Breakfast at the Manor

...an unforgettable way to start your day.

the Backstory...

The other "B" in "B&B" is... Breakfast. So what does the B&B Guest expect? B&B Guests certainly do expect something special -- not a "hotel/motel 'free' breakfast" nor the commercial $17 hotel-restaurant served-all-at-once breakfasts all of us are too familiar with in our past travels. B&Bs should do breakfast differently, and typically, most are rightfully proud of their home-cooked food.

Our Team furrowed their brows to seriously ponder "how can we go way beyond the normal expectations?"

(The Dempsey Manor Team got a shiver down their collective backs when they contemplated The Manor doing what anybody/everybody else is doing. Just not good enough for here.)

Our Team put heads together and tackled "How can we make the Gourmet Breakfast at The Dempsey Manor an event of, by, and for itself? How can we give it character that no restaurant can? Breakfast here isn't just the most important meal of our Guest's day (which it is); it should be the best meal of our Guest's day. How can we make it such a stand-out that (at least by reputation) it would fall into the category of a Manistee "destination," (if it were possible) also of and by itself?

The DM team thought long, hard and deep on these challenges, and they all hope that what you will experience now is "a great step for man" in the direction their challenges have led them!

So they decided...

Spare no expense. Obtain locally farmed and raised produce and meats wherever possible; organic if possible. Herbs? Fresh, of course. Mint and garnishes? Picked from the garden patch. Fruits? Seasonal and fresh.
Serve dishes that are not only delicious but nutritious. (Kinda gibes with the above.)
Have an unending vocabulary of dishes. This guarantees our stand-out variety made possible because our kitchen is wide open to the breakfast cuisines of other countries and cultures. There's everything right about American biscuits and sausage gravy, Northern Italian strada (Italian quiche), Turkish fresh fruit-and-yoghurt smoothies, Irish hamsteak in sauteed apple slices, English walnut and maple-syrup scones, cream-cheese and fruit-stuffed French toast, Indian baked sweet gingered grapefruit, well-seasoned German wurst and brats, English bangers, Mexican chorizo with an Australian baked egg and vegetable cassarole ...need we go on? You see the delightful picture here.
Remember always that Guests also love the flavors, textures, aromas and looks of breakfast recipes they loved in their childhood -- the things that Grandma or Mom used to make for them on Sundays, holidays and birthdays.
Respect all guests' food allergies and aversions; as well as their requests.
Never skimp portions for economy; always accommodate every appetite.
Never ever serve just a three-item one-course meal: and make breakfast compete with dinner for inclusion of all food groups. After all, breakfast is the most important meal!
Always serve in successive courses, never all at once, to assure everything is set before the Guest when it is meant to be eaten at its proper temperature.
Every dish should be as much a feast for the eyes as for the tummy.
Reputation is everything: every Guest should experience the best -- and expect the unexpected!

The Experience

You guessed it, the experience of The Dempsey Manor's singular Gourmet Breakfast includes each and every aspect detailed in the Backstory above.

But even before the famous Dempsey Manor multi-course Gourmet Breakfast appears, you early-risers can enjoy a fresh-brewed cup of craft and regional coffee [or a selection of imported fine teas] of your choice.

What's your pleasure? Bustelo Espresso (dark, strong, Cuban!)? Green Mountain Breakfast Blend or Colombian Select Fair Trade? Maybe the House Blend (medium-dark roast, mellow, rich and smooth) or a Bold Kenyan (the fruity and earthy dark roast with a smooth body). Whatever your taste in fine coffees or teas might be (and even hot cocoas: both pre-ski and apres-ski) ...enjoy them here.

Let's talk about some of the charm woven into the experience you won't find in restaurants.

Each Breakfast...

is served on authentic Victorian pattern porcelain china,
in service-ware that is either 19th century Victorian silver or faithful Victorian reproductions,
with 19th century and/or Victorian pattern silver flatware,
complemented by authentic Victorian period multi-faceted crystal glassware, either of English, European, or Bohemian origin,
at a place-setting that includes fine linen,
and brought to table in Victorian silver service-vessels with serving utensils that complete an incomparable glistening, sparkling table of elegance and style not even imagined in restaurants.

The DM Team decided that every meal should make memories. So to begin with, every meal includes many dishes. Then, these dishes are timed and brought to your table in courses, like a fine dining experience (say, at a English countryside Manor House in the 19th Century when staff was skilled and plentiful!).

A First Course may typically include several foods: a baked offering fresh from the oven such as English scones, or loaves of fruit breads, or Southern buttermilk biscuits, or maybe fruit- and/or -nut-filled muffins. These will be accompanied by a fruit drink (perhaps a nectar of mango and passion fruit, or fresh pomegranate juice, or a Turkish fruit-and-yoghurt smoothie). These colorful morning treats are complements to the star of the First Course: a fresh brewing of artesan or craft coffee. Our selections range from Costa Rican rain forest blends, to dark brews with espresso overtones, to East African roasts and Hawaiian Kona mellow flavors, and more.
The Second Course offers you with a sampling of the fresh fruits of the Season (such as a medley of berries roasted to perfection in their juices), or perhaps an exotic dish of imported tropical fruits (which might be a Cuban delight of platanos maduros, plaintains and currants simmered in butter and honey with tropical spices).. Sweet and palate-pleasing, the second course is always special and always a favorite.
The Third Course provides everything else to get you up and going all day long...and may consist of from two to four hardy types of delicious and complementary dishes. The Third Course is always an eye-catching and mouth-watering combination of recipes spanning several food groups.
The Fourth Breakfast Course is a Dempsey Manor Specialty -- an amazing Breakfast Dessert. Not offered every day, but when included it is the finish with panache! But, sorry folks, we aren't going to spoil the surprise here...you have to come and experience this unexpected treat.

Below, Enjoy a collage of various past breakfast menus...though chances are none of them will be repeated exactly. There are so many interesting combinations of fine recipes in the Manor's files that when you visit, your Gourmet Breakfast will be one more of many unique experiences at the Manor.