Question about types of breakfast

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Olga

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Is there a difference between a continental breakfast and a self catered breakfast? They seem to be the same, but is there a difference?
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words.
 
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own.
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
That depends on you and how much you want to do. We had a 3 room place and we always served breakfast. I think it is quite expected from the smaller B & B's...I mean that is what it is about. Bed and Breakfast. If people want continental, they can go to a hotel.
 
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own..
catlady said:
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own.
No Innkeeper? So someone greeted you at arrival, checked you in, and then you were on your own? What was the experience like?
 
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own..
catlady said:
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own.
No Innkeeper? So someone greeted you at arrival, checked you in, and then you were on your own? What was the experience like?
.
Actually no one greeted us. It was a holiday so they were off. We were on our own totally. A very weird experience for sure. Albeit was my hometown and I knew the owners but still no one present in this location was kind of creepy. They knew we were innkeepers so they probably thought we would be fine. No one else was in the place but us.
It was a former funeral home where Pretty Boy Floyd was done up in the basement and laid out in the parlor :-(
The manager did show up the day after Christmas after breakfast and we chatted quite a bit. But still was weird.
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
Olga said:
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
See THIS post where K said, "Started with Continental Plus - switched quickly to full breakfast (guests were disappointed and full is easier)". Perhaps you can ask her to elaborate on it.
 
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own..
catlady said:
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own.
No Innkeeper? So someone greeted you at arrival, checked you in, and then you were on your own? What was the experience like?
.
Olga said:
No Innkeeper? So someone greeted you at arrival, checked you in, and then you were on your own? What was the experience like?
We stayed in two of THESE cottages last summer in Little Rock, and we loved it. I reserved 2 of their 3 cottages online, they e-mailed us instructions, policies, and a different 4-digit keypad code for each cottage. We arrived at 9:30 p.m., punched in the codes on the front doors, and went in and lived there 3 nights. Didn't see a soul until the next day.
Each morning there would be a 9 a.m. knock at the door and a hot breakfast basket was delivered to us. We set it back out on the porch after breakfast and they picked it up later.
We never saw the owner but did chat briefly with the lady who delivered breakfast. We loved being left alone in our own little houses. We would have been just as happy in their "real" B&B around the corner too, but the independence of having the houses to ourselves was great.
There was no housekeeping while we were there. They only clean it after you check out, or once a week for longer stays. This is pretty much the same format I'll be using for the vacation rental apartments I'll be opening this fall.
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
That depends on you and how much you want to do. We had a 3 room place and we always served breakfast. I think it is quite expected from the smaller B & B's...I mean that is what it is about. Bed and Breakfast. If people want continental, they can go to a hotel.
.
Totally agree! A bed and breakfast should be a sit down served meal! If I want to serve my self I will stay at a hotel! When we stay at B & B's I want to be pampered! We have had a lot of guests over the years that stayed with us because we serve a hot meal! We always make something different everyday. The guests love that. We also never tell them the day before what we will be serving. Unless it is a repeat and they request something. It's a surprise each morning and they love that!
 
There may be legal reasons for the terminology as well, I know there are regions where you may not cook any food for guests, so the self catered is what they may call it. There are others who are not allowed to use the term B&B, so they do that as well, and of course holidays cabins/rentals call it self catered. They leave coffee, muffins and fruit for you to help yourself in your own room/cabin.
Continental makes it appear like a real breakfast, and many times it is not. I remember the continental I had in London at a British Airways promoted hotel. It was one cup of coffee and two slices of thin toast, your choice marmalade or peanut butter from a small packet. Why of course you could upgrade to the full English breakfast for another $15 bucks per person. We ended up going to Starbucks for something more substantial.
In Palm Springs many years ago the continental was included - they boasted this as part of the room rate - and it was: a box of Entennmans danishes put out for all the units and one pot of coffee.
I believe this is why our guests question what sort of breakfast is included, and a good reason for us to expound upon this on our websites/blogs. Too many of us have been short changed in the breakfast arena at B&B's.
So in a nustshell self catered means in your room fridge or pantry, and continental means "come and get it" but there isn't much to get. Recently we stopped at McDonald's for food after a continental left us with empty carbs and hunger. An old brown banana was the only fruit option. I was actually surprised at how good the big breakfast was at McDonald's, but then we were quite hungry by this point.
 
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own..
catlady said:
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own.
No Innkeeper? So someone greeted you at arrival, checked you in, and then you were on your own? What was the experience like?
.
Actually no one greeted us. It was a holiday so they were off. We were on our own totally. A very weird experience for sure. Albeit was my hometown and I knew the owners but still no one present in this location was kind of creepy. They knew we were innkeepers so they probably thought we would be fine. No one else was in the place but us.
It was a former funeral home where Pretty Boy Floyd was done up in the basement and laid out in the parlor :-(
The manager did show up the day after Christmas after breakfast and we chatted quite a bit. But still was weird.
.
catlady said:
Actually no one greeted us. It was a holiday so they were off. We were on our own totally. A very weird experience for sure. Albeit was my hometown and I knew the owners but still no one present in this location was kind of creepy. They knew we were innkeepers so they probably thought we would be fine. No one else was in the place but us.
It was a former funeral home where Pretty Boy Floyd was done up in the basement and laid out in the parlor :-(
The manager did show up the day after Christmas after breakfast and we chatted quite a bit. But still was weird.
Oh, yes, that does sound a bit creepy, lol.
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
Olga said:
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
We only have two rooms, soon to add two more, but I would not think of anything other than a served breakfast. Especially at the prices here in Charlottesville. As a matter of fact we serve local organic chemical free eggs, sausage, bacon etc.
RIki
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
Olga said:
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
See THIS post where K said, "Started with Continental Plus - switched quickly to full breakfast (guests were disappointed and full is easier)". Perhaps you can ask her to elaborate on it.
.
"guests were disappointed and full is easier"
Sounds odd, but true. For a few rooms, it is easier for me to do full, to order breakfast. They get what they want, when they want it and I have way less food waste and less work making and keeping food fresh when no one is there to eat it. When I have 4 rooms or more eating more or less at the same time, I'll do full breakfast as a buffet.
Fresh fruit is a big food cost, and unless you only put out a bowl of unprepared fruit (motel!), it doesn't keep, so a nice fruit presentation has to be fresh and can't be served the next day.
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
Olga said:
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
In a way we do both. We have various items out for people to help themselves..... cereals, fruit, yogs, juices .... and then we cook 1 item for them from the daily menu. I think guests here would be very disappointed if they weren't offered something served/cooked.
 
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own..
catlady said:
I dont see them as the same, continental is a light breakfast placed out for guests to help themselves. Usually light stuff such as fruit, juice, cereals, some type of breads. Self catered to me means something where you placed the ingredients for a breakfast in the cabin/ cottage, or apt for them to make their own breakfast. Though I have stayed in a B & B which had no innkeeper, but a kitchen full of stuff, frozen waffles, etc where you just helped yourself and made your own.
No Innkeeper? So someone greeted you at arrival, checked you in, and then you were on your own? What was the experience like?
.
Olga said:
No Innkeeper? So someone greeted you at arrival, checked you in, and then you were on your own? What was the experience like?
We stayed in two of THESE cottages last summer in Little Rock, and we loved it. I reserved 2 of their 3 cottages online, they e-mailed us instructions, policies, and a different 4-digit keypad code for each cottage. We arrived at 9:30 p.m., punched in the codes on the front doors, and went in and lived there 3 nights. Didn't see a soul until the next day.
Each morning there would be a 9 a.m. knock at the door and a hot breakfast basket was delivered to us. We set it back out on the porch after breakfast and they picked it up later.
We never saw the owner but did chat briefly with the lady who delivered breakfast. We loved being left alone in our own little houses. We would have been just as happy in their "real" B&B around the corner too, but the independence of having the houses to ourselves was great.
There was no housekeeping while we were there. They only clean it after you check out, or once a week for longer stays. This is pretty much the same format I'll be using for the vacation rental apartments I'll be opening this fall.
.
That reminds me of one of my favorite movies. It is Same Time Next Year. :)
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
That depends on you and how much you want to do. We had a 3 room place and we always served breakfast. I think it is quite expected from the smaller B & B's...I mean that is what it is about. Bed and Breakfast. If people want continental, they can go to a hotel.
.
Totally agree! A bed and breakfast should be a sit down served meal! If I want to serve my self I will stay at a hotel! When we stay at B & B's I want to be pampered! We have had a lot of guests over the years that stayed with us because we serve a hot meal! We always make something different everyday. The guests love that. We also never tell them the day before what we will be serving. Unless it is a repeat and they request something. It's a surprise each morning and they love that!
.
I agree....both on the meaning of the terms "continental vs. self-catered" and the advantages of serving a full breakfast if you are a small B+B. We are the only small B+B, in a popular destination, that serves a full breakfast. Granted, we had to go through all the training, testing and permitting to be able to cook and serve food, but we also charge more and appeal to those looking for more "luxury" and pampering. This is totally consistent with our unique location, limited availability and "boutique B+B" branding.
On the down side, making a full, freshly baked, home-cooked breakfast every day for months on end can be exhausting. If you were large enough to hire someone to help out then it would make sense. If you are small and doing all the work yourself you may find it easier to manage if you choose one of the other options.
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
That depends on you and how much you want to do. We had a 3 room place and we always served breakfast. I think it is quite expected from the smaller B & B's...I mean that is what it is about. Bed and Breakfast. If people want continental, they can go to a hotel.
.
Totally agree! A bed and breakfast should be a sit down served meal! If I want to serve my self I will stay at a hotel! When we stay at B & B's I want to be pampered! We have had a lot of guests over the years that stayed with us because we serve a hot meal! We always make something different everyday. The guests love that. We also never tell them the day before what we will be serving. Unless it is a repeat and they request something. It's a surprise each morning and they love that!
.
I agree....both on the meaning of the terms "continental vs. self-catered" and the advantages of serving a full breakfast if you are a small B+B. We are the only small B+B, in a popular destination, that serves a full breakfast. Granted, we had to go through all the training, testing and permitting to be able to cook and serve food, but we also charge more and appeal to those looking for more "luxury" and pampering. This is totally consistent with our unique location, limited availability and "boutique B+B" branding.
On the down side, making a full, freshly baked, home-cooked breakfast every day for months on end can be exhausting. If you were large enough to hire someone to help out then it would make sense. If you are small and doing all the work yourself you may find it easier to manage if you choose one of the other options.
.
Silverspoon said:
On the down side, making a full, freshly baked, home-cooked breakfast every day for months on end can be exhausting. If you were large enough to hire someone to help out then it would make sense. If you are small and doing all the work yourself you may find it easier to manage if you choose one of the other options.
I don't think we're as busy as you are given your location vs mine but we generally go non-stop from May-Oct. We can have up to 17 in the house at the same time and it's just us doing the breakfast. Yes, it is exhausting to try to come up with something that suits the dietary restrictions but isn't cardboard on toast. The cooking part is easier than the planning part but maybe I'm saying that because I'm the planner and not the cook!
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
That depends on you and how much you want to do. We had a 3 room place and we always served breakfast. I think it is quite expected from the smaller B & B's...I mean that is what it is about. Bed and Breakfast. If people want continental, they can go to a hotel.
.
Totally agree! A bed and breakfast should be a sit down served meal! If I want to serve my self I will stay at a hotel! When we stay at B & B's I want to be pampered! We have had a lot of guests over the years that stayed with us because we serve a hot meal! We always make something different everyday. The guests love that. We also never tell them the day before what we will be serving. Unless it is a repeat and they request something. It's a surprise each morning and they love that!
.
I agree....both on the meaning of the terms "continental vs. self-catered" and the advantages of serving a full breakfast if you are a small B+B. We are the only small B+B, in a popular destination, that serves a full breakfast. Granted, we had to go through all the training, testing and permitting to be able to cook and serve food, but we also charge more and appeal to those looking for more "luxury" and pampering. This is totally consistent with our unique location, limited availability and "boutique B+B" branding.
On the down side, making a full, freshly baked, home-cooked breakfast every day for months on end can be exhausting. If you were large enough to hire someone to help out then it would make sense. If you are small and doing all the work yourself you may find it easier to manage if you choose one of the other options.
.
Silverspoon said:
On the down side, making a full, freshly baked, home-cooked breakfast every day for months on end can be exhausting. If you were large enough to hire someone to help out then it would make sense. If you are small and doing all the work yourself you may find it easier to manage if you choose one of the other options.
I don't think we're as busy as you are given your location vs mine but we generally go non-stop from May-Oct. We can have up to 17 in the house at the same time and it's just us doing the breakfast. Yes, it is exhausting to try to come up with something that suits the dietary restrictions but isn't cardboard on toast. The cooking part is easier than the planning part but maybe I'm saying that because I'm the planner and not the cook!
.
With several oppotunities on the horizon, I am finding myself having to think harder about some of these questions as I may very well be taking the leap sooner rather than later. If you hire help (cost aside - assuming it is justified by volume) how do you split time attending to guests entering the dining room and being a control freak in the kitchen? ie wanting to control the preparation/cooking/plating part as well as being an attentive host.
The three properties are very different and thus breakfast would be too.
Option three is raw land and I could build and create whatever I wanted. (yes I have said I don't like "build it they will come". But...this may be the right choice for the longer term.)
Does anyone have hired help in the kitchen?
 
If I saw 'continental' I would assume someone laid the breakfast out each morning in the dining room. 'Self-catered' implies there is a fridge in the room where everything is stored and that I probably have to bring some of it myself.
That's my take on those words..
If a bed and breakfast had 3 or 4 rooms, would it be worth doing a continental breakfast, or better to do a served breakfast?
.
That depends on you and how much you want to do. We had a 3 room place and we always served breakfast. I think it is quite expected from the smaller B & B's...I mean that is what it is about. Bed and Breakfast. If people want continental, they can go to a hotel.
.
Totally agree! A bed and breakfast should be a sit down served meal! If I want to serve my self I will stay at a hotel! When we stay at B & B's I want to be pampered! We have had a lot of guests over the years that stayed with us because we serve a hot meal! We always make something different everyday. The guests love that. We also never tell them the day before what we will be serving. Unless it is a repeat and they request something. It's a surprise each morning and they love that!
.
I agree....both on the meaning of the terms "continental vs. self-catered" and the advantages of serving a full breakfast if you are a small B+B. We are the only small B+B, in a popular destination, that serves a full breakfast. Granted, we had to go through all the training, testing and permitting to be able to cook and serve food, but we also charge more and appeal to those looking for more "luxury" and pampering. This is totally consistent with our unique location, limited availability and "boutique B+B" branding.
On the down side, making a full, freshly baked, home-cooked breakfast every day for months on end can be exhausting. If you were large enough to hire someone to help out then it would make sense. If you are small and doing all the work yourself you may find it easier to manage if you choose one of the other options.
.
Silverspoon said:
On the down side, making a full, freshly baked, home-cooked breakfast every day for months on end can be exhausting. If you were large enough to hire someone to help out then it would make sense. If you are small and doing all the work yourself you may find it easier to manage if you choose one of the other options.
I don't think we're as busy as you are given your location vs mine but we generally go non-stop from May-Oct. We can have up to 17 in the house at the same time and it's just us doing the breakfast. Yes, it is exhausting to try to come up with something that suits the dietary restrictions but isn't cardboard on toast. The cooking part is easier than the planning part but maybe I'm saying that because I'm the planner and not the cook!
.
With several oppotunities on the horizon, I am finding myself having to think harder about some of these questions as I may very well be taking the leap sooner rather than later. If you hire help (cost aside - assuming it is justified by volume) how do you split time attending to guests entering the dining room and being a control freak in the kitchen? ie wanting to control the preparation/cooking/plating part as well as being an attentive host.
The three properties are very different and thus breakfast would be too.
Option three is raw land and I could build and create whatever I wanted. (yes I have said I don't like "build it they will come". But...this may be the right choice for the longer term.)
Does anyone have hired help in the kitchen?
.
If you own a B&B you typically work the B&B, meaning cooking and serving, and interacting with guests, if you own a larger inn, then you hire help.
 
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