Brunch is most definitely up there in my top 10 things I love most in life. I mean what is there not to love?! Breakfast dishes and sweet treats at lunchtime, accompanied by music and mimosas is my idea of heaven!
I had a fair few brunches planned over the past couple of months and I was going to take you along with me, document the experience, and let you know if it was a hit or miss… unfortunately, with lockdown my plans were temporarily suspended but once we are officially allowed back into the big wide world, you can expect to see a lot of that content here.
I have been seriously missing my brunch fixes, so I decided that I was going to throw my family an at-home brunch. Lucky bunch! It went down an absolute treat so I wanted to share with you the exact steps I took so that you too can host the perfect at-home brunch!
1. Decide on a theme & menu for your brunch
When I was brainstorming, Gaucho Brunch came to mind as I know a lot of my family love that brunch and it’s always a good vibe. So I named the brunch Kaucho brunch! (K-for Kingsman & Gaucho = Kaucho)
I looked over the Gaucho menu and picked out some dishes I liked and would feel confident cooking and added my own spin on some things too. I didn’t actually choose steak ironically even though that is their speciality, as I felt this may be a bit too much pressure to get everyone’s steak cooked to perfection on the day but if you fancy yourself a master chef then go for it!
I then went on to create a menu! I know that this is so extra and it’s definitely not a necessity but I just can’t help myself! I created my menu on Canva – it’s a great app you can download that has lots of templates to use. Even though the menu looks like I put in a lot of effort, it barely took any time at all!
Typically at a bottomless brunch, dishes are unlimited and flowing but this didn’t make sense as I didn’t want food wastage and also remember if you’re going to be the chef for the day, it is a lot of work! I created my menu and asked ‘my guests’ to choose a couple of dishes they liked and I included some extra platters too. My advice would be to either get your guests to choose dishes from a menu, cook only a few dishes but make it more of a platter-style / picky food or order some food in! We actually went on to have another brunch for my birthday and we ordered sushi (from Sticks’n’sushi) and that was fabulous too!
2. Invite your guests
Get the word out to your guests that they are about to experience the brunch of a lifetime 😉 I created a WhatsApp group chat called ‘Kaucho Bottomless Brunch’ and formally invited everyone with a date/time/location, sent the menu and requested everyone get back to me with their orders asap.
3. Buy the food & arrange a plan of action for cooking on the day
Now you have everyone’s food requests back, it’s mission: get all the ingredients. There was actually quite a lot to buy as there were multiple dishes and drinks, so this does require a bit of planning! I went through each dish and cocktail and wrote out every single ingredient & quantity needed onto a list. This then formed a shopping list to work from and tick things off. I actually missed a few things the first time around, so really take some time to make sure you know exactly what you need!
Once you have bought the food, it’s important to sort out the plan for cooking it! We had dishes from Eggs Royale to home-made waffles, to made from scratch Mcmuffins and even made fresh bread on the day! It would have been impossible to do this alone so I roped in my 2 sisters to help with the cooking. As we had such a variety of foods, it was best we all took charge of a ‘station’ and each cooked certain dishes. I’m not going to lie, it was a tad stressful! When I next do a brunch, I’d maybe limit the number of dishes as you have to find the perfect balance of having enough time to prepare everything but make sure it’s hot and fresh for your guests! If you’re looking to make Eggs Royale, I’d highly recommend the ready-made hollandaise sauce from M&S as it tasted great and was a time saver!
If you’re planning on making your brunch an all-day kind of thing then be sure to have some reserve food in the fridge/freezer for later.
4. Create a playlist
Music is Key for a successful brunch. There are some brunch DJ sets that you can find on youtube, DJ’s playlists on Spotify, or just create your own playlist that captures your vibe for the day. Grab some speakers and get your music set up ready for your guest’s arrival! Music, in my opinion, can make or break a brunch and the amount of fun had, so if you’re not into music maybe get someone to help you out.
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5. Prepare the drinks
Now bear in mind as much as you are the host/ hostess, you want to equally enjoy the day! I decided to prepare all of the drinks as a self-serve station. This way, you do not need to be on hand at all times to top up your guest’s drinks. We picked a selection of cocktails that we liked and got all the ingredients prepared. Before the brunch started, we put all the garnishes in little serving bowls and wrote out the recipe for cocktails so everyone could easily follow. We also put together some jugs of fresh Pimms for ease and made some arrival mimosas. If you don’t have an ice machine make sure you add ice to your shopping list as it’s a necessity for all beverages!
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6. Decorate & set the mood
If you’re celebrating a particular occasion then, of course, decorate accordingly with balloons and banners, etc. If not, you can set the table and display all of your cocktails, garnishes and food nicely. I always like to add a beautiful diffuser to the room so that it smells heavenly too. I’ve linked some items below that I think would be great additions to any brunch.
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7. ENJOY!
Make sure you leave enough time for yourself to get ready and glammed up (I’d suggest getting hair & makeup done before you start cooking as the dishes need to be eaten warm). Once the food is served, the hard work is done and you can sit back and enjoy the brunch with your guests!
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Lauren xo
5 Comments
Well done… I’m impressed!!! : )
Experiencing this first hand, I strongly recommend everyone gives it a go as it was honestly so good Great post and guidelines
What a spread! Have to give this a go some time!
Ahhh love this, definitely want to try this one day soon! Some great ideas!
The best brunch! Top’s Gauchos any day 🙂