Set out the cold foods first; while the tea steeps, cook the hot dishes, and bring the eggs and pastries to the table last, after everyone is seated. Some cold foods benefit from waiting, while hot foods do not. Reverse the order, and by the time the table is ready, the eggs will be cold while the cheese is still icy.
The challenge of a breakfast table is that cold and hot foods behave in opposite ways. Cold foods such as cheese and olives taste better after sitting out for a while once removed from the refrigerator; hot foods such as eggs, sausage, and pastries start losing quality as soon as they leave the pan. That is why you set the table from cold to hot. First, go to the refrigerator; last, turn on the stove. Use the time in between to brew tea and set the table. This order means each food reaches the plate when it is at its best.
Cheese is the first thing to come to the table. The recommendation is to take cheese out of the refrigerator 30–60 minutes before serving: firm cheeses need the longer end of that range, while 15–20 minutes is enough for fresh cheeses such as feta and cottage cheese. Slice the cheese and cover it lightly while it waits. Put olives, honey, jam, and butter on their plates during this time, too. Chop tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers last, because they release water after being cut and make the bottom of the plate wet. Taking butter out of the refrigerator early also makes it easy to spread on bread without tearing it.
Put the water for tea on the stove while the cold foods are arranged on their plates. When the water boils, set up the teapot; while the tea steeps, finish setting the table with plates, glasses, and bread. The tea’s steeping time matches the time it takes to set the table; if both finish at the same time, the first glasses are ready when everyone sits down. If you plan to keep the teapot fresh throughout breakfast, leave water in the kettle for a second brew. Set empty glasses on the table and pour the tea after everyone is seated; tea poured ahead of time gets cold. Meanwhile, keep the teapot hot on top of the kettle.
Cook the hot foods last, after everyone at the table is seated. Sausage browns quickly in a pan; menemen (eggs scrambled with tomato and pepper) and fried eggs take a few minutes, while fried dough and griddled stuffed flatbreads are made in batches. Bring the first batch of pastries to the table as it cooks, then serve the later batches as they are ready. Cook the eggs last of all, because the yolks firm up and the whites turn rubbery while they wait on the plate. Bring the pan of eggs to the table with a trivet underneath. If you are making more than one hot dish, start with the one that takes the longest and leave the quickest for last.
If breakfast runs long, cook another batch of hot food instead of reheating the first. Put a second pan of menemen or fried eggs on the stove when the first pan is finished; eggs left in the pan dry out when reheated. Keeping fried pastries warm and crisp is a separate tip. Cold foods such as cheese and cut vegetables should not sit out for more than 2 hours in total after leaving the refrigerator (1 hour above 32°C / 90°F); clear these plates among the first to be removed when breakfast is over. If you plan the timing of the second pot of tea and the second pan of food together, breakfast stays warm even when it lasts a long time.