Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Surprise for Mom: Betty Leland (right) was surprised with 'breakfast in bed' by her children, who ordered a specially catered Mother's Day breakfast tray delivered to her home that morning by Breakfast Express owner Lynn Knee.
Caterer delivers breakfast in bed as a special way to celebrate occasions
Mother's Day surprise honors moms whose children live elsewhere
By Kate Carter
The Mother's Day ritual of waking mom up with runny scrambled eggs and burnt toast is often seen as a thoughtful way to show her just how much she's loved and needed.
This Mother's Day, however, Betty Leland's four children decided to celebrate their mother with a new twist on the old standby--breakfast in bed delivered to her home by professional caterers.
Leland, 72, also a grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of three, showed surprise when Lynn Knee arrived at her home, just east of Willow Glen, early on May 13, with a tray of fruit, pastries, coffee and juice, complete with a pink rose, confetti and balloons.
Knee is the owner of Willow Glen catering service and cafe, Talk of the Town, and its ancillary breakfast delivery service, Breakfast Express. While the catering business provides her main source of income, Knee says she enjoys making the more personal individual deliveries of affection.
"There are a lot of little touches," Knee said as she arranged everything on the breakfast tray before walking it up to Leland's door. "I love doing this. The people get so happy. I still get such a charge, seeing their little messy bedheads."
Knee and her sister, Karen Rodrigues, started Breakfast Express, 898 Lincoln Ave., in 1990. Knee says Rodrigues was lying in bed one morning, hungry and wishing she didn't have to get out of bed, when the idea for Breakfast Express was born.
The two patented the breakfast-delivery concept and trademarked the name, and Knee, who now runs the business without Rodrigues, says she plans to develop Breakfast Express franchises.
"It's a fun business and a great opportunity for folks to have their own business," Knee says. "It's not difficult."
Knee's breakfast-in-bed deliveries cost about $60 and include an entree--quiche, croissant or brioche--muffins, coffee cake and a breakfast dessert, fresh fruit, juice and coffee, tea or hot chocolate. They come delivered on a bed tray sprinkled with sparkles and include a mug and a rose in a glass vase, all of which the lucky recipients get to keep.
Knee says the deliveries reflect the holidays they celebrate. Valentine's Day and newborn babies are Breakfast in Bed's biggest days. There are options for two breakfasts on one tray and child-size portions.
About half of her deliveries go to offices, where recipients can "share the moment," she says, and most of the people who order breakfasts in bed are women.
Leland says this Mother's Day was the first time she had ever received breakfast in bed from her children, and that it was a wonderful experience.
"It was delicious," she says. "The presentation was great."
Leland also received a huge bouquet of flowers from a grandson earlier in the week, as well as dinner out with one of her daughters, she says.
As for Knee, she headed back to her Willow Glen home after making Leland's delivery, where her 10-year-old son, Michael, had breakfast waiting for her.
"He knows just what to do," she says. "He's a great kid."
For more information about Breakfast Express, call 408.294.2121.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
