About Time You Met: Felicity SpectorBy Angelica Malin

As part of Lizi’s Breakfast Week, we’re going behind-the-scenes with London’s Breakfast Influencers – the bloggers, Instagrammers and chefs sharing their creations with social media, and setting the trends for our breakfast habits.

Here we meet Felicity Spector – a Great Taste award judge and food writer who lives in London. She regularly Instagrams her favourite breakfasts in London and can be found hanging out with chums Symmetry Breakfast on the weekends – follow her on Instagram here. Here we meet the lady behind the snaps:  

When and why did you start writing about food?

I was inspired to start writing about food by the sheer love of it. I kept meeting fantastic producers and chefs through my links with the Great Taste Awards and wanted to write about them. Last year I finally got an ipad and was able to join Instagram. It’s such a joyful, simple concept – take photos of delicious food, share them, like what you see.

Why breakfast?

I used to live in America: the words “breakfast anytime” sum up that libertarian, anything goes attitude towards food. Pancakes for dinner? Why not! And I love breakfast food. It’s basically all about the maple syrup. I have a very sweet tooth, which won’t surprise anyone who knows me – so I always go for pancakes, scones or banana bread in the mornings rather than eggs.

My ultimate go-too breakfast food?

I don’t often get the chance to cook at home – I’m always out! But there’s not much to beat a slice of home made fruit and nut soda bread with a generous layer of cream cheese and apricot jam. I also do a thick damson compote from a Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall recipe to serve with chilled rice pudding or Greek yoghurt.

What’s the best breakfast in London?

There are so many choices! The spelt pancakes with rhubarb at the Holborn Dining Room or the corncakes with housemade jam at Outsider Tart. For French toast  – the Chiltern Firehouse version is pretty unbeatable – or for a completely over the top combination stuffed with banana, caramel and marscapone, ther’s Sunday in Barnsbury. Then – of course – the outstanding babka at Honey and Co. And if I were to go savoury – it would be the sweet potato rosti with lox and eggs at The Good Egg.

What’s the best breakfast you’ve had abroad?

America, my spiritual home. I’d go 6,000 miles just for the banana chocolate almond croissants at b. patisserie in San Francisco – or the sour cherry cornmeal scone with pluot jam at the Cheese Board Collective in Berkeley. And then there’s New York, of course. I can never get enough of  the whitefish salad on pumpernickel bagel at Murray’s or Blackseed Bagels. Or the cheese blintzes at Barney Greengrass with extra maple syrup on the side.

London’s best coffee is…

Craft London in North Greenwich, the espresso blend, roasted on site, is utterly delicious. Or for decaff, I go for Allpress in Redchurch Street.

London’s best bakery is…

A tie between Bread Ahead, with their fantastic range of sourdough loaves – and the simple joy that is the cardamom and cinnamon buns at Fabrique in Hoxton. Go at Christmas, and you might be lucky enough to get the saffron kind. Sublime.

Post in association with Lizi’s Granola – like them on Facebook here and follow them on Twitter here. For more information, see Felicity’s Instagram here. Photo credits: Felicity Spector.