The breakfast that James Bond tucks into in the novel Dr No (1958), having been captured on Crab Key by the eponymous villain and welcomed into a ‘mink-lined prison’, is the closest Bond gets in the books to a ‘full English’. Presented on an individual hot-plate are scrambled eggs on toast, four rashers of bacon, a grilled kidney, and an English pork sausage. These are accompanied by two kinds of toast, rolls, strawberry jam, marmalade, honey, pineapple juice and coffee with cream. After consuming this feast, Bond begins to feel sleepy. He blames the coffee or juice, one of which he suspects has been drugged, but a substantial breakfast like that would make anyone want to crawl back into bed.

Recipe (serves one)

• 1 lamb’s kidney, cleaned
• A large knob of unsalted butter
• Pepper
• Salt

Heat the grill. While the grill is heating up, melt the butter in a saucepan. Cut the kidney in half lengthwise and carefully remove the whitish core. Lay the kidney halves on a grill pan cut-side up and brush the surface with the butter, then sprinkle some salt and pepper over them. Put the kidney under the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the kidney halves over and brush more butter on top and season. Grill for another 3-4 minutes. The kidney can be eaten slightly pink in the middle. Serve with bacon, a sausage and scrambled eggs.