A 2006 study at Cornell University found that the average person makes roughly 200 different food-related decisions a day. Every one of them starts at breakfast. These early morning judgement calls reflect much about our personalities and lifestyles: what values do we put on convenience, comfort, substance or nutrition when we’re just trying to get out the door? To find out, we’ve gathered a handful of successful individuals — from the designer behind the Field Notes brand to one of the world’s top-ranked professional eaters – to find out how they take their eggs, among other telling gastronomic preferences. Their answers were funny and strange, often bashfully modest, and always revealing.
Andrea Westerlind
Founder, Westerlind
Q. In five words or less, describe your morning routine.
A. I have very little routine.
Q. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day?
A. Yes.
Q. Sitting down or on the go?
A. I try to sit down but I’m also constantly traveling and I do a lot of outdoor adventure, which doesn’t always allow for sitting down.
Q. How do you take your eggs?
A. I’m lucky having a French-Japanese chef boyfriend who’s perfected the art of egg-making in pretty much any way possible. He makes me breakfast every morning. Right now, my favorite is over easy with a side of sauteed broccolini and gruyere cheese.
Q. Coffee or juice?
A. Very strong black coffee and a lot of it too.
Q. Order the perfect bagel.
A. Toasted everything with cream cheese.
Q. What’s your quick breakfast hack?
A. Date a chef.
Q. What’s your favorite meal to wake up to on a Sunday?
A. I was just in Iceland skiing fjords from a ship. Each morning, our captain served a classic Scandinavian smorgasbord with a selection of cheese, charcuterie, jams, and coffee. Because they have midnight sun, there’s really no reason to rush, and you allow yourself hours of eating while planning the day’s adventure. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Joey Chestnut
Competitive Eater
Q. In five words or less, describe your morning routine.
A. Breathe deeply. Feed dog, chickens. Grind.
Q. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day?
A. Sometimes. But not when I’m training for an event.
Q. Sitting down or on the go?
A. On the go.
Q. How do you take your eggs?
A. Over easy with salt and pepper.
Q. Coffee or juice?
A. Black coffee with a shot of espresso, raw sugar.
Q. Order the perfect bagel.
A. Garlic bagel, toasted with cream cheese.
Q. What’s your quick breakfast hack?
A. Omelette. I finely chop a slice of leftover pizza, pan fry it with butter and add eggs.
Q. What’s your favorite meal to wake up to on a Sunday?
A. On a cheat day: eggs Benedict, biscuits and gravy, and a “man-mosa” (mimosa with a shot of vodka).
Aaron Draplin
Graphic Designer, Draplin Design Co.
Q. In five words or less, describe your morning routine.
A. Wake up, check for heartbeat.
Q. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day?
A. I’m not hungry when I wake up. Takes a couple hours. But the facts point to small, healthy breakfast as a good way to start a day. Which of course, I don’t do.
Q. Sitting down or on the go?
A. Sometimes, I’ll hit a top-secret Burgerville drive-thru on the way to the shop, and have that thing destroyed by the time I get there.
Q. How do you take your eggs?
A. Scrambled. Or hard. Not down with the runny stuff.
Q. Coffee or juice?
A. If it’s bacon and eggs, I love a Coke with ice. Otherwise, some fresh-squeezed orange juice hits the spot.
Q. Order the perfect bagel.
A. Bacon, egg and American cheese. Done.
Q. What’s your quick breakfast hack?
A. Get a burner going and fry an egg fast and hot. Toss two slices of Dave’s Killer Bread into the toaster at 75 percent power, throw a slice of cheese on it (provolone or swiss) and let that melt. Shake a couple splashes of Cholula hot sauce on it, sandwich it all together and get that thing down the hatch. I recommend doing this in a Finex skillet.
Q. What’s your favorite meal to wake up to on a Sunday?
A. Bacon, eggs, home fries and a bagel. And a Coke! And just a can is cool. Not enough chemicals in those hipster Mexican bottles.
Simon Mottram
Co-founder and Chief Executive, Rapha
Q. In five words or less, describe your morning routine.
A. Stretch, coffee, kids, ride, granola.
Q. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day?
A. Yes, especially when I’m heading out for a long ride.
Q. Sitting down or on the go?
A. On the go or usually at the office, from our in-house cafe.
Q. How do you take your eggs?
A. Two. Poached. Brown toast and brown sauce.
Q. Coffee or juice?
A. Strong coffee. Never tea. Flat white in the morning, macchiato after 10 a.m. Grapefruit juice when I can.
Q. Order the perfect bagel.
A. Cinnamon with salted butter and cheddar cheese.
Q. What’s your quick breakfast hack?
A. I have a soluble vitamin C every day and put it in my bidon to drink first thing.
Q. What’s your favorite meal to wake up to on a Sunday?
A. Granola, eggs Benedict, grapefruit juice and lots of coffee. This never happens.
Jake Blauvelt
Professional Snowboarder
Q. In five words or less, describe your morning routine.
A. Piss, lemon water, coffee, food, stretch.
Q. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day?
A. Yes.
Q. Sitting down or on the go?
A. Sitting down.
Q. How do you take your eggs?
A. Hard boiled for an energy booster later on on the hill.
Q. Coffee or juice?
A. Lemon water and coffee with half and half and a teaspoon of maple syrup.
Q. Order the perfect bagel.
A. Toasted everything with cream cheese, smoked salmon, red onion and a little drizzled lemon.
Q. What’s your quick breakfast hack?
A. Pamela’s pre-made gluten-free pancake mix with Vermont maple syrup.
Q. What’s your favorite meal to wake up to on a Sunday?
A. Two fried over-medium eggs on an English muffin with melted cheddar, avocado, little hot sauce and sauerkraut. I swear, sauerkraut is the bomb!
Adam Eldridge
Frame Builder, Wraith Fabrication and Stanridge Speed
Q. In five words or less, describe your morning routine.
A. Rise. Calm. Quiet. Strategize. Prep.
Q. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day?
A. Yes, the most important. I’ve gone without and lose my focus and the mental edge much earlier in the day. When I’m not thinking about being hungry, I stay in the zone. Prep the night before it makes it easier.
Q. Sitting down or on the go?
A. Leaning on the counter. I keep the lights dim so I can be romantic with my mobile device. I’m checking international emails that have come in overnight and mentally listing priorities of return upon workshop arrival.
Q. How do you take your eggs?
A. Three egg whites. Scrambled.
Q. Coffee or juice?
A. Black. Too much of it. The coffee goes straight from the carafe into the thermos, which is then strapped onto the motorbike for the 10-minute trip to the workshop.
Q. Order the perfect bagel.
A. Bagels? No way.
Q. What’s your quick breakfast hack?
A. I like to prep and rehydrate black beans on Sundays and eat them for breakfast. I work alone in the shop.
Q. Favorite meal to wake up to on a Sunday?
A. There’s a chill spot near my shop that makes a mean breakfast burrito. I’ll swing through on my way in.
Milton Glaser
Graphic Designer, Milton Glaser
Q. In five words or less, describe your morning routine.
A. Wake. Shower. Dress. Toast. Taxi.
Q. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day?
A. It’s either the most or least important, depending on your point of view.
Q. Sitting down or on the go?
A. Always eat sitting down.
Q. How do you take your eggs?
A. Scrambled softly.
Q. Coffee or juice?
A. Coffee, canned milk, no sugar.
Q. Order the perfect bagel.
A. Bagels should not be oversized (no more than four to five inches in diameter), not toasted, with a schmear of cream cheese, and some coarse salt.
Q. What’s your quick breakfast hack?
A. What’s a “breakfast hack”?
Q. Favorite meal to wake up to on a Sunday?
A. Same as every other day with the possible addition of sliced mortadella or fresh ham.
Jason Bond
Chef, Bondir Cambridge
Q. In 5 words or less, describe your morning routine.
A. Espresso from my Faema machine.
Q. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day?
A. For coffee, yes!
Q. How do you take it?
A. Black.
Q. And your eggs?
A. Sunny side up.
Q. Sitting down or on the go?
A. Definitely on the go.
Q. Order the perfect bagel.
A. Plain toasted bagel from Bagelsaurus in Cambridge.
Q. What’s your quick breakfast hack?
A. Sous vide eggs are excellent. I sous vide them the night before. Perfect soft boiled eggs, every time.
Q. Favorite meal to wake up to on a Sunday?
A. On my fantasy Sunday off, I’ll have pancakes with blueberries waiting on the kitchen table.
Julia Stone
Musician, Angus & Julia Stone
Q. In 5 words or less, describe your morning routine.
A. Stretch, water, tea, shower, kiss.
Q. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day?
A. Yeah, but when you have it after midday.
Q. Sitting down or on the go?
A. Sit down. Eating is like sex – best enjoyed with time and care.
Q. How do you take your eggs?
A. Scrambled or hard poached.
Q. Coffee or juice?
A. Coffee. Black, no sugar. No juice.
Q. Order the perfect bagel.
A. Lox and cream cheese.
Q. What’s your quick breakfast hack?
A. Coconut water does the trick in a pinch.
Q. Favorite meal to wake up to on a Sunday?
A. Homemade sweet potato hash browns with feta. Scrambled eggs. Wilted spinach. Hot, black coffee.
For More Info: Andrea Westerlind of Westerlind; Joey Chestnut; Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co.; Simon Mottram, Rapha; RIDE Snowboards rider Jake Blauvelt; Adam Eldridge of Wraith Fabrication and Stanridge Speed; Milton Glaser; Jason Bond of Bondir Cambridge; Julia Stone of Angus & Julia Stone
