I recently experienced breakfast in two different countries. In France, as the guest of Frederic Rouzaud, CEO of Louis Roederer Champagne, I entered the kitchen to find an exquisite table set with a variety of yoghurt, some fresh kiwi, extraordinarily good croissants and French pastries, smoked ham, homemade jams, crusty baguette with two hard cheeses and a selection of hand pressed juices. I wouldn't have expected anything less from the French.
Two days later in a pub in the Lake District, I ate a traditional English breakfast of bacon, egg, pork sausage, black pudding, hash brown fritter, mushroom, tomato and, of course, baked beans. It was delicious.
About 21 miles separates these two countries, but their cuisines could not be further apart.
