When it comes to breakfast, it's hard to beat a hearty Full English, isn't it?
Featuring the likes of bacon, eggs, sausages and hash browns, it's a delicious way to start the day.
I've sampled some pretty good fry-ups (many in the name of research) at places including cafes in the city and garden centres in the county.
For my latest breakfast-related mission, I decided to put Leicestershire farm cafes to the test.
The idea came after I enjoyed a Full English at Attfields Country Kitchen at Lodge Farm, Whetsone.
It got me thinking that farm cafes are likely to be a great place to visit for fantastically fresh meals.
After all, most use food (including eggs and meat) produced right there on the farm - which should make for a very tasty breakfast.
I visited five Leicestershire farm cafes, and tried a standard size Full English breakfast at each.
Here's what I reckoned.......
Cattows Farm Cafe, Heather
This farm is well known for its pick-you-own fruit offering, and it also has a quaint cafe, where you can enjoy pleasant views across the surrounding fields.
The breakfast menu is served from 9am until 11.30am Monday to Saturday and 9am until 11am Sunday.
According to the menu, all food is freshly prepared, and if ingredients aren't produced on the farm, they're sourced as locally as possible.
I ordered the Cattows Farmhouse Breakfast (£6.95) which swiftly arrived, and looked pretty good - although not as large as some of the others I tried.
It included two good quality, thick sausages, two rashers of thick bacon, a whole grilled tomato and whole flat mushroom - which was nice, and different to the small chunks you often get.
The two thick slices of toast were good, and the fried egg had a pleasingly runny yolk - although it was a tad oily still.
The black pudding was the only bit I didn't like, but that's down to personal taste.
3/5
Oakley Grange Farm Cafe, Hathern
This is a gorgeous cafe in a lovely location. The cafe is in a former barn and has seating downstairs as well as on a mezzanine level, which is where I sat.
The cafe is open from 9am weekdays and from 8am at weekends, with breakfast served every day until 11.30am.
The cafe says it uses fresh and organic ingredients, either reared or grown on Oakley Grange Farm or bought from carefully chosen suppliers.
The pork sausages and bacon are made from the farm's own organic pigs, toast is made from homemade organic bread, eggs are free range and organic, and tomatoes and mushrooms are organic, too.
I ordered the Farmhouse Breakfast (£7) which looked good and tasted excellent, when it eventually arrived.
But this was the problem here - I had a massive wait.
I don’t mind waiting when a place is busy, especially if the food is being freshly cooked.
But it took 45 minutes, and a gentle reminder, for my breakfast to arrive. Apparently my order didn't make it into the kitchen.
It was a generous amount of food - especially as I was given three rashers of oak smoked bacon rather than two. There was also two good quality sausages, buttery mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, two nicely runny fried eggs and a slice of toast.
This was a very good breakfast, but the long wait let this cafe down.
3/5
The Kitchen, Manor Farm, Catthorpe
The Kitchen is a lovely, traditional looking cafe with a homely feel.
There's pictures of animals on the walls, jam jar lights and bunting.
The placemats are a nice touch, featuring pictures from around the farm, including a tractor and horses.
Everything is made in-house, using home-grown or local produce. All meat comes from the farm's own rare breed animals, with beef from British White cattle, lamb from Leicester Longwool Sheep and pork from British Lop pigs.
Breakfasts are served every day from 9am until 3pm, and include The Catthorpe Breakfast (£7.00) which I tried.
This was impressive in both looks and taste, featuring a chunky, flavoursome British Lop sausage, two thick rashers of dry cured bacon, a lovely runny free range fried egg, buttery mushrooms, a thick slice of toast and grilled tomato halves (you can have baked beans instead of tomato if you prefer).
A very good breakfast.
4/5
Our latest taste tests
Attfields Country Kitchen, Lodge Farm, Whetstone
Attfield's Country Kitchen is a lovely big, bright space.
It feels homely, with decor not dissimilar to a farmhouse kitchen, with chintzy patterned blinds, pictures of rabbits and cockerels on the walls, and plants and flowers adding a nice touch.
Attfield's uses local produce, including bacon and sausages made from the farm's pigs.
The cafe is open from 8am Monday to Saturday and from 9am Sunday, with breakfast served every day until 11.30am.
There's small, medium and large Full English breakfasts available, so I went for the medium breakfast (£7.25) which was impressive.
The two rashers of bacon were thick and tasty, as were the two sausages.
The tomatoes and mushrooms were firm and well seasoned, the hash brown and baked beans were good, and the toast was made from quality bread.
What I liked was the fact that you can choose from not just fried or scrambled eggs, but also poached - which was what I opted for.
The resulting eggs were served runny as requested, and tasted great.
A very good breakfast.
4/5
March House Farm Cafe, Great Dalby
March House Farm is in a beautiful rural location, and is home to a beautiful cafe.
It showcases the farm's own produce, including bacon, black pudding and sausage all made from animals reared on the farm, along with eggs from the farm just up the road.
The cafe is open from 8am Monday to Saturday and from 9am on Sunday.
Breakfast is served until 11am, and includes the Full English Breakfast (£8.95) which I ordered.
It soon arrived, and looked wonderful. It tasted that way, too.
There was two deliciously meaty sausages, two rashers of lovely thick bacon, two perfectly runny fried eggs (you can choose from fried, poached or scrambled)
The sautéed button mushrooms were lovely and buttery and the hash brown was crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle.
I liked the fact that the baked beans were served in a pot, so the juices didn't run into the rest of the food, and that the cafe used tomatoes on the vine - both nice little touches which added to the presentation and taste.
The toast was made from good quality bread. The only part I didn't like was the black pudding, but that's down to personal taste.
This breakfast did cost a bit more than the others, but it was worth it. It was absolutely delicious!
5/5
So, I reckon for the best Full English breakfast at a Leicestershire farm cafe, you should pay a visit to..... March House Farm!
