Zennon Wijlens is head chef of Auckland restaurant Paris Butter and whips up incredible high-end cuisine during his working week. On the weekend he likes to keep it simple, but still delicious, and here he serves up a cheese and bacon scones eggs benedict recipe for an indulgent Sunday brunch.
What does Sunday look like in your kitchen?
On Sundays, we like to have a bit of a sleep-in after a late Saturday service at Paris Butter. I’ll start with a coffee and sorting out a couple of household chores, including giving the cat his special Sunday breakfast. Sunday is family day for us, the only day we all don’t have to work. We like to keep brunch a very no-mess no-fuss affair, especially after cooking high-end fine dining all week, it’s nice to keep it as simple as possible. The kitchen at home is very much Catherine’s (my fiancee) domain. She often laughs at how I cook all this amazing food all week but when it comes to using a microwave, I’m out of my depth. If she hasn’t had time to bake cheese and bacon scones on a Saturday, then we’ll pick up some of the delicious cheese ones from Homeland which are just as good, if not better. Brunch is one meal we almost always make at home and a personal favourite of mine is cheese and bacon scones eggs benedict.
Why have you chosen this dish?
I’ve chosen this dish for a couple of reasons, the first being, who doesn’t love a cheese scone or a cheese and bacon scone at that? And secondly who doesn’t like eggs benedict? For vegetarians, you can omit the bacon and add avocado and it’s just as delicious. If you’re not vegetarian and want to go ultra-indulgent you can add avocado to the scones with the bacon and eggs. While we don’t have this every week, it’s our special brunch recipe - a perfect Easter morning treat - that we love to indulge in whether it’s just the two of us or with family and friends. It’s relatively easy to make and delicious.