Bruch at Brasenose College - A Cultural Experience

For my final art review, I would like to review a culinary arts/cultural experience that I have had more than once during my time here at Oxford. It is an event that I have enjoyed going to, and it has allowed me to gain more insight into the British and Oxford culture and traditions, contrasting them with American traditions. This event is the Brasenose College brunch.

Brunch happens every weekend on Saturday and Sunday, in the place of breakfast and lunch. At Brasenose College, the students have several different options. Most people choose to get the set menu, which consist of five hot food items that they promptly ladle and stack onto your plate. There are several food items to choose your five from, so there is variety even in the “set” menu. What is unique about this brunch menu from traditional American brunch is that it is an English breakfast menu, significantly different than what I am used to in the States. This past Saturday I went to brunch and got the set menu. I chose to get sausage, bacon, baked beans, eggs, and hash browns. Aside from the set menu, which includes toast as well, students can also choose to buy individual items. In general there is always fruit, yogurt, and different kinds of juice boxes at the end of the line in the cafeteria that people may choose to purchase. These items are here during normal meal times as well as brunch. At brunch only, people can purchase cereal and/or granola, which come with milk. These individual items only cost about a few pence each. The apple juice boxes remind me of my childhood, as I would always have Juicy Juice boxes in elementary school. I got an apple juice box this past Saturday.

Once people are finished purchasing their food, they take their trays to the Brasenose dining hall, a room that seems to exude tradition and pride in the British heritage. The walls are a dark mahogany color, wooden and sturdy. The tables are long and stretch from one end of the hall to the other. There are three rows of these tables which students choose their seats from. My favorite thing about brunch was that the tables already have pots of tea and coffee set, along with teacups, saucers, and spoons. In addition, the tables also have small bowls containing packets of milk and butter. Next to these bowls are small cups of sugar. This arrangement is what makes brunch (and breakfast) at Brasenose a truly cultural experience for me. In America there is orange juice and milk; in Britain, there is tea. The thought of tea at breakfast/brunch time was strange to me at first, but I was quickly converted by how delicious the tea was.

The brunch experience at Brasenose College is one that I have participated in frequently during my time in Oxford. It has been my favorite meal to go to. As far as quality of food, it is very good. The best part of brunch for me, however, is the experience of British tradition and culture, and having the opportunity to eat in Brasenose’s splendid dining hall, which itself is full of historical paintings and artifacts.