Former Wetherspoon worker exposes secrets of its famous breakfast

Wetherspoon - or Spoons, as it's more affectionately known - is famed for its big, cheap and cheerful English breakfasts.

Now, one former employee has revealed exactly what goes on when you order a fry-up or similar from the budget pub chain, and let's just say there's a reason why it arrives in minutes.

If you've ever cooked a big breakfast, then you'll know that it can be a timely process and often you'll need to slave away for at least half an hour to get your bacon sizzling and eggs just right.

While you might think - okay, hope - that Spoons simply has a constant supply of bacon that's constantly whizzing off the hot plates and a chef on egg duty in the morning, unfortunately, you would be very, very wrong.

Joe Oxley, 32, was a barman at the popular chain in his early 20s and he said that seeing what goes on behind the scenes has put him off a Spoons breakfast for life.

Speaking to The Sun, he explained that the breakfasts come out so quickly because they contain a lot of items that are cooked from frozen, while others, like sausages, are put 'on hold' so that they can be served up quickly when desired.

Unbelievably, however, one of the frozen items are the poached eggs.

Alamy / Stephen Hyde

Joe said: "Even the poached eggs were microwaved - they came pre-poached and are simply popped into the microwave, which we nicknamed chef 'Mike', to heat up.

"Now, as a customer, I really don't like the idea of pre-poached eggs so I don't tend to order them - although I still happily enjoy their chicken wings, burgers and cheap drinks, of course!"

Needless to say, this was far from the only revelation that Joe made about his time working at Wetherspoon.

On the subject of breakfast, he said that the chain's rules about the sale of alcohol often had an unexpected upside for the staff - namely, free bacon.

He revealed: "Where I worked, you could only consume alcohol with food before 10am.

"However, all this meant was customers were forced to order a bacon sandwich with their beer or whatever.

"Many bacon sandwiches would remain uneaten, as they were never intended to be consumed by the customer.

"This meant a free breakfast for the staff though, which is a bonus!"

But with the chain's famously cheap pints as well as food, Joe admitted that, on occasion, it was a particularly rowdy place to work.

Alamy / Martin Lewis

In one instance, the manager actually had to lock up the fridges - that's how crazy it got.

Joe says: "The majority of customers were nice and just there for a good time. However, there was a particular incident during a football match which was shown on TVs throughout the pub.

"I knew it would get rowdy but wasn’t ready for how rowdy it would get. Towards the end of the match fans of both teams were chanting team songs back and forth.

"This got increasingly aggressive, until the manager made a decision to turn off the beer taps and lock the fridges, and finally send all the staff down to the cellar to wait out the madness."

A spokesperson fro Wetherspoons told LADbible: "For the majority of the time, breakfasts are cooked to order. During some busy periods, in order to ensure customers are served promptly, some items are pre-cooked and held for a limited time.

"Our poached eggs are pre-poached to ensure the quality of the product is consistent for the customer.

"Since 2019, our employees have been entitled to a free meal and soft drink while at work, as well as 50% off any additional food and soft drinks. While off-duty, employees can also get a 20% discount on food and drink for themselves and up to 3 friends or family members."