bought for people to take their coffee on the road and took joy in the fact that he so enjoyed my provisions. But I’m weird like that. That was my first summer but I’ve never had another guest that ravenous. So for each person who takes more than their share, there are many more who take nothing at all. By the way, no one since has asked for a “to go” cup. I’m glad I didn’t buy the warehouse store size package.
K9karma - do you get international guests? You mentioned the hard boiled eggs. I had only heard of this as part of breakfast since I started reading this forum.
Do many Americans eat hard boiled eggs for breakfast? That’s simple enough. Most of my guests are from NC, SC, GA, TX and FL.
Suze, how do you present the bread? I was thinking of buying one of the plastic containers you see at the grocery that holds bagels, and you just open the lid to pull out what you want…if my description makes sense?
Do you see the image of the 3 tiered bread holder in the top of the pic? What do you think of that (if I can find a smaller one) to hold sliced bread, bagels, and some other bread/pastry item? Do you think guests may have the “ewww” factor with the sliced bread? I think for some reason bagels and cookies might be acceptable but people may think differently about sliced bread.
I personally am very okay with anything open and I would love that it is offered. But I have a feeling in shared spaces guest seem fine with the “help yourself to the breakfast items” where as in the efficiency they may have more of the “ewww” factor. Only time will tell.
Hi, yeah…I would not use the bread…how would you keep it fresh? I can’t believe it would stay fresh in there. Other than that…that is one gorgeous set up!
Milk is a huge issue with me also…I only drink skim and only from one local store. Since I have guests so infrequently, I really hate buying half and half, because I just throw it away.
Haha…I didn’t think it about how it wouldn’t keep it fresh. Thanks! That’s what’s good about this forum…things you never thought about it…I guess scratch that storage idea!
