Right, that’s it. Enough is enough, Gen Z. The unrestricted annihilation of what were once morning rituals has to stop.
Tuning out of breakfast radio or “quiet” quitting were bad enough – but there’s no way a full English breakfast is toast. According to a survey of 1,000 people in the UK, 20 per cent have a full English (or one of its variants across the nation, with each country having a unique take) every few months, while 10 per cent never have one. Survey participants were aged 18 to 34, meaning roughly a half consisted of millennials, with the other being Gen Z.
But that can’t be right, because every 30-something I know goes through fry-ups with the same vigour as the sausage-inhaling green poltergeist in Ghostbusters. That leaves Gen Z – the healthy-snack-obsessed, climate-conscious, wholesome-living generation – as my main suspects.
Of those surveyed, 37 per cent said they did not eat a full English – which typically includes sausages, bacon, eggs, baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast and tea – because of the calorie count, while a similar number believe the dish is too greasy and the rest think they take too long to prepare. The study found 89 per cent suffer “food guilt” after eating one.
Stick it in an air fryer if you want to gentrify it, but don’t turn your back on a fry-up entirely
Food guilt? Does anyone actually know the nutritional value of a vegan sausage once the soybeans – grown all the way in what was once the untouched Amazon rainforest – are punched and pulverised, marinated in salt and E numbers and vacuum-sealed to ship halfway around the world? Because I don't. At least meat sausages have natural ingredients, you know, tails and all.
To the generation glued to their social feeds, taking digital detox breaks from Instagram just to sit on the sofa, clawing through the web for the next virtue-signalling fad everyone else is incandescent with rage about online – put your phone down. Cook a fry-up, eat it and go run around outside. There's no race to be “the most wholesome” waiting to ambush you in the analogue world.
'Still time to save the dish'
Lydia Baker of Breville, the company that conducted the study, said: “There’s still time to save the iconic dish. It’s a beloved institution for a reason. Social media has spread an endless number of accounts giving advice on what’s ‘good’ and ‘bad’ to eat, with the humble fry-up often falling into the latter camp. But it’s perfectly possible to create a traditional fry-up that’s a little more guilt-free, and less hassle.”
Is that where we are going wrong, falling down too many rabbit food holes online courtesy of wellness bros? Well, according to Instagram, #cake has 132 million posts, #pizza has 71 million and #burger has 27.9 million. And #salad? Well, it's 25.8 million.
Anyway, fry-ups are supposed to be unhealthy; it’s in the name, for a start. Stick it in an air fryer if you want to gentrify it or if those guilty tears sting too much, but don’t turn your back on it entirely. Puffing on a green apple vape – not one of your five a day – won’t kick-start a health mission. But grilled tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms might.
There’s also plenty of protein to be found in the meat and eggs portion of the plate, and good carbs if you opt for brown or wholemeal toast. I’m also pretty sure our doctor recommended super-fibrous baked beans to my brother to help move things along after he swallowed a Lego man. Admittedly, that was in the 1990s …
And the best part about a fry-up is it’s each to their own. You can swap out the fried eggs for scrambled, tea for coffee, or mushrooms for more tomatoes. Go wild.
Me? I’m a staunch beans-for-bread swapper. Having been forced to eat beans as a child by my Italian grandmother, I promised myself, at age five, that I’d never eat them as a grown-up. So I don’t. As for her, she's still eating a full English at 90, upping the ante by frying her bread, no less.
The breakfast may have English in the name, but it has more tribute acts than a Las Vegas Elvis Presley convention. As well as my nonna's Italian riff, there’s an Irish version, with wholemeal toast swapped for soda bread, which looks like a breeze block. It goes down about the same.
Americans love theirs with a hash brown (an increasingly common sight on plates stateside, I’ll add) and pancakes. Canadians usually go the same route, though with lashings of maple syrup. The Argentinian dish gramajo scramble is basically the same components served over grated potato.
And you can also swap the bread for a tortilla, wrap it all up and, hey presto, that’s a Mexican “burrito” version – and no washing up. There are halal versions across the Middle East, vegetarian versions in India and everything-in-between versions in South-East Asia. I had smoked prawns and bok choy on the plate once in Vietnam, drowning in fish sauce instead of ketchup. It was a riot.
Want some advice? Lighten up
A fry-up is the king of breakfasts and is about as English as the royal family. The meal was a mainstay of greasy spoon cafes that, according to reports, are heading the same way as the dodo. A 2003 book titled Classic Cafes estimated a mere 500 were still going in the UK, down from about 2,000 in the 1950s.
People loved them back then, with no food guilt in sight. Good old boomers couldn’t get enough of them. And fish and chips. They didn't worry about it and obesity was a rare thing. In fact, obesity levels in the UK have risen by as much as 20 per cent since the 1960s. Ever seen a picture of your grandparents in that era? Exactly.
They could eat whatever they wanted because it was done in moderation, not consternation (and without Ozempic). Not like my fellow avocado-on-toast millennials or the fun’s-over follow-up act.
When it comes to whether or not today’s youth should eat a fry-up or worry about calories, I asked my artery-punishing gran for her advice. “Lighten up,” she said, rather ironically. Translation: stop fretting and live life to the full English.
SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Persuasion
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Naga
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The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
MATCH INFO:
Second Test
Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am daily at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Entrance is free
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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Abu Dhabi GP Saturday schedule
12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
2pm Formula One final practice
5pm Formula One qualifying
6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
WE%20NO%20LONGER%20PREFER%20MOUNTAINS
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
FA Cup semi-finals
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
Matches on Bein Sports
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
