It's helpful to know first if your guests are going to want the local cuisine.
You also need to think out your abilities. Is it just you? Will you have help at breakfast? So, if it's just you and there are 10 guests, are you seating everyone at the same time or doing different seatings?
If all at the same time, how do you pace yourself to bring out 3 courses? If you're the serving wench and the cook, how do you watch the stove while you're fetching food and coffee and juice and picking up plates and answering questions and making small talk?
So. You need to know how breakfast is going to work before you start planning what to cook.
You can have a basket of muffins or breads on the table to share family style. Then you have your fruit course which is all plated and in the fridge waiting to serve. OR, you put the fruit course out on a charger at each place. Then you only need to serve the coffee, answer the questions, make small talk and clear the plates while the breakfast is cooking. And it may have to be a quiche or other baked breakfast so you can get it plated and served while it's still hot to the 10 guests.
See what I mean about understanding what your process looks like?.
Mort,
This is a great answer as you have just hit on all the questions that have been plaguing me.
Re cuisine type, my thoughts were a southern type comfort food cuisine (as I'm a southern gal and that's how I've always cooked).
I'm going to need to have a helper with breakfast, I think, at least at first while I get my sea legs. My husband will be home on Saturday/Sunday mornings. He loves to cook and his meals are delicious. He is excited about participating when he can. During the week, I will probably need to hire some help - the question is, will I hire a cook or a server-type? Would seem if I can learn to consistently make maybe fourteen 3 course meal plans (so should a guest decide to stay for a couple of weeks, they would have variety), I could save money by not needing to hire a professional cook.
Serving times - that's a good question. My initial thinking would be that I would have a set breakfast time, as with a skeleton crew, I don't know how I could do it any other way.
Question: Would it even be possible for a one-man show to pull off a respectable and delicious breakfast for 10, or would that be courting disaster?
I was originally thinking casserole dishes as the main dish until I read some posts from Innmates that don't feel like casseroles are what guests really like.
.