Toast is undoubtedly one of the easiest, most customizable breakfasts in existence. A single piece of bread can be topped with an infinite number of ingredients. And yet, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, falling back on the same avocado toast or peanut butter and banana formula day after day.
To spark some inspiration for your weekday breakfasts, we reached out to some of the most creative culinary professionals in the biz — F&W Best New Chefs. Here’s what they put on their morning toast.
Fancy butter
Out of the 12 chefs we polled, half of them told us that they top their toast with high-quality butter. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise — bread and butter is one of the most classic combinations there is. But chefs don’t just reach for any block. 2004 F&W Best New Chef Marc Orfaly prefers “expensive salted French butter,” while 2007 F&W Best New Chef Steve Corry tops his toast with cold Irish butter. “When the bread comes out of the toaster, I put it on a plate and wait for it to cool, then I apply cold, hard butter with lots of salt.”
Some chefs use fancy butter as the base for other ingredients. 2014 F&W Best New Chef Justin Yu, for instance, tops it with a little olive oil and an oil-packed brown anchovy because he’s “a glutton for umami punishment,” and 2018 F&W Best New Chef Julia Sullivan takes it in a sweet direction, with Bonne Maman Cherry Preserves. 2003 F&W Best New Chef Bryan Moscatello even uses a chili-infused fancy butter, called Le Beurre Bordier Piment d’Espelette. “It delivers just the right balance of richness and spice,” he says.
2021 F&W Best New Chef Paola Velez loves fancy butter so much that, when she travels, she’ll bring an empty suitcase to fill with a variety of butter. To prevent the butter from softening too much, Velez suggests freezing it until the moment you leave and immediately upon your arrival home.
Soft cheese
2017 F&W Best New Chef Nina Compton also goes for something rich and spreadable on her toast — a soft cheese. Her favorite type is Époisses de Bourgogne, a creamy French cheese with a pungent aroma. Compton finishes it with something salty and something pickled, like pearl onions, for acidity and an extra crunch.
Almond butter, avocado, and blueberries
You might have blended together this combination for your morning smoothie, but have you ever thought about putting it on toast? “It’s a full meal all at once,” says 2006 F&W Best New Chef Jason Wilson. After topping a smear of almond butter with the berries and avocado slices, he adds a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. “It gives me sustained energy, and it’s totally delicious.”
Peanut butter and pickled vegetables
2022 F&W Best New Chef Rob Rubba’s toast channels Southeast Asian flavors. “I’m not a sweet breakfast person. However, I’m a big fan of crunchy peanut butter with pickled cucumbers, jalapeños, and cilantro,” he says. This unexpected combination, which Rubba enjoys on a sourdough Pullman loaf, is reminiscent of banh mi or gỏi cuốn with peanut sauce.
Natto and egg
In England, you can find baked beans on toast. At 2017 F&W Best New Chef Noah Sandoval’s house, you can find fermented soybeans on toast. Sandoval tops his bread with natto — funky, sticky fermented soybeans that are often eaten with rice in Japan — and a soft-boiled egg. “It’s nutty and texturally interesting,” he says.
Organ meat
2011 F&W Best New Chef Kevin Willmann makes good use of organ meat — offcuts from butchering whole animals — with his ultra-savory toast. Willmann coats liver, heart, and kidneys in a housemade spice mix, then sautées them until they’re cooked through. “I deglaze the fond and mount it with butter, then spoon that business on some homemade sourdough,” he says. “It is so decadent.”
Peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff
After all the fancy butter and bold ingredients, sometimes the best toast is the kind that takes us back to our childhood. 2019 F&W Best New Chef Misti Norris’s favorite toast topping is a classic: peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff. The Fluffernutter lives on.
Dining and Cooking