THE breakfast at a Horley B&B has been crowned the nation's favourite.
The full English served up at Cumberland House has been voted the best B&B or guest house brekkie in the country at the Best Breakfast Awards.
Carmel Farquhar, one of the Brighton Road B&B's owners, entered her full English into the competition and said she was "buzzing" to win the award. Her tasty fry up was also voted the second best hot breakfast and second best overall breakfast in England.
Miss Farquhar, who also rustles up a continental breakfast for guests if requested, told the Mirror that variety is the key to a good breakfast service, although the dish which actually won the award was more of a classic.
She said: "I grill the bacon, everything is done with a healthy side. I don't use a lot of fat, not even on my fried eggs. I don't like grease and I cook the breakfast the way that I like to eat them.
"Presentation is also important, making sure everything is neatly arranged on the plate."
She added: "I think a good breakfast goes with the service. It's just one part of what we offer here. It's not just a bed and breakfast, it's an experience to come and stay with us."
The awards were organised as part of Breakfast Week (January 25-31) highlighting the importance of the first meal of the day. They were open to food venues of all types, from cafés through to pubs, restaurants, hotels, B&Bs and even food vans, with winners decided by a public vote.
Cumberland House has been a B&B since 1975 and is run by Miss Farquhar and her partner of 13 years, Clive Gouger. The pair took over the business in 2005 and live on site.
Together they have developed a B&B so popular with one guest that he has stayed every week Monday to Thursday for eight years.
Miss Farquhar, 52, said: "I have enjoyed every morning that I have been here. Times have been hard, obviously during the recession, but we have looked carefully at what we are doing. People want value for money and that is what they will get at Cumberland House. We are just along the road from Gatwick Airport, so most of our trade is Gatwick business."
She added: "Clive and myself work very well together. We are here 24 hours a day and we always put a plan together of how things are going to be run.
"When we came here we weren't very far away from the recession. It really, really kicked in badly here in 2008. I would say we have only, in about the last 18 months, seen any growth.
"In the last four years we tried to offer a better service. We decided the best thing to do was renovate our rooms.
"The house was always comfortable but now it's much more comfortable than it was before."
