John Lennon's Favorite Breakfast Was As Iconic As He Was

A pop culture icon, rhythm guitarist, and singer for The Beatles, John Lennon led a complicated life in the spotlight. One constant in his life, however, was his love for food. Lennon's former assistant-turned-lover, May Pang, revealed to Daily Mail that Lennon "had a voracious appetite." Pang and Lennon were together for about 18 months, and it was during this time that Pang learned to cook one of Lennon's favorite dishes: a full English breakfast.

The beauty of a full English breakfast is the variety of tastes and textures all found on a singular plate. While it's not a light meal by any means, it's a substantial and filling way to start the day — so it's no surprise that John Lennon favored the hearty meal that would keep him full throughout his time at protests, rehearsal, or in the studio. While living together in New York, Pang said she and Lennon had a weekly Sunday tradition, where she'd bring Lennon newspapers and coffee, as he eschewed tea in the United States due to it being too British. Once back in their apartment, Pang would then whip up a big breakfast for the two of them. "I would then make a big English breakfast of bacon and eggs, beans, toast, tomatoes, chips[,] and sometimes black pudding, after I discovered a local Irish butcher who sold it," said Pang.

A full English breakfast, sometimes known as a fry-up, can vary, but it generally includes both sausage and bacon, saucy baked beans, a slice of bread that's usually pan-fried rather than simply toasted, cooked tomato, and of course, eggs with runny yolks. You're also likely to find any number of sides added to the gigantic plate of food, like fried potatoes, black pudding or blood sausage, and mushrooms. Fried toast is essential to the meal, as it serves as a way to sop up all the extra liquid coming from the egg yolks, baked beans, tomato, and bacon grease.

The bacon found in a full English breakfast isn't what the American bacon you're likely picturing, which comes from pork belly (the British refer to this as streaky bacon). Rather, it's what is known as rasher bacon, slices from the loin of the pig that are a bit more lean but still contain a strip of fat. The sausage, known across the pond as bangers, is usually made with seasoned pork in a natural casing, pan-seared to crispy deliciousness. May Pang recalls that she didn't initially know how to cook the black pudding sausage that John Lennon preferred, but he instructed her to "just fry it up," so she did, noting how it would stink up their whole kitchen — but Lennon was still a huge fan.