Nothing says luxury and romance more than breakfast served in bed. And since it's not the kind of thing you do every day, make sure it's special

Juice
Whether it's orange, grapefruit, pineapple or peach it has to be freshly squeezed. If you have a juicer, so much the better because you can mix and match and come up with your own custom combinations. If not, there are now dozens of good quality, fresh fruit juices available in supermarkets and health food shops. Buy it as fresh as possible and keep it chilled.

Coffee and Tea
Arguably the most important element on your breakfast tray. If it's tea, make it in a small pot (warmed, of course) and serve it ready to pour - used teabags on the side of a plate will lower the tone!

You would have to be living on another planet not to have noticed the explosion of coffee trends over the past couple of years. You CAN make coffee as good as the ones you get at stylish coffee bars. First off, throw out the jar of instant coffee granules (or at least put it in the back of the cupboard for today). Buy some good quality filter or cafetiere coffee, depending on your method. Grinding your own beans produces a fresh, rich cup with a luxurious depth of flavour - for the true coffee connoisseur, it's the only option. Coffee grinders are inexpensive and small enough not to clutter up your counter or shelf. If taken white, heat some full cream milk in a jug in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Use a swizzle stick or balloon whisk and roll quickly between your palms to froth the milk. Serve with a sprinkling of cocoa or cinnamon. Who could resist you after such an effort?

Next page: to eat

To Eat
Breakfast in bed should be a fairly dainty affair - it's far easier to pick something up with your fingers than to tuck in with knife and fork.

1. Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs with Chives on Toasted Brioche
   Chop a strip of smoked salmon into small pieces. Scramble 3 free range eggs in a little butter and, when almost done add the salmon, 1 tbsp freshly snipped chives and black pepper. Toast 2 slices of brioche and pile on the eggs and salmon.
2. Monte Cristo-style Breakfast Sandwich
   Heat a little butter and oil in a large frying pan. Whisk 2 eggs in a shallow bowl, season with salt and pepper and dip 4 bread slices in the egg. Fry as you would for French toast, about 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over 2 of the pieces of the bread and lay a slice of ham and a slice of cheese (Swiss is best: Gruyere, Emmental or Appenzeller) on top. Pick up the other 2 pieces of bread and lay them on top of the cheese to form a sandwich. When the bottom side of the sandwich is cooked, turn over and cook the remaining side. To serve, cut each sandwich into 4 triangles and dust with icing sugar. (Sounds strange, but it's good with a small pot of maple syrup to dip the triangles in.)
3. Exotic Fresh Fruit with Black Forest Ham
   Not just for starters. Cut long, thin wedges of Galia or Cantaloupe melon, along with some mango and papaya and serve with thin slices of Black Forest ham.

   More breakfast ideas:
   Full-on fry-up
   Fast fruit breakfasts
   Pancakes and waffles
   Breakfast for kids