Five of the finest dishes to start your day in style.

Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. A saying that’s as old as recipe books themselves and one some modern nutritional science tells us is the best way to eat. Make a sound choice and you’ll be set up for a perfect day’s productivity. Get it wrong and you could be riding a blood-sugar rollercoaster for the rest of the day. With a phalanx of ingredients at their disposal, the variety in what chefs choose to eat for breakfast is a broad as their globetrotting menus. Here’s how five top cooks start the day.

Owner of Social Group Restaurants, which includes the two-Michelin-starred Pollen Street Social in London, Marina Social in Dubai and Kensington Street Social in Sydney

Porridge and seasonal fruit

“First and foremost, I have a black coffee. I usually make breakfast for all the family midweek before I drop the girls to school and my wife Irha and I head on to the office. Midweek breakfast generally consists of porridge with seasonal fruit and some freshly squeezed orange juice. On the weekends, however we have a bit more time and I will cook some delicious Cumberland sausages from the Ginger Pig, poached eggs and Portobello mushrooms, served on fresh sourdough and topped with my favourite HP brown sauce – it’s a sure sign my weekend is off to a good start.”

Owner of JKS restaurants with sites in London

Fried egg ghee dosa dusted with podi coconut chutney

“It’s a welcome change when bland fried eggs and toast just won’t do. It’s relatively simple and quick to put together if you get pre-mixed dosa batter, though fresh – if you can spare the time – is always best. One my Sri Lankan friends’ mum used to make us fresh dosas for breakfast. I couldn’t get enough and over the years as my interest in food grew, I made the dish my own.

Fresh batter is always best – if you make it, it usually lasts for about a week. The tava [griddle] needs to be very hot. Start with your batter in the middle of the pan and spread out in a circular motion with a ladle, making sure it’s as thin as possible. Adding ghee [clarified butter, available in supermarkets] makes it extra crispy. How you finish it off is also important, but down to personal taste – I like a dusting of podi coconut chutney to give it that spice, and a little bit of sweetness from the coconut. The egg tops it so you can tear into the dosa and dip into the runny yolk.”

Chef-owner of Pastaio, which will open on Ganton Street, London this October

Spaghetti carbonara

“OK, I admit this is a bit too serious for an everyday breakfast, but occasionally as a late breakfast/hangover cure carbonara is the only thing that hits the spot. An unlikely choice, I first saw it served as a brunch at my favourite NYC brunch spot, Prune. It blew my mind and it’s been my go-to for years now. Cooking wise, it’s more about what not to do than what to do. If you use the right stuff, and don't cook the whole thing and scramble it once you’ve added the pasta you get a luxurious, decadent, simple, glossy sublime dish rather than a student-y stodge-fest.

Always use good egg yolks, lots of pepper, (no cream!) ideally guanciale not pancetta, both pecorino and parmesan. Try not to use fall back cheap bacon instead of proper cured stuff, and never, ever, throw away the rendered fat.”

Co-founder XU Tawainese restaurant

Congee

“I would be lying if I said my favourite breakfast didn’t include baked beans, frankfurter and something ‘dirty’. But that’s slightly boring, so to be a little more romantic, I’ll talk about my other favourite breakfast, which is congee. Incidentally, both are connected to my childhood (all Chinese people eat Heinz frankfurters on everything). Congee is a rice-based porridge, I like mine mixed with chopped pork ribs that have been salted overnight, and a century egg. Everyone likes different consistencies, so a tip is to cook it like porridge with 5 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. Keep it on a medium-low heat and keep stirring it occasionally until it thickens. Use chicken stock if you want a greater depth of flavour.”

Chef-owner Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill and Corrigan’s Mayfair in London and Virginia Park Lodge, Cavan, Ireland

Full English

“I’ve got a fairly busy schedule, so for me, breakfast is crucial to stay energised – it’s also a great way to catch up with the kids. I’ll have a bowl of Flahavan’s Irish porridge, with some blueberries, flax seeds, a banana and drizzle of honey. Although for a treat (and when my wife is not around), you can’t beat a fried egg – Clarence Court are fantastic, with a few rashers, baked beans and a few slices of soda bread.”

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