Meet the Pastry Chef.....Lewis Wilson

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends! As you know this week we are celebrating Afternoon Tea Week 2015, and last month we were lucky enough to have a sneak peek of the new cake that The Ritz are launching this week.

Milk chocolate and almond cake
The Ritz

The scrummy milk chocolate and almond cake was created by Chef Lewis Wilson and we were lucky enough to be shown around the kitchens at The Ritz by Chef Lewis who also agreed to answer our nosey afternoon tea questions.....

How long does it usually take you to create new afternoon teas?

It will normally take about 3 weeks to create a new afternoon tea cake, from the first idea, through to the tasting and trialling process in the pastry kitchen to presenting it to our Executive Chef at The Ritz, John Williams. The new cake we will be launching in Afternoon Tea Week in August, went through between 8 and 10 variations, with different sponges and textures before the final version was approved. We have very high standards at The Ritz, which is great for a Pastry Chef, as we are constantly striving to improve.

Where does your inspiration for new teas come from?

Food is really a passion for me and I love eating out and trying new restaurants and pastry shops. I always book my holidays around cities and places where there are restaurants that I want to try. One of my favourite Pastry Shops in London is Pâtisserie des Rêves in South Kensington, it’s hard to beat their Paris–Brest, and Yauatcha in Soho always has a really beautiful selection of pastries on display (which taste great too!). One of my mentors is French Pastry Chef Philippe Rigollot, who I did a stage with in Lenôtre in Paris – he is very inspirational for me.

What is your favourite part of your latest afternoon tea?

The new Milk Chocolate and Almond cake launching combines the best of flavours and textures – it has chocolate, nuts and caramel. I am very proud of it and hope the guests who come for Afternoon Tea at The Ritz will enjoy it too.

Chef Lewis Wilson

Do you enjoy a spot of afternoon tea yourself and have you tried tea anywhere else?

I recently went on a foodie weekend break to Paris, and tried Afternoon Tea at the Shangri-La Hotel, which was very impressive.

What is your favourite filling in an afternoon tea sandwich?

Coronation chicken! We serve an excellent coronation chicken canapé at The Ritz. I also love the Egg Mayonnaise.  

The all important question - do you put cream or jam on your scone first?

Cream! It just seems right to go first.

If you could invite any guest to enjoy afternoon tea with you, who would it be and why?

Yves Thuriès. He has been named a MoF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) – the very best accolade in France – twice. I would love to hear his knowledge and wisdom over tea – I imagine he has seen everything!

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I'm pleased to see that Chef Lewis dresses his scones the Tea With Me and Friends way....cream first! I'm also partial to a spot of coronation chicken in my afternoon tea sandwiches.

We'd like to thank Chef Lewis for taking the time to answer our questions, it's always great to find out a little more about the afternoon teas that we enjoy. If you'd like to hear more about that scrummy cake, take a peek here.

Launching during Afternoon Tea Week 2015....

If you enjoy this scrummy cake we'd love to hear what you thought....leave us a comment and let us know.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

It's nearly time.....for Afternoon Tea Week!

Woo Hoo! It's nearly here again - no, not Christmas (although I do love that time of year too) that other wonderful week of the year that is dedicated to the fine art of afternoon tea! During 10th -16th August you will discover a week of teas, tastings and temptation....a must for all afternoon tea lovers out there!

This is the fifth year of Afternoon Tea Week, but this year it is bigger and jam packed with even more events and offers. There is even a dedicated website!

You might remember this time last year I enjoyed afternoon tea on a bus to celebrate the launch of Afternoon Tea Week 2014....this year I was invited to an afternoon at The Ritz, London. This was no usual afternoon though....as we had a fab behind the scenes tour....and got a sneak preview (and taste) of the new cake that The Ritz are launching as part of Afternoon Tea Week 2015! How fabulous!

Afternoon tea has been served at The Ritz since it opened nearly 110 years ago and today it's renowned for being the quintessential British experience - where the food and service is second to none. Afternoon tea is served at the heart of the hotel in the elegant Palm Court, but as we discovered on our tour the whole hotel is rather elegant. Among other things we saw the antique drinks trolley in The Rivoli Bar where cocktails can be made from bottles of spirits dating back to the 1950s and 1940s......

I wouldn't mind one of those!

We also saw the oldest item in the hotel....this elegant mirror....

Again....I'm sure I could find space for that in my humble abode!

The event spaces are truly stunning....

The ceiling in this room had previously been boarded up and The Ritz spent a year restoring it to it's former glory. Can you image dining in this beautiful space?

Even the floral arrangements are stunning....

Once we'd enjoyed the tour upstairs, we were taken into the kitchens to meet Head Pastry Chef Lewis Wilson, the creator of the new cake! Lewis took us on a tour of the kitchens and told all about the service and amount of people it takes to create afternoon tea at this iconic hotel before letting us lose on the new cake.

In total The Ritz serves approximately 400 afternoon teas a day (yes - 400), in five different sittings between 11:30am - 7:30pm. The tea is very traditional with 16 different loose leaf teas, five different finger sandwiches, scones and of course a selection of afternoon tea pastries and cakes.

Now onto the good bit.....the new Milk Chocolate and Almond Afternoon Tea Cake features Milk chocolate mousse, an almond insert, almond brownie base, milk chocolate feuilletine and salted caramel - I bet you are drooling already!

I bet you are drooling even more now!

Do you want a closer look.....

I know this cake took a lot of experimenting to get just how Chef Lewis wanted it.....but I have to say I think it was worth it....it is sheer delight for anyone who enjoys chocolate...and Carmel...and nuts! As complex in texture as it is in flavour, it is light as air with crunchy bits! I loved it!

When you take a look inside you can see the different layers....

From the glossy finish of the coating, to the smooth mousse and crunchy brownie base, every mouthful of this cake is a delight and will make a lovely addition to the afternoon tea menu.

So who is the genius behind this sweet creation....

Chef Lewis is passionate about his creations and it was a joy to listen to him talking about his latest creation. Chef Lewis has been part of the team at The Ritz for over eight years, starting as the Night Baker when he first joined.

We also enjoyed a glass of The Ritz bubbles and some of the other afternoon tea pastries and cakes currently on offer as part of The Ritz afternoon tea menu....

I tried the raspberry macaroons, which were light and chewy and delicately flavoured and the amazing coffee pastries. These had a crunchy shell and a beautiful coffee mousse filling - just divine!

To find out more about the different afternoon teas on offer at The Ritz take a peek at their website and visit the Afternoon Tea Week website for more information about the events taking place in August.

I would like to thank afternoontea.co.uk and The Ritz for inviting me to this lovely event.

We'll be featuring some more Afternoon Tea Week events over the next week....so don't forget to pop back! And if you enjoy any of the events we'd love to hear all about them!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel