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We Interviewed Tiësto About His Favorite Breakfast Foods to Prove He's Human After All

Does Tijs like scrambled eggs like the rest of us?
Timo Pisart

This post ran originally on THUMP Netherlands. Few could argue that Tiësto remains one of the most popular DJs in the world. To a lot of younger fans though, he's more than just a really famous and extremely rich guy who's been playing music since before many of us were born—or a mythical god who can probably move objects with his mind and doesn't need sleep to live. When I got a chance to interview the Dutchman born Tijs Michiel Verwest during this year's ADE, I wanted to prove that beyond all the fame and massive paychecks, Tiësto's really just ar regular guy who enjoys the simple things in life, like breakfast, and cheese. Upon our sit down, backstage at Amsterdam's iconic Ziggo Dome, where he was performing the 500th edition of his Clublife radio show,I decided to give the DJ five non-musical themes to choose from, instructing him to only choose one that would be the basis of our chat. For some insane reason his management agreed to my scheme, and soon after I was sitting on a plastic chair talking to Tiësto about breakfast foods.

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THUMP: Thanks for joining me. Here at Amsterdam Dance Event, DJs are treated as gods. This week more than ever, I would like to show that you guys are human after all. Okay?
Tiësto: Yeah, that sounds like fun!

Cool, we're going to talk about breakfast. What is your favorite sandwich topping?
Cheese. Aged cheese. That's my favorite topping. But I love eggs too, of course.

Of course?
Yeah, sure!

Why?
Scrambled eggs are delicious.

How do you prepare them? Just eggs?
No, egg whites with spinach, mushrooms, peppers and coriander. Oh, and a lot of sambal. That's my breakfast.

Do you have any particular breakfast philosophy? Or do you just enjoy those eggs?
I just enjoy them, but it's supposed to be super healthy as well.

Yeah?
Yeah, super—healthy.

You don't really have to eat as much for the rest of the day after eating a lot of eggs. Right?
That's right. After a good breakfast, if you eat a lot, you can be okay for the rest of the day. In the evening you have to eat just a little, but in the morning you have to eat a lot.

Do you have breakfast with bread as well?
Not too much bread. It's not very healthy, of course. If you don't want to gain weight, you shouldn't eat a lot of bread.

Oh, that's good to know. So you eat your eggs without bread?
Yeah! Perhaps with a bit of egg plant.

Do you take a lot of time to eat breakfast, or would you rather eat quickly?
No, I love breakfast and I love dinner. I don't really get why anyone invented lunch, though. But yeah, I really take time for my breakfast, so I won't have to eat anything the rest of the day.

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What is "taking your time"? Half an hour? An hour?
Well…about half an hour.

Do you read the newspaper during breakfast? Or do you check your mail?
I used to get a newspaper, but nowadays I check everything on my phone, of course. I always watch everything: social media, news, e-mails.

And where do prefer to have breakfast? At the table? On a couch?
Good question! A couch, preferably a relaxed couch.

Would you rather have breakfast before or after having a shower?
Before. First breakfast, and then the shower. It depends on where I have breakfast. If I have a lazy day, I sure as hell have breakfast before taking a shower. If I really have to get to work, I take a shower first.

Then you're ready to go!
Totally!

Do you ever watch TV during breakfast?
Yes, I watch some shows. I just finished the second season of Narcos. It's crazy, very exciting. And I watched Stranger Things recently.

So you like Netflix?
Yes.

Do you ever sin during breakfast and eat something very sweet?
Yes, pancakes!

Breakfast with pancakes, that really fits into a Sunday morning, right?
Yes, I just do it once a week, of course. Pancakes, chocolate milk.

At the same time?!
Yes, and some croissants.

That doesn't fit in with pancakes!
Sure, why not?

At this time the manager walks in, and says we have to stop. Tijs has to go perform for 15,000 people for six hours—for screaming kids from Asia to 40 year-old men who've seen him DJ twenty times. Initially, I'm a bit disappointed. Shouldn't I have asked him questions of greater importance? Shouldn't I have asked him how he feels about the trance revival in the underground? Or If he would like to go to the trance night at De School?

But when I have breakfast next morning, I think of Tiësto again. Perhaps he's gazing at his scrambled eggs as well, while watching the new South Park episode. Perhaps we'll even come to the same conclusion about the current season of the famously puerile show, that it's actually pretty good. Perhaps Tijs and I aren't that different after all. Yes, I'm sure of it now: Tijs is human after all. And I'm happy with that.