Wake up to Eggs

New research commissioned for British Egg Week (5-11 October 2009) shows that people spend on average just eight minutes having breakfast today - half the time they spent 20 years ago (15 minutes). And although eggs are a favourite for most people, the nation struggles to cook basic breakfast dishes. A third (33%) of people surveyed said they found it difficult to poach an egg and more than a quarter (26%) admitted that they can’t make an omelette. 17% even struggle to boil an egg.

To help people towards a tasty, healthy breakfast in the little time they have, British Lion eggs are launching a new campaign entitled ‘Wake up to eggs’, encouraging people to enjoy their breakfast favourite more often, particularly as the removal of limits on egg consumption means they don’t have to worry about how many eggs they eat.  

Breakfast expert Martyn Nail, Executive Chef at Claridge’s, who cooks around 6,500 eggs each week – nearly 350 thousand a year - is sharing his expert tips to trouble-shoot common problems people have when cooking with eggs. Martyn has also devised a selection of seven breakfast egg recipes, one for each day of the week, each as good as restaurant food but quick and easy enough to make at home.

Martyn’s recipes will appear on egg packs in October and will also feature on a new website wakeuptoeggs.com. There will also be the opportunity for budding chefs to win a place at an egg cookery masterclass with Martyn at Claridge’s.

Martyn Nail comments “Eggs are a popular choice when eating out or at weekends but people believe they lack the skills to enjoy them as a quick breakfast during the week. The great news for amateur chefs is that eggs can be quick and easy or can be dressed up to impress. Not only are they tasty, but healthy too.”

When buying eggs, always look for the Lion mark, as this guarantees that they have been produced to the highest standards of food safety, come from British hens vaccinated against salmonella, are fully traceable and have a ‘best before’ date on the shell as a guarantee of freshness.