Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day by many, so it needs to live up to those expectations.
And while it’s simple to fall into the routine of whipping up a dull and tasteless brekky, there’s never been a better time to experiment with breakfast platters.
Platters, in general, have taken the food world by storm in recent years – and it’s easy to understand why.
You’re always spoilt for choice when met with one. Whether you love nothing more than waking up to a fresh bowl of fruit, aromatic pastries, creamy yoghurt with granola, or the odd sweet treat, you’ll struggle to find a better way to start your day than with a breakfast platter.
Thinking back, I had only ever enjoyed one at an exotic hotel before sampling a spread from The Perfect Platter not too long ago. And in this case, local was superior – by a longshot.
For those of you unaware of The Perfect Platter, based in Inverurie, the business is fast becoming one of the go-to places to order from when in need of a platter in the north-east. From meat and cheese, smore’s, and sweet and savoury varieties, to an afternoon tea, fruit platter and chocolate covered strawberries box, there’s plenty to choose from.
With that said – and waiting only moments after they had officially been launched on the business’ website – I decided to try out The Perfect Platter’s breakfast platter. All I had to do was visit their website, which is simple to navigate, and place an order for collection. I received my confirmation email in a matter of minutes.
The Food
The Perfect Platter’s social media channels are flooded with mouth-watering images of their spreads, so it’s safe to say that my family and I were equally as excited to see our platter in person. To be quite honest, I would go as far as to say that it was even more visually appealing than the pictures.
We opted for the breakfast platter for two – out of the size options varying from one to six – which was a fantastic amount for feeding the four of us, believe it or not, so I’d urge anyone to keep that in mind.
Starting out with my mum’s favourite elements – the pastries. There were two croissants, one Danish pastry (cut into two) and two pain au chocolates with chunks of rich dark chocolate running through them. Each one boasted a crisp outer layer and a smooth, soft inside.
While they were all delightfully sweet, the Danish pastry came out on top. The centre of one half boasted a thick, creamy custard, while the other carried a tart raspberry jam that danced on the tongue. To top it all off, runny icing had been drizzled across the treat as well. And as there were several slices of fresh ham and cheese at-hand, my mum and dad sliced open their croissants and placed them inside, making for tasty-looking croissant sandwiches.
Admittedly, the pastries were the first items to be placed onto our plates and demolished. But close seconds were the two golden-brown sugar waffles and stack of miniature pancakes. You could smell the sweetness of them circling around the kitchen and it lingered for some time – to our delight.
Catching a glimpse of several spreads inside the box, I removed two packs of Nutella (a chocolate hazelnut spread) and one tub of jam. I then began layering them onto the bakes and used up some of the vibrant fresh fruit that was also on offer, including raspberries, strawberries, passionfruit and blueberries, as toppings. I’ll admit that my presentation wasn’t quite up to par, but the treats tasted superb nevertheless – although a salty element, such as bacon, may have been a welcome addition to balance the flavours ever so slightly.
At this point, the four of us were feeling satisfied with our luxurious breakfast. However, there were several remaining elements left to try, and we couldn’t resist the urge to dive right in with them perched right in front of us.
The macarons, granola – produced by From Bakery Lane – and yoghurt all looked divine. There were two macarons, so it was a race to see who would be sinking their teeth into them. I prevailed with the caramel option – it doesn’t actually specify the flavours of the confections on the website, but this certainly came through. The sweetness of the caramel hit my tongue as I took a small bite, yet it wasn’t too overpowering. As for the raspberry macaron (again, another guess on the flavour), my mum said it was “crisp, yet melted in the mouth”, as you would expect.
My dad mixed some of the creamy Greek yoghurt with his granola, noting that it was one of the finest he’s had in some time. I knew this would be the case having heard such fantastic feedback about From Bakery Lane in the past. Taking advantage of the hefty pile of fruit remaining, like myself, he added some to his mixture. Oh, and the addition of two Lindt Lindor milk truffles to our order was a lovely touch.
Believe it or not, nothing but several blueberries were left untouched from the platter. And for those of you that decide to place an order for a special occasion, there’s even the option to add a personalised cookie to your platter box – created by S&S Inverurie.
The Verdict
The Perfect Platter is a local business that really stands out to me, now more so than ever.
Run by mother-daughter duo Lorna and Jade Michie, it’s lovely to see how much the pair have grown the business in such a short space of time. And I can’t stress enough the clear passion they have for what they do.
My family and I could not fault the business’ breakfast box. Each element was evidently fresh and tasted divine.
With The Perfect Platter now offering a limited edition Mother’s Day platter box as well, I know exactly what my family and I will be tucking into when that special day arrives in the near future.
Price: £28 (breakfast box for two people)
Address: 6 Rashieley Road, Inverurie
Visit www.theperfectplatteraberdeenshire.co.uk to place an order or find out more information
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.