The Breakfast Pudding

In all office environments there are characters, actually in all lines of work, blue or white collar, sales or administration, office or site – there is always that one guy or girl who sets themselves out from the crowd.

You know them and they know them, the person who brings the fun to the office, the kinda person who would wear a novelty tie on a Friday with a cartoon character on

But recruitment tends to attract a specific breed of person. That is, it did until recent years – now perhaps it’s my misperception but that type of person was an Alpha A, the type of person who is overly extroverted, smile and a ping pops out from their teeth, think real estate King Buddy Kane, sales and handshakes blasting from every cold calling, sh*t eating smile.

Now, that type of person is not who works in recruitment nowadays but the part real estate agent, tooth whitening sales man is much more likely to have their foibles than is perhaps your average Architect.

Some of the very interesting eccentricities that I have noted over the years include the Consultant who decided to lose weight by changing his diet to Yorkshire pudding wraps, somebody who would only eat a single, cold, fried egg for lunch, the person who defied the dress code and wore nothing but green trousers, the person who, when nervous would chew on printer paper, another consultant who would try to pass down time by filling people’s shoes with coins and then trying to eat a packet of blue tack.

These are professional people, in a serious, professional job and yet look at the behaviour! ?Not that I can talk – I was known as the “OCD Guy” for many years, and that was throughout an office block of 9 companies, just because I opened the bathroom door with my sleeve or elbow. I do though, feel that the Covid era vindicated my slightly unusual behaviour, perhaps I was even a trend setter! I do of course digress, the point is, we are all not without our foibles and that is what makes up the beautiful world we live in – right?

Of all the people you encounter, particularly when working in a sales based environment (as it tends to attract a certain type of character) you will always have your favourites and for me that has to extend to the “Breakfast Pudding Guy” . No of course, if this unnamed person is reading this article, he knows who he is, but I want to make this very clear, my thoughts on the “breakfast pudding” are those of endearment and admiration NOT mockery and ridicule!

In recruitment there was, perhaps in the distant past, a badge of honour to go out on the raging lash, drinking to the small hours, and then turning up at 8am for a full 12 hour day of telesales. This badge of honour was often helped with a bacon baguette, full sugar cola and bar of chocolate. Prior to the days of Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat there was a marvellous delivery service in Bristol called Bacon Express? (possibly the originators of the Deliveroo service) , the only items on the menu – coffee, and freshly baked bacon baguettes, perfect crisp bacon, soft doughy bread, crisp on the outside, you couldn't get a better hangover cure – or could you?

There in comes “the Breakfast Pudding”! ?The theory behind such a deliciously amazing concept being, how can you have the savoury delight of a bacon baguette of cheese toastie for breakfast without rounding it off with a pudding? Think slab of red velvet cake, chocolate brownie, ginger cake, carrot cake etc – all washed down with a can of Monster or Relentless, to absolutely slam a morning of cold calling! Now that is a “breakfast pudding”, the cornerstone of any nutritional breakfast to quote a certain cult movie.

Now imagine having a breakfast pudding post bacon baguette, every day for at least a year- I'm salivating at the thought, as equally my arteries groan at the thought, but what a way to set up your day! It is this that adds to the wonderful and eclectic tapestry? of the office personality – lost somewhat in current climes, as I supp my 23rd Huel lunch of a very bleak January.

It’s all rather bland nowadays with fitness trackers, MyFitness Pal calorie counters, lunch time Yoga and wellness time – what happened to a can of full fat cola washed down with 2 B n H Gold? Albeit there does remain some nuggets within the current workplace, of which their habits I won’t divulge in order to contain the identities of those involved.

The point of this rambling garbage of an article? Not actual the “breakfast pudding” topic itself (although I do love the concept and occasional indulgence of the BP”, but more that the “Breakfast Pudding” highlights how fantastic the types of people recruitment attracts and their enjoyable, inspiring and entertaining foibles in the day to day fun of office life!

All names withheld in line with GDPR and protection of identities – but your know who you are!

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