Zee - Symmetrybreakfast: cook, love, share

SYMMETRYBREAKFAST is a beautiful cookbook for foodies and feeders who wonder why breakfast has to be out of a box. Its for people who love exploring diverse foods, those who get a kick out of hosting friends and family, and those who like making food look pretty on the plate.

Through inspirational food and gorgeous photography, it explores what breakfast is and what it means to people around the world. From Hawaiian Loco Moco and Russian pancakes, to Spanish churros and New York bagels, it surprises with the foreign and delights with the familiar.

With over 90 delicious recipes and cocktails for perfectly plated breakfasts, more complex dishes for seasoned cooks and recipes with a great story behind them, SymmetryBreakfast will make you hungry, cheer you up and change the way you think about breakfast.

This book is divided into (approximate) time zones, starting with my and Marks home in London, and working west around the world. Recipes from the UK, Portugal, Morocco and Nigeria sit together in the first chapter. In a narrow strip running from Pole to Pole, millions of people wake up at roughly the same time across continents, religions and seasons to have breakfast. Whatever breakfast means to them. I wanted to pull together recipes and organize them in a way that would make sense, but also make none.

INTRODUCTION:
Somewhere in the World its Breakfast Time

1. RISE AND SHINE
United Kingdom, Portugal, Morocco, Nigeria, West Africa

2. BREAKFAST AND BREAKSLOW
Brazil, Venezuela, Dominican Republic

3. IN SEARCH OF A CURE
Colombia, Peru, East Coast USA

4. KEEP IT SIMPLE
Mexico, American Midwest, Canada

5. FROM GOOD TO GREAT
West Coast USA, Hawaii

6. SOMETIMES MORE IS MORE
Japan, Australia, Korea, The Philippines

7. THE GRAIN OF LIFE
China, Indonesia, Hong Kong

8. SWEET, SOUR, SPICE
Thailand, India, Myanmar

9. SIMPLICITY AND AUTHENTICITY
Iraq, Russia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan

10. A QUESTION OF IDENTITY
Eastern Europe, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Libya, The Balkans

11. NOT QUITE CONTINENTAL
Norway, Italy, Austria, Algeria, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark

12. COCKTAIL OCLOCK
Eye-Opener, Appetizer, Refresher, Stimulant

Mark, without you there would be no symmetry, no one to make breakfast for, and no reason to get out of bed.
You are my best friend, my love. Will you marry me?

Love makes you do stupid things. Weve all done or said something in the name of love that later makes us cringe. Then again, often something is born out of love that is really wonderful. Id like to think that this book is one of those things.

When I started arranging breakfasts on the table symmetrically and taking photos, I hadnt the slightest clue what it would lead to or what I would learn. Three years later, Im still so humbled that its brought the opportunity to write this book. Honestly, it was never about the food, or done to create a following for the first 600 images I had a full-time job teaching at the V&A.

It isnt even about commitment; its about spending quality time together.

Ive learned a few things while writing this book.

Firstly, I have discovered that, all around the world, most people are actually really nice. Beyond political boundaries, historical ties or physical traits, many strangers lots of whom are now great friends have been thrilled to show us how to cook the food they love and are honoured that I want to know more. I love people, I love meeting new people, and that love has made me want to know more about the food people eat and how they share it with each other.

Secondly, Ive learned that food is a deeply political beast. Just try ordering a Full English in Glasgow, a cappuccino after noon in Italy, or questioning the origins of shakshuka with an Israeli. Food is important to us because it defines who we are as individuals, our personal preferences, but it also represents our collective identity. Writing a cookbook, then, becomes a challenge not only to put together the best recipes, but to avoid treading on anyones toes. I hope Ive succeeded.

Some recipes have been easy to pin down, others defy political and geographical boundaries. So, thirdly, Ive learned that there is no definition of what breakfast is or should be. And I quote Massimo Montanari one of the worlds leading experts in food studies here: You say breakfast, and that seems obvious to you. Yet I still get the same comment almost every day: Thats not breakfast.

I get a lot of comments every time I post, as is the way with social media, but that one is the one that annoys me the most. Its not because those who say it are wrong its certainly not their idea of breakfast its that they fail to see beyond their own lives. My personal traditions reinforce what I believe is normal, but for me theres pleasure in looking beyond normal. Most traditions are not universally shared and not everyone is open to other peoples traditions. This book attempts to share.

What social media seems to do so well, books have done for centuries, albeit a tad more slowly. Superficially it can seem that digital and analogue are at odds, but they complement each other better than you think. From the beginning it felt right that I should shoot this book myself, entirely on my iPhone. Its the common thread that connects my Instagram account to the physical object youre holding right now.

Many of us have smartphones in our pockets but do we really understand their potential to change the way we eat and think about food?

Our food customs come from our respective cultures, so it makes sense that a quintessential breakfast from India is going to be spicy and in China theyll drink tea. These norms have been constructed over a very long time. Globalization is changing what traditions are and what they mean. I can see on my phone, in real time, what someone in Hong Kong is eating for breakfast. To my parents its rather novel. To my ancestors it would be witchcraft.

I think that being a northern, working-class, gay, bit Scottish, bit Chinese man might just be enough to give me the credibility to ask, What is tradition? Or, more importantly, why should I allow it to dictate how I live my life? But you dont have to be a mongrel like me to ask that question. I grew up eating foods from different cultures at the same time and on the same plate not to be controversial, but because thats just how we rolled in the Zee family. In an increasingly cosmopolitan society, I imagine its how many others live too.

Fourthly, Ive learned not to make any demands of anyone. If you dont like breakfast, I cant force you to like it, nor will I preach the virtues of nutrition or health. If you twitch at the thought of eating the same thing as your partner, you dont have to! Dont like tea? Well, too bad for you, but thats fine too! I want what I cook to inspire you, not to make you feel bad. I started making breakfast for Mark because our time spent together each day was limited to mornings. There are practical considerations that might prevent you from doing the same 5 a.m. is kind of early to get up but I hope you can agree that time is a luxury we cant afford to waste. Breakfast time can be about spending precious moments with the people we love. For me, its about making that time count.