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

Time for Tea.....Wimbledon themed tea at The Ampersand

Hello there,

Welcome back to another guest post from Tea With Me and Friends...this week the lovely Becca shares with us her recent Wimbledon themed afternoon tea adventure at The Ampersand in London. Regular readers will know that we love the Ampersand, Pastry Chef Ji Sun is so creative and passionate about developing sweet treats that look and taste amazing! We haven't visited in a while so we were keen to see Jo Sun's latest creation....

Wimbledon tennis themed afternoon tea
Ampersand, London

In the background of this scrummy photo you will see Sam....Becca's sister....and this folks is her first afternoon tea! It was Sam's Birthday and she loves the tennis at Wimbledon so this made a wonderful gift! Let's find out what they thought.

The feast begins with the savoury gougeres....

Savoury afternoon tea treats - Ampersand

Becca said they were delicious and she had forgotten how filling they were. Her favourite was the cheese and fruit chutney, but they were all tasty! The other fillings included Glouster old spot ham; smoked salmon, dill and cream cheese and Coronation chicken (my favourite!). Becca commented on how well filled each gougere was.

Once they had finished the savoury treats Becca and her sister start on the scones...

Afternoon tea scones - Ampersand

Each guest is served two scones - one plain and one white chocolate, served with Devonshire clotted cream & homemade raspberry preserve (this is usually strawberry, but Becca has an allergy). They were served warm and I am pleased to report that Becca dressed her scones in the "right" way....

Scones - dressed the Tea With Me and Friends way!

The scones were a good size....so good that Becca only managed to eat the plain scone....as she wanted to make sure she had room for the sweet treats...

Wimbledon Afternoon Tea - Ampersand, London

This is where the Wimbledon theme really begins....just look at that cute little tennis racket! The treats include a coconut mousse and mango passion fruit jelly tennis ball on a lime sponge tennis court, a ginger bread tennis racket, a strawberry and cream tart, a cute little blueberry white chocolate ganache macaroon and a Pimm's cocktail shot.

Ji Sun has really created a lovely collection here and Becca confirmed that everything tasted wonderful too. She particularly enjoyed the tennis ball....

Sweet treats at Ampersand afternoon tea

In fact, she enjoyed it so much she was still talking about it the following weekend when I saw her next! Most importantly.....Sam also enjoyed her first afternoon tea adventure!

The Wimbledon afternoon tea can be enjoyed at the Ampersand until the 17th July and it costs £32.50 per person or £44.50 per person with a glass of Champagne.

You can enjoy a complimentary glass of Champagne Monday - Friday, when booking the Wimbledon Afternoon Tea Special offer on-line. Take a peek at the Ampersand website for more information.

A huge thank you to Becca and her sister for sharing her latest afternoon tea adventure with us - we love your photos!

Have you tried one of the Ampersand afternoon teas? Which has been your favourite? We'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea.....Science Tea at Ampersand Hotel

Hello there,

On Saturday Tea With Me and Friends headed back to the Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington to try out their science themed afternoon tea. Pastry Chef Ji sun had mentioned this tea when we visited her earlier this year and we were both keen to try out this imaginative afternoon tea!

If you read about our last visit to The Ampersand in October 2013 you will know that the hotel offers a traditional afternoon tea, a Vegetarian afternoon tea and also a Chef's Special afternoon tea - which always has a wonderful theme. This particular tea is inspired by all things science and features a planet, lots of dinosaurs and a volcano!

On this occasion Lorna and I were joined by our friends Becca and Sheree and most of us decided to indulge in a spot of bubbles to begin our tea! The tea is presented on a three tier cake stand, complete with dry ice (this was Head Chef Chris Goldings fab idea!)

Science afternoon tea
Ampersand Hotel

I tried to get a good photo of the dry ice as it looks brilliant with the science theme, but it was quite tricky....

Dry ice really doesn't photo very well!!

This has to be the most appealing tea that I have set my eyes on this year - its colourful and creative and we all couldn't wait to try out the various sweet items on the top tier! But as we are good afternoon tea goers we started where we are supposed to...at the bottom....

Savoury gourgeres start the afternoon tea experience at
the Ampersand Hotel

The bottom tier contained a selection of filled savoury gougeres (savoury choux pastry puffs to you and me) which included Gloucester old spot ham; Cheese with fruit chutney; smoked salmon, dill and cream cheese and my favourite filling Coronation chicken. The savoury selection are made to order and so when served are really fresh - so soggy bottoms here! It also means that if you don't like any of these fillings, you can also pick from the vegetarian selection of fillings.

Once we had demolished these and been asked if we wanted any more, we moved up a tier and onto the scones.....

afternoon tea scones

The scones are baked fresh each day, and are served with clotted cream and strawberry preserve. There is one plain scone and one white chocolate scone per person, and both are rather scrummy! They are light and fluffy inside with a slight crunch to the outside - perfect!

Finally we made it...we were onto the main attraction.....

Sweet treats at the Science afternoon tea
at the Ampersand Hotel

This plate is amazing - there is something to drink, something to squeeze and of course lots to eat! The colours are bright and eye catching - definitely not your normal afternoon tea! As well as various chocolate dinosaurs there is also a sponge planet with white chocolate and jam filling, a macaroon complete with a pippet filled with jam to squeeze into the middle and my favourite bit......

One word - AMAZING!

This is a beautiful chocolate square of goodness, complete with a volcano (hidden behind the chocolate dinosaur) and also black sesame meringues. It was truly amazing and a delight to eat!

As Lorna commented, the brilliance of this tea is that it really captures your imagination - from the moment you see it with the dry ice swirling around you can't wait to try all the different elements! In fact as we progress through the sweet treats some of the other diners might have wondered what we were doing if they heard the "roars" coming from our table......

Chocolate dinosaurs at The Ampersand Hotel

Yes...we might have even played with our food a little! This afternoon tea is a fine example of the balance between style and substance - everything looked amazing and had us grinning like children in a sweet shop...but also tasted brilliant too.

I think this is probably the best afternoon tea that Pastry Chef Ji Sun has created so far and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. This tea is currently a limited edition tea (as with all the Chef Specials at the hotel) and is only due to run until the 21st March. Fingers crossed we will see it on the menu of the Ampersand again soon though!

Our tea with a glass of bubbles was £44.50 each and I'm pleased to report that we were offered more of everything and our tea was refreshed regularly. If you'd prefer to just enjoy tea from the wonderful selection on offer, the tea will cost £32.50 each.

The next Chef's Special afternoon tea at the hotel is their Mother's Day tea, but there is also a pretty, spring inspired Easter afternoon tea coming soon! For more information about all the teas on offer at The Ampersand hotel pop by their website.

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Meet the Pastry Chef.....Ji Sun Shin

Welcome to a new type of post from Tea With Me and Friends, where we meet the people behind the wonderful afternoon teas that we enjoy and ask them the all important question....are you a jam first or cream first kinda person?

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Ji Sun Shin, the pastry chef behind the wonderful afternoon teas at The Ampersand hotel in South Kensington. Ji Sun didn't dream of being a pastry chef when she was little, in fact she hadn't even thought of it when she was growing up in Korea. Ji Sun wanted to be an artist and study for an art degree. When she came to London, she decided to get creative in the kitchen instead.

Ji Sun Shin - The Ampersand

Ji Sun started her career by spending three years at Marco Pierre White's Mirabelle, before going on to spend five years at Nobu Park Lane before joining Head Chef Chris Golding at The Ampersand Hotel. Prior to working at The Ampersand Ji Sun hadn't created any afternoon teas....but looking at her recent creations you couldn't tell!

There are two different afternoon teas on offer at The Ampersand - the classic afternoon tea, offering traditional sandwiches and cakes. And the Albertopolis afternoon tea....the chef's special, which changes regularly throughout the year and all look rather spectacular....

A spooky afternoon tea at Halloween, complete with pumpkins and dry-ice....

Halloween afternoon tea at
The Ampersand Hotel

Christmas got cute, with mini reindeer and snowmen.....

Christmas afternoon tea at
The Ampersand Hotel

 Ji Sun's favourite afternoon tea for 2013 was her London Fashion Week afternoon tea....

Afternoon tea dedicated to London Fashion Week at
The Ampersand Hotel

After chatting about Ji Sun's background for a while, I asked her some burning questions about life as a pastry chef....

What is the best bit about being a pastry chef?
When everything comes together - its important that an afternoon tea looks pretty, but it must taste good too.

Are there any bad bits?
The long and unsociable hours can be tiring.

What are your favourite kitchen tools?
My kitchen-aid and the Thermomix (I had to be educated about the Thermomix but apparently its a blender and processor that also weighs and cooks! Maybe the next big kitchen appliance?)

What are your favourite ingredients to use?
I love the texture and flavour of nuts and like to try to incorporate them

Do you bake at home when you're not working?
Not often, I do bake for special occasions though. 

Where do you get inspiration for your afternoon teas?
From everywhere and anything - it could be from a painting, or a colour. I research a lot.

How long does it take to create a new afternoon tea?
It depends really - I started creating the Valentines afternoon tea just after Christmas! 

From your own afternoon tea menu, what is your favourite sandwich filling?
The salmon and cream cheese - very English!

What is your favourite part of afternoon tea?
Definitely the scones! Either plain or fruit.

FACT - On an average weekend Ji Sun makes approximately 100 scones each day - that's a lot of rolling and baking!

If you could invite any guest to afternoon tea with you, who would it be?
Mary Berry

Finally the most important question.....on a scone do you spread cream or jam first?
Definitely cream first, as it acts a layer underneath the jam. If you do it the other way it makes a mess!

Ji Sun's next afternoon tea creation is her beautiful Valentine's afternoon tea, complete with heart shaped scones and macaroons. Take a peek at how wonderful it looks.....

Valentines Afternoon Tea at
The Ampersand Hotel

Doesn't that look scrummy? Shall we take a closer peek?

Heart shaped scones and macaroons at
The Ampersand Hotel

Are you drooling yet? Lets take a closer look.....

Sweet treats on offer at the Ampersand Hotel's
Valentines afternoon tea

If you'd like to indulge in this Valentine's Afternoon Tea, take a look at The Ampersand website for more information about booking....but be quick...the tea is only available from Friday 7th - Sunday 16th February 2014! 

It was a pleasure to spend time with Ji Sun, a very creative pastry chef who is also very humble about her beautiful creations. I am looking forward to seeing what other afternoon teas she creates this year at The Ampersand.

I hope you've enjoyed this post from Tea With Me and Friends, we will be meeting more pastry chefs during our afternoon tea adventures...asking them all sorts of important questions about tea!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel