The Rooms in Lytham scooped the honour after a travel expert compared its bacon and eggs to anything a five-star hotel could offer.

Andy Baker, who runs the award-winning guest house on Church Road with his wife, Jackie, gave The Gazette the chance of a taste test when he served up a special plate of his tasty fare.

And he revealed that local produce is the key to his culinary success.
Mr Baker said: "The secret is in good produce and we have some great suppliers in Lytham.

"The only ingredient we don't source locally is the bacon I get from Suffolk, which is where I am from.

"We have quite an extensive menu and I think people enjoy it because there is so much to choose from but what everyone really enjoys is the English breakfast."

As well as the traditional full breakfast, the menu includes specialities such as Andy's home-made smoked haddock fishcake, Manx kippers with mustard butter and a Scottish breakfast with a slice of haggis, duck eggs and whisky sauce.

Smoothies, fruit, and yoghurt cram the shelves, while there is even Bucks Fizz on offer for weekend guests.

Local suppliers include Strong's for fruit and vegetables, fish from Lanigan's, and sausages from Clarke's butcher – all Lytham stores.
The best breakfast award was given by a mystery guest who works as a travel expert for The Times newspaper.

After placing The Rooms, which has been open only 18 months, in his top 12 B&BS in the country, he gave it the additional best breakfast accolade in his end-of-year travel "Oscars".

During his original stay, the writer, after being offered four types of bread, said: "I went for granary, to go with two perfectly poached eggs sprinkled with black pepper – as good as any breakfast I've had in a five star hotel."

Mr Baker, who previously worked as an importer, credits his days in the sea scouts for his skills in the kitchen.

He said: "That, and my grandmother also taught me to cook. Everyone cooked in my house when we were young – we had to.

"We were delighted when we heard about the award because this mystery tester has a reputation for being quite brutal.

"I think the key to the perfect breakfast is produce and making sure you deliver it to the table perfectly."