When booking a hotel, you can see a reservation that a continental breakfast is included in the rate for guests. It may differ from the usual buffet and is mainly practiced in European hotels.
What is included in the continental breakfast
Continental breakfast is called a light meal with no hot dishes. From the warm breakfast, only drinks in the form of tea and coffee are served. This breakfast continues to work on a self-service system, but the choice of guests is limited.
As a rule, such a breakfast includes several cuts of sausage and cheese, bread and pastries, jam, eggs, and cereal with milk and butter. In some hotels, the continental breakfast may differ: vegetables and fruits are added to it. The composition depends on the hotel and its level, so it may change.
Another distinctive feature of a continental breakfast lies in the amount of food. Usually, it is covered by the number of guests. You can ask for a supplement, so you should not come to the end of breakfast – there may simply not be enough food.
Why is breakfast called continental?
To understand the meaning of the name of the continental breakfast, you need to delve into its history. Initially, breakfast in Europe included hearty and fatty foods that could fill a person with energy for the whole day.
However, in the 19th century, an intelligentsia appeared that did not engage in strenuous physical labor, so people began to refuse meat for breakfast and other hearty dishes. The exception was the inhabitants of England, who continued to eat bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, and beans for breakfast. Presumably, they were unable to cut down on their food intake due to their cold climate.
Since the British were the only ones who did not adopt the fashion for breakfast, the European breakfast was dubbed continental. His adherents were on the continent, while the British were on the island. The continental breakfast later gained popularity in the 20th century, when European settlers introduced it to the United States.