Meet the Executive Pastry Chef.....Cherish Finden, The Langham London

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're well today.

If you popped by the blog yesterday you'll know we featured the new afternoon tea being served at the Langham London. Today we are meeting the talented creator of this beautiful new afternoon tea feast....executive Pastry Chef Cherish Finden. You might recognise Cherish from the current BBC programme Great British Bake Off - Creme de la Creme where she appears as the firm but fair judge.

Executive Pastry Chef Cherish Finden

Recently Lorna and I had the pleasure of meeting Cherish and I can confirm that as well as being super talented and passionate about afternoon tea....she is also a really lovely person. We're so pleased that Cherish agreed to answer our slightly nosey afternoon tea questions - giving us an insight into the effort required to create such a tea-riffic afternoon tea spread!

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

About 2- 3months for creating and another 2 months for food tasting and recipe development

Q. Where does your inspiration for new teas come from? 

Mostly I am inspired by the Wedgwood collection and everything I came across interest me for example:

1. the buttery Bloom – it is inspire by the Gerkin Building and Butterfly symbolise new life and to welcome spring
2. Hathaway Rose Victoria sponge – to bring in the classic Victorian feel

Afternoon tea - Langham London

Q. So, what is your favourite part of your latest afternoon tea?

Well I always like a new challenge. The most interesting part is to create - how to balance the flavour, texture, taste, appearance and WOW Bang effect!

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

Yes, I love to appreciate Afternoon Tea. Most of the Top 5 star hotel.

Q. What is your favourite filling in an afternoon tea sandwich? 

Classic-cucumber and cream cheese

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

Jam and then cream - the Cornish way

Afternoon tea scones - Langham London

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

It will be a honour to invite the Queen.

The Queen has lead such an interesting life and been a tremendous ambassador for Britain. I would love to to an opportunity to share a cup of tea and a slice of humble cake with the Queen.

Executive Pastry Chef Cherish Finden with some of her tea-riffic
afternoon tea creations!

It was a real pleasure to listen to Cherish talk about her new afternoon tea at The Langham, her passion for creating perfectly balanced sweet treats is obvious as she talks. We'd like to thank Cherish for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer our afternoon tea questions.

For more information about the new afternoon tea at Langham London please visit their website.

Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel & Lorna

Meet the Chef.....Dennis Easton, The Capital Hotel

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you are well!

Do you remember a couple of weeks ago we featured the afternoon tea launch at The Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge. Their fab looking new tea is a very traditional affair, featuring Victoria Sponge, Bakewell Tart and scrummy scones!

Afternoon tea
The Capital Hotel, Knightsbridge

After trying some of the scrummy afternoon tea we were delighted when Sous Chef Dennis Easton agreed to answer our nosey afternoon tea questions! So, what are we waiting for....let's ask those all important questions (and find out if Chef is a cream or jam first kinda guy!)....

How long does it usually take you to create new afternoon teas?
Six to eight weeks.  It's nice to take time to play about with different concepts, ideas and to work out what individual cakes and savoury bites work well together.  A great taste is essential but it is equally important to create a beautiful presentation with a variety of flavours, textures, and colours.

Where does your inspiration for new teas come from?
All sorts really but in the case of The Capital’s new afternoon tea it was childhood – a real nostalgic throwback to being a kid and loving that genuine British tea experience.

Sous Chef Dennis Easton - The Capital Hotel

What is your favourite part of your latest afternoon tea?
The Neapolitan ice cream, it's such a classic.  Ice-cream was and is always such a special treat.

Do you enjoy a spot of afternoon tea yourself and have you tried tea anywhere else?
Yes, I like to go for afternoon tea. The Savoy is probably one of my favourites in London but there are always new things to try.

What is your favourite filling in an afternoon tea sandwich?
Beef & Horseradish or Egg & Cress – again, they are the epitome of a typical British tea.

Sous Chef Dennis Easton - The Capital Hotel

The all-important question - do you put cream or jam on your scone first?
Jam first – and in case you ask, it’s tea first, not milk!

If you could invite any guest to enjoy afternoon tea with you, who would it be and why?
Winston Churchill: he’s a national hero and I am sure he would approve of our Great British Afternoon Tea at The Capital

Oh my - jam first? Well, I suppose we can forgive Chef as his scones are rather good (not sure if we've already mentioned the scrummy scones!).

Afternoon tea scones - The Capital Hotel

We'd like to thank Chef for taking the time to answer our questions - we always love hearing about how afternoon teas are created....and asking that nosey cream/jam question! We also love hearing where Chefs have enjoyed afternoon tea themselves!

The new afternoon tea at The Capital Hotel is available from Wednesday 9th September - more information can be found on their website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

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!

*************************************

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

Meet the Pastry Chef....Dale DeSimone

Hello there,

Welcome back to another Meet the Chef blog post from Tea With Me and Friends where we meet the creative talent behind one of the afternoon teas we have recently enjoyed.

This time we asked Dale DeSimone all about his afternoon tea at Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel. Dale has recently been appointed Executive Pastry Chef  and we enjoyed his afternoon tea adventure a couple of weekends ago.

Dale has over twenty years experience in the USA, the UAE and London , but his most recent experience was at Sketch restaurant by Pierre Gagnaire, where he was Head Pastry Chef. Dale has been cooking since he was very young, and has a special interest in chocolate. Dale will lead a team of nine pastry chefs at Grosvenor House.

If you missed our recent blog post about the Grosvenor House afternoon tea, here is a little photo....

Afternoonn tea - Grosvenor House

So...after enjoying this scrummy afternoon tea...we needed to ask Dale our afternoon tea questions....

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

I think it is hard to put a time on how long it takes to put together a menu.  The creative side of it is ongoing and never really stops.  Ideas are constantly evolving and changing. Once all the ideas for a specific menu are on paper there will be a series of tests and trials to follow.  The next step is training the kitchen and restaurant teams.  Only after this will our guests get their first taste.  This process could take as little as a week or as long as a month.

 

Q. Where does your inspiration for new teas come from?

Inspiration for me could come from anywhere – a patisserie, a book/magazine or a restaurant.  Sometimes my ideas come from things that are less traditional and completely unrelated to food – a display in a clothing store window, an art show, a walk through park.  Inspiration can strike at any time, when it does I try to make a note of it and save it for a time when I need it.

Dale DeSimone - Executive Pastry Chef - Grosvenor House

Q. What is your favourite part of your latest afternoon tea?

This is my first tea menu at the Grosvenor House and I am still finding the perfect fit for our Anna’s afternoon tea menu.  It is exciting that we are taking an approach focusing on seasonal British products and traditions.  I think that concentrating more on these products and flavours, and less on the garnish, will really help us to create something special.

 

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

Afraid I am more of a coffee person… Just kidding… but not really…  My version of afternoon tea is to sample the patisseries and bakeries of the area during my time off.  In contrast to the traditional English afternoon tea, you would be more likely to find me at a shop that I have not been to before sampling the cakes and pastries they offer while enjoying a coffee or tea

 

Q. What is your favourite filling in an afternoon tea sandwich

Egg with horseradish… or maybe pickle and cheddar, that has grown on me since coming to the UK.

 

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

That is funny…  I am American, scones for us are a breakfast treat and come in a huge variety of flavours.  The traditional English scone with jam and cream, or cream and jam, is nice but would be my second choice.

We'd like to thank Dale for taking the time to answer our questions - its great to hear from the person behind the afternoon tea creations that we enjoy.

If you'd like to know more about Dale's afternoon tea at Grosvenor House pop by their website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Meet the Chef.....Ben Purton

Hello there,

Welcome back to another "meet the chef" blog post from Tea With Me and Friends, this time we are asking Executive Chef from the Lancaster London hotel Ben Purton our afternoon tea questions.

Executive Chef Ben Purton

You'll remember that Lorna and I enjoyed the afternoon tea created by Ben and his team just after Christmas and Lorna was rather impressed with his scones! So we decided we needed to find out more about the creative process behind this scrummy afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea at the Lancaster London

Chef Ben has worked at the Lancaster London since August 2014, and prior to this he was executive chef at The Royal Horseguards. So, let's find out if he is cream or jam first kinda guy.....

Q How long does it usually take you to create new afternoon teas?
It really depends - sometimes you can think of new ones all the time and others take longer to develop. We plan to have 4 changes per year and then a few themed ones thrown in too.

Q. Where does your inspiration for new teas come from? 
Everywhere and anywhere! It’s great seeing what other people are doing as you end up taking bits from all of them - sometimes you see things and think oh I have to do that. I love being creative and challenging the team - the bigger the challenge the better.

Q. So, what is your favourite part of your latest afternoon tea?
I love it all because it's a back to basics afternoon tea so we do the right things right etc but I have to say the flavoured savoury tarts and the raspberry and white chocolate lollipops are some of the best yet!!

Q. Do you enjoy a spot of afternoon tea yourself and have you tried tea anywhere else? 
I love it !! What's not to like, it's such a nice way to spend an afternoon - no rush, no hassle just tea, scones and maybe just a bit of bubbles. I love the Lancaster London afternoon tea (and who wouldn't) but I must confess that The Langham, The Goring and Browns do it very well too

Q. What is your favourite filling in an afternoon tea sandwich? 
Again I like them all but there is something to be said for a classic cucumber sandwich done right! Soft bread with salted butter layered with peeled sliced and seasoned soft flesh of cucumber - yum - most people don't like them because they don't do them right - we can all make smoked salmon and roast beef taste nice but there is an art to that one that I love.

Q. The all important question - do you put cream or jam on your scone first?
Oh come on - that's fighting talk and there is not an answer that will please everyone but as you asked ..... I'm a cream spooned on first making a perfect area for the jam to sit type of guy (I apologise in advance) When we pre split for passing at events etc we then top the scones with freeze dried strawberries too – lovely!

Q. If you could invite any guest to enjoy afternoon tea with you, who would it be and why? Wow - what a question! Too many to choose just one, but Bon Jovi is someone I'd love to spend an afternoon getting to know - I've always loved his music and passion for his trade and his songs are soundtracks to my youth and I'm sure he's a champagne, cucumber sandwich and cream first kind of guy too !!

It's good to know that Chef Ben prefers cream dolloped on his scones first and its brilliant to hear from someone so passionate about afternoon tea! I have to agree with him that the raspberry and white chocolate lollipops are really quite amazing!

Raspberry and white chocolate lollipops
at Lancaster London

I'd like to send a huge thank you to Chef Ben for his entertaining answers to our nosey afternoon tea questions! If you'd like to know more about the afternoon tea created by Chef Ben and his team pop by the Lancaster London website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Meet the Pastry Chef....Zoe Wager

Hello there,

Welcome back to another blog post where we meet one of the amazing pastry chefs who create the scrummy afternoon teas that we enjoy! This time we meet Zoe Wager who is the Executive Pastry Chef at the Intercontinental Westminster in London.

Zoe was behind the recent Intercontinental Westminster hit, The Edible Garden, and we recently shared with you a sneak peek of the wonderful new seaside inspired afternoon tea created by Zoe. Here Zoe tells us a little more about the tea....

Our new afternoon tea is titled 'British Summer Holiday'.  It aims to take our guests through a typical day on holiday, starting with a picnic of prawn cocktail and pork pie with piccalilli, even on its own gingham rug!  There are also some delicious classic finger sandwiches such as egg and cress and coronation chicken.  We have used summer as inspiration for our scone flavours and have marmalade and strawberry & yogurt, served with our signature lemon curd, and, of course, clotted cream and strawberry jam.  The finale is a fantastic beach scene , complete with chocolate beach huts, sandcastles, bucket and spades and little windmill toffee chocolate tarts.  You can even eat the sand!

British Summer Holiday Afternoon Tea
Intercontinental Westminster

So what does it take to come up with these amazing afternoon teas......

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

I’ve always got ideas in my mind and I‘m always making notes or taking photos of interesting things I see which inspire me - these could be food or non-food related.  Once I decide on the theme I would like to do for the next tea it's a few weeks of deciding flavours and developing recipes, as well as looking at presentation ideas before I am happy.  I also have to consider what is practical for my team to reproduce in its hundreds as there's no point doing something beautiful if it cannot be replicated exactly and consistently for each one of our guests.  It's really important to me that the flavours reflect the theme and vice versa. All the little details really count when it comes to afternoon tea.  

Q. Where does your inspiration for new teas come from?

Anywhere and everywhere!  I consider the time of year and any calendar influences - for example, next year I am really looking forward to developing something fun with the General Election in mind.  With so many great afternoon teas in London it is difficult to do something to stand out from the crowd, so I try to do something people would not expect.  I also consider our typical clientele and whether they would respond well to the ideas.  I scour the internet for photos rather than concepts or recipes as afternoon tea is very visual and I want to be able to recreate an experience through my teas.  I think the British Summer Holiday tea that we are doing right now really captures the essence of our childhood and gives people a sense of nostalgia, whilst also showcasing the best of British Summer (with or without the weather!)  

Q. What is your favourite part of your latest afternoon tea?

I think the sandcastles are so cute.  We spray them with chocolate and the texture is so realistic.  Once they have the little chocolate flags they really look the part. I think people on first sight people expect them to be quite dense, so the light peach mousse is refreshing.   

Those super cute sandcastles and buckets!

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

I don't often get the chance to go out and try afternoon tea anywhere else, so it is a very special treat.  It always feels strange to be a chef outside the kitchen and I am particularly nosey so always want a little peak inside the kitchen and see what other chefs are up to!  Recently I was lucky enough to visit The Langham. The afternoon tea there is amazing and the pastry chef there, Cherish, is a master of her craft.  

Q. What is your favourite filling in an afternoon tea sandwich?

I love coronation chicken.  I know it's a bit old fashioned but that's the point these flavours which have stood the test of time - it's because they can't be beaten! A nice simple twist on classic cucumber is mint, which I also enjoy

Executive Pastry Chef Zoe Wager
Intercontinental Westminster

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

I always used to put jam on first. Then, recently, I was talking to a friend who said the cream should be considered to be like butter, and therefore it should be spread first.  That made so much sense! I don't know why I never thought of it that way, so now I lashings of cream on first!

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

Definitely my mum.  She died when I was much younger and never even knew I became a chef.  I would love to have the chance to take her out and spoil her. She would love the afternoon tea experience.  I don't think she ever did it.  

What do you know....Zoe is a "cream first" convert! I'd like to thank Zoe for taking the time to meet us when we last visited the Intercontinental Westminster, we loved seeing the new afternoon tea, and I'd also like to thank Zoe for answering our questions.

This seaside inspired afternoon tea can be enjoyed throughout July and August and is £37.50 per person. If you'd like to find out more about the British Summer Holiday afternoon tea, visit the Intercontinental Westminster website. 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Gluten Free Tea at Pantry at 108

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea article from Tea With Me and Friends - this is another in our series of articles where we are sharing some afternoon tea news rather than a tea we have sampled.

As it's currently dietary requirement month on the blog we have decided to feature the Gluten Free Afternoon Tea which is currently on offer at Pantry at 108  which opened in April 2014 at The Marylebone Hotel, London.

Gluten free afternoon tea at Pantry at 108

The menu for this wonderful looking afternoon tea is as follows:

The Savouries

Smoked salmon with cream cheese, cucumber, egg mayonnaise and ham sandwiches on gluten free bread

Super food salad, endive

The Sweets

Coconut cake

Lime cake

Banana and pomegranate cake

Chocolate and blueberry cake

Sherry trifle

Gluten free scones

Clotted cream and jam

I love the sound of that banana and pomegranate cake!

This afternoon tea costs £28.00 per person and the hotel also offers a dairy free afternoon tea. For more information head over to their website.

Meet the Chef.....

Executive Chef Russell Ford

We also had the opportunity to ask Executive Chef Russell Ford a couple of questions about afternoon tea and his gluten free creation. Chef Russell took on the role of executive chef at The Doyle Collection hotel group’s Marylebone and Kensington hotels in December 2011, having previously worked within the Le Méridien Piccadilly and The Dorchester and also spending some time in Australia.

We asked Chef Russell about his afternoon tea....

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

It takes two months from the concept to the final product.

Q. Was it more difficult to create your gluten free afternoon tea? 

Yes as we need to source a number of different ingredients that can be harder to find. It’s also a lot more difficult to get the gluten free recipe for the bread and pastries just right, so we needed to allow more time for sampling and tasting!

Q. Where did your inspiration for your gluten free recipes come from? 

I undertook a lot of research and am constantly inspired by recipe books, foodie websites and eating out.

Q. Do you have any gluten free taste testers to try your recipes? 

Our expert chefs and our staff in particular are always willing taste tasters!

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

I love going for afternoon tea, I have tried all the top places including Claridges and the Dorchester.

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

Clotted cream first

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

Scarlet Johansson

We'd like to thank Chef Russell for sharing his thoughts with us, we're hoping to visit the Pantry at 108 in the near future so watch this space for a full review.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Meet the Pastry Chef.....Zoe Berkeley

Hello there,

Welcome back to another "meet the chef" article from Tea With Me and Friends, today we are meeting Zoe Berkeley the founder and owner of bake-a-book bake shop and tea room bake-a-boo in London. Bake-a-boo is opened on the weekends only, offering special treats for everyone, including a selection of sweet treats which are free from wheat, gluten and dairy.

Zoe Berkeley - bake-a-boo

We recently featured the sensitive teas created by Zoe, there are so many varieties that we decided to ask Zoe some questions about her creations....

Q. You offer a great selection of "sensitive teas" on your menu at bake-a-boo, was it more difficult to create your these afternoon teas?
We recently introduced vegan and sugar free teas to our menu and it took me a few weeks playing with ideas to get these tea menus right. I had to do lots of experimenting with the vegan scones, to me scones are the most important part of afternoon tea and we get so many compliments for our ‘normal’ scones. I wanted the vegan scones to be really yummy!

Creating a gluten free afternoon tea was slightly easier as we already bake so many gluten free cakes, getting that right took less time, so it really depends how much you are challenging yourself and how many things you have to bake without!

Q. Where did your inspiration for your sensitive afternoon tea recipes come from?
I am gluten and dairy free myself, and have been for 11 years for many health reasons. Back then it was so hard to find cakes and treats, and you were very isolated if you went out to eat. Now it’s much easier to have food allergies as people are more aware and there are so many products available now.

When I first opened bake-a-boo the idea would be that there was something for everyone – we catered for most of the common food allergies so no one would feel isolated and everyone could treat themselves. This is why we now offer full afternoon teas that are vegan, sugar free, dairy free and gluten free, as well as the standard afternoon tea which is ‘full of everything!’

Sweet treats at bake-a-boo
Photo from website

Q. Do you enjoy a spot of afternoon tea yourself, have you tried tea anywhere else?
I LOVE afternoon tea – especially scones, but unfortunately due to my dietary requirements it’s quite hard for me to have afternoon tea anywhere else! But my good friend who runs Little Lady Blog took me for afternoon tea at One Aldwych last year and they were brilliant at catering for my needs, I really appreciated that.

Q. The all important question - do you put cream or jam on your scone first?
Jam first – cream on top! I don’t understand the other way round!!! Why???

Apparently jam on top is the Devonshire way and cream on top is the Cornish way, so I’m rooting for the Cornish way  – the Cornish say it’s done this way because apparently this is because the Devonshire lot are ‘ashamed’ of their cream – which I always find funny!

Q. If you could invite any guest to enjoy afternoon tea with you, who would it be and why?
Oh wow that’s a difficult one!! I would love to have tea with Erin McKenna who runs babycakes in the US, I read an article about babycakes in New York soon after I opened bake-a-boo in 2006 and I couldn’t believe how similar our stories were. She opened babycakes (a gluten free and vegan bakery) in New York about a year before I did, she has the same food allergies as me and had the same struggles in starting her business. Erin also used to work in fashion, which I also did previously to starting bake-a-boo. Our stories were almost identical. I would love to have tea with her as I think we would really get on and we have so much in common, and cake is our lives!

If I could cheekily chose 1 more person it would be Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Despite the fact that I have wanted to marry him since I was 16, I actually say him because he is a really fabulous, humble, and inspiring person, and he really is one of my heroes! I met him last year and made him a cake, he was so excited by it! He’s renowned for eating huge stacks of pancakes on ‘cheat days’ so I know if I got him on a cheat day he would love afternoon tea! Just don’t tell my boyfriend!

We'd like to say a big thank you to Zoe and her team for this article, and we hope to be popping by bake-a-boo really soon!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News.....Coworth Park Launches New Tea

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends. Today we are sharing with you some exciting news as Coworth Park in Ascot launch their new Meadow Tea. Celebrating British summertime the Meadow Afternoon tea is inspired by flowers that grow on the estate and features exclusive fragrant hand-blended tea.

Meadow Afternoon Tea - Coworth Park
Photo from Website

The Meadow Tea will be served in the elegant Drawing Room of Coworth Park when the meadow blooms, between the 1st June and 31st September 2014. Pastries will be accompanied by a selection of finger sandwiches and scones, and complemented by seasonal homemade compotes.

Head Pastry Chef Luke Frost has created such delights as a Raspberry and Rose Fancy which is a twist on a British favourite inspired by the pinks and reds of Coworth Park’s own rose garden with layers of raspberry and rose between light sponge and the Gooseberry Fool with estate picked elderflower.

 

There will be two sittings each day at 2:30pm and 4:45pm. The Meadow Afternoon Tea is priced at £29.00 per person or from £42.50 per person for champagne meadow tea, for more information please visit the Coworth Park website.

Meet the Head Pastry Chef

Head Pastry Chef Luke Frost
Coworth Park

To celebrate the launch of this summery afternoon tea we asked Chef Luke some afternoon tea questions......

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

Guests at Coworth Park are treated to individually hand crafted pastries when enjoying tea in our drawing room. Perfecting each pastry from idea to final result can be less time consuming than you may think due to the skills of my team, although it’s the often the ones you believe to be the easiest that pose the most difficulty. The art here is to balance colours, flavours and textures to ensure a balanced selection for the guests to enjoy which is where the creativity comes in. 

Q. Where does your inspiration for new teas come from?

I love Coworth Park’s mantra ‘Rewriting the rules’ and my current afternoon tea selection reworks classic British pastries. In the summer I cannot fail to be influenced by Coworth Park’s stunning wild flower meadow and this year the view from the Mansion House will provide fresh inspiration for the team in both flavours and presentation. 

Q. What is your favourite part of your latest afternoon tea?

Manchester Tart, a staple in any northern bakery, is normally made with powdered custard and heaps of dessicated coconut. My modern interpretation has banana crème brulee, homemade jam and coconut marshmallow and I think best represents an example of reworked British classics.

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

I love the experience of Afternoon Tea, lingering over something so delicious in the late afternoon is wonderfully indulgent. At my own wedding reception I chose to have Afternoon Tea, it was more relaxed and guests could socialise rather than be restricted by a seating plan. Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester is a classic that cannot be rivalled. 

Q. What is your favourite filling in an afternoon tea sandwich?

This is a tough choice, both egg & cress or smoked salmon would be contenders but I have to pick Coronation Chicken. Last summer at The Dorchester I had a chicken and mango sandwich on cumin bread which was a modern adaption on the traditional coronation chicken and it was excellent. 

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

Jam first. It’s all about what you want to feel on you palate and the aftertaste you want left in your mouth and for me that means the lingering smoothness of the clotted cream. 

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

I am very interested in both the history and architecture of buildings so it would be fantastic to sit with The Earl of Derby who is the original owner of Coworth Park. I would love to discuss how the estate has evolved over the years and his thoughts about the hotel today. 

A big thank you to Chef Luke for answering our questions, I hope to enjoy tea at Coworth Park in the near future as the Meadow Tea sounds wonderfully summery.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel