Meet the Head Chef......

Hello there,

Welcome back to another blog post from Tea With Me and Friends, this time we are meeting the Head Chef  Sergio Neale at the Reform Social & Grill in Marylebone London, creator of the Vintage themed afternoon tea currently on offer.

Vintage Afternoon Tea
Reform Social & Grill

We visited the Reform Social & Grill last weekend and loved the concept of the afternoon tea, and afterwards Chef Sergio kindly answered some questions for us.....

Q. Why did you decide to feature a themed afternoon tea at the Reform Social & Grill?
Many places have themed afternoon teas and to add a little something extra to the classic option. I just tried to find something that is very on trend at the moment.

Q. We love the idea of an afternoon tea inspired by the 1940s/50s - what made you pick this particular era?
It a time in Britain when things were hard, with rationing still in place for much of the time, Britain pulled together, people did the best with what they had. But even thought times were hard people really knew how to have a good time. Its an inspiring time and at tea time, people enjoyed themselves and this is exactly what we want people to do here. Indulge, dress up and enjoy. 

Q How long did it take you to create this new afternoon tea?
The creation of this afternoon tea took around 3 month from the idea to 

Q. Was it hard to pick which fancies to include in the afternoon tea?
Not really! I just think back to what my granddad used to cook for me. Plus I have his some of his recipes which are amazing.

Q. What is your favourite part of this afternoon tea?
Bananas and custard, it’s a classic mums quick dessert, it’s a brilliant combination  

Q. Do you enjoy a spot of afternoon tea yourself and have you tried tea anywhere else?
I do enjoy afternoon teas, I enjoy classic tea rooms were they serve big wedges of cakes and eccals cakes as big as dinner plates. But for something a little special I would recommend sketch.

Head Chef - Sergio Neale
Reform Social & Grill

Q. What is your favourite filling in an afternoon tea sandwich?
Coronation chicken. A classic but we worked hard on getting the right combination of spices so its unforgettable

Q. The all important question - do you put cream or jam on your scone first?
Cream, you can get more on if the cream goes on first, its harder to spread cream on top of jam

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

As you can imagine Lorna and I were pleased to hear that Chef Sergio dresses his scones in the correct way - cream first! We'll be enjoying a spot of afternoon tea at Sketch next month and so we were also pleased to see the recommendation here!

A big thank you to Chef Sergio for answering our questions and we hope you've enjoyed our latest instalment in the "meet the chef" blog articles.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....Reform Social & Grill

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea blog post from Tea With Me and Friends, last weekend Lorna and I and a group of friends experienced a new afternoon tea on offer at Reform Social & Grill in London.

I had been told about their vintage afternoon teas with live music inspired by the 40s and 50s, where guests are encouraged to dress for the occasion. Well anyone who has popped by our blog before will know that Lorna and I love a bit of vintage...so we got a group of girls together and put our 50s attire on and headed into London....

Tea With Me and Friends -
ready for a spot of afternoon tea

Now, Lorna and I have visited the Reform Social & Grill on several occasions before and have always enjoyed good food and great service, and so we were looking forward to this afternoon experience. You can either enjoy a vintage afternoon tea with traditional cakes and tea or you can opt for unlimited bubbles (for two hours) with your tea. Any regular visitors to our blog will not be surprised to learn that we opted for the bubbles! 

The tea begins with a seasonal Bellini each - we could choose from peach or raspberry. Our afternoon included live music from singers Verity and Violet, however when they are not performing music from the 40s and 50s is played in the restaurant.

After we had each picked our tea from the varied tea menu, the cake stands were brought out. The tea looked lovely, and we had vintage china instead of the usual white china used for previous afternoon teas.

Vintage afternoon tea
Reform Social & Grill

Two of our guests didn't fancy the salmon sandwiches and the waiter happily substituted these for one of the other varieties. On the sandwich plate was cucumber and cream cheese, smoked salmon and horseradish, coronation chicken and duck egg mayonnaise.

Afternoon tea sandwiches - Reform Social & Grill

If I'm honest these were not the best sandwiches that we have enjoyed with afternoon tea (although there were crust free and dainty in size!). The fillings were ok, but the bread was rather soggy. The beetroot bread from the salmon sandwich also dyed the sandwiches which we on either side of it. 

We then moved onto the scones - we had one each, which was accompanied with raspberry jam and clotted cream.

Fruity scones - Reform Social & Grill

The scones were lovely - I could have eaten another one really! They were light and fluffy inside and there was plenty of cream for everyone.

We then moved onto the top tier of the cake stand.....the vintage inspired sweet treats.

Vintage inspired cakes - Reform Social & Grill

There was a good selection of cakes and we all got one each - so no sharing here! The selection included lemon pound cake, apple turnovers, mini treacle tarts, jam roly poly pudding and rose petal meringues.

Afternoon tea - Reform Social & Grill

Unfortunately this was a rather disappointing tier, something that we all agreed on. The concept of this tea is wonderful and I was so excited to try all the old fashioned treats - but they just didn't hit the spot for us. The highlight was probably the apple turnover, but the low point is tied between several of the cakes. The treacle tart was a little too small and a little over baked - it was like eating a mouthful of pastry. The meringues were rather buttery....in fact I couldn't tell you that they were flavoured with rose petals.

The service was also sadly lacking on this particular visit, which also surprised me as everyone was always so attentive previously. Both our teacups and our prosecco glasses ran dry several times during the afternoon, resulting in us needing to catch someones eye and request "more please".

The live entertainment however was brilliant, we all enjoyed seat dancing along to the vintage inspired songs that Verity and Violet sang....and they looked beautiful in their outfits....

Vintage inspired entertainment
Verity and Violet

This was a lovely addition to the vintage afternoon tea experience that we thoroughly enjoyed.

You can partake in a vintage afternoon tea, complete with live music on the first Sunday of each month, but the vintage tea itself is served all the time (without the music). The tea will cost you £26.50 each and if you'd like to enjoy unlimited Prosecco it will cost £28.50 each. The food in this tea is limited to what you see in these photos, however if you want to order another plate of anything you can at a charge.

Considering we enjoyed rather good live music with our tea I do think its good value for money, but I would have liked just one more of those scrummy scones.

Have you enjoyed a vintage inspired afternoon tea anywhere? If so we'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea....The Exclusive Cake Shop and Vintage Tea Room

Hello there,

Well its been a tea filled year...we've enjoyed all sorts of afternoon teas in lots of different places with a variety of friends, both old and new!

My last afternoon tea of 2013 was taken in the Exclusive Cake Shop and Vintage Tea Room in a small town called Midhurst, West Sussex. The shop is owned and run by Carole, and offers homemade bespoke cakes and afternoon tea experiences. The tearoom was found by my friend Alex, who knew it would be right up my street.....and she wasn't wrong there!

The interior of the tearoom is just lovely....full of wonderful vintage china and decorated beautifully. As you walk through the door you are greeting by a rather scrummy looking cake display and a wall of teapots (that I was very jealous of)...



Cakes galore!

The tearoom's tea menu is extensive with a wonderful choice of different teas...everyone will find a tea that suits them on the menu! I am also pleased to report that the tea is served in teapots in pretty vintage china....

The menu is also full of wonderful sweet and savoury treats and the tearoom prides itself on sourcing a lot of their ingredients from the surrounding area.

You can pick from a specials board or from the extensive menu. There are individual tea sandwiches on offer plus other toasted treats such as crumpets. You can also enjoyed homemade scones and a wide range of cakes. It probably doesn't surprise you though to read that I wanted just one thing....the full afternoon tea experience!

Once we had picked our teas we were presented with a wonderful cake stand full of freshly prepared sandwiches....

Afternoon tea sandwiches

We were given egg mayonnaise, salmon and cream cheese, ham and mustard and cucumber. The sandwiches were so fresh and tasty, the fillings very generous and the bread was soft - the perfect afternoon tea sandwich! This little lot was for just two people and we were asked if we wanted anymore!

Once we had decided that we could not eat anymore sandwiches, this cake stand was removed and it was replaced by this....

Sweet treats!

 On this cake stand were scones topped with cream and jam, mini coffee éclairs, mini strawberry cupcakes, mini cherry bakewells and slices of chocolate tiffin.

I have to say that everything tasted wonderful, and was the perfect size to enjoy. I think either the éclair or the chocolate tiffin was my favourite part.....but if I'm honest it was all rather tasty!

Rather controversially our scone was already sliced and dressed for us.....

The controversial scone!

The cream and jam were the wrong way around (Lorna wouldn't have been impressed!), but it was a very generous portion!

The service throughout was brilliant and very friendly. We were offered more sandwiches and the hot water in our teapots was refilled several times.

At £16 per person for this tea I think it was a real bargain and I would definitely go back again. As well as enjoying the food and drink in the tearoom, you can also buy items to take home with you - an added bonus to the experience!

Tea With Me and Friends enjoyed a lovely traditional afternoon tea

All in all this is a lovely tearoom, offering fresh, homemade treats at a very reasonable price. I was very pleased to end the year on a high note!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel 

Tea for Tea.....in the 1950s!

Hello there!

I hope you are keeping well today. Firstly I am sorry for all the photos in this post....I couldn't help myself!

This weekend Lorna, Becca and I did a little time travelling as we joined Rhythm Riot in Pontins Camber Sands for their action packed 1950s weekend! There was plenty of 1950s fashion, music, dancing and cars....all in the wonderful settings of Pontins. Lorna and I got into the swing of things with our new 1950s clothes....

1950s day wear!

But we also found time for a spot of tea and cakes. If you know the area, you'll know that the little town of Camber sits about 15 minutes away from the beautiful town of Rye....and it was to Rye we headed to (on a 1950s bus!) find some sweet treats!

On Saturday we visited Simon the Piemans....

 

 

We found this fab tearoom behind the main high street and were enticed in by the amazing window full of sweet treats and the inviting fire.....

 

Who wouldn't want to stop here for some tea and cake??

 

We were pleased to get a nice spot by the fire!

 Simon the Piemans didn't offer a full afternoon tea, I could have enjoyed scones and tea...but on this occasion I fancied something a little more substantial and so we all opted for savoury items followed by some cake. To start I ordered the egg sandwiches (good old fashioned sliced, boiled eggs with mayonnaise if requested) on brown bread, with a pot of tea.

Tea and egg sandwiches

The sandwiches were freshly made to order, the bread was fresh and filling plentiful. I'm glad they asked me about the mayonnaise though...it would have been a little dry without it! Meanwhile Lorna had opted for something a little different....

A large pork pie and salad. Lorna reported that the pork pie was very tasty, with the right amount of jelly!

 

We then moved onto the sweet items....and the menu keep us occupied for some time as there was a lot to pick from! In the end I decided to sample my first mince pie of 2013......

Warm mince pie and whipped cream - scrummy!

I was not disappointed with my choice....the pie was warm and served with whipped cream. The mincemeat was tasty and the pastry just the right thickness. All in all this was a rather scrummy mince pie!

 

Becca went for a piece of the scrummy looking chocolate and walnut brownie....

 

Becca let me try a piece of her brownie and I am pleased she did....it was rich, chocolately and full of walnuts. A very nice end to our lunchtime!

 

Unfortunately the service isn't the fastest, but the food was good and the tearoom itself is lovely - the open fire really makes the space. If you're in the area and fancy a piece of cake, its definitely worth a visit!

 

 The next day we headed back to Rye to sample the delights of The Cobbles Tea Room...again this is tucked off the main high street in Rye....but once you've found it you'll definitely visit again! Lorna and I had actually visited this tea room last year and so we knew some of the treats that lay behind the cute signage....


Afternoon Tea at The Cobbles Tearoom

First off we needed to order some drinks.....and Becca took our advice, ordering the Cobbles Special hot chocolate.....

 

Hot chocolate anyone?

Served in a teacup, this hot chocolate is rich and creamy, topped with marshmallows and then piled high with cream! Its a meal in itself and a must for all hot chocolate lovers. Lorna and I opted for a pot of tea.....

 

Time for tea?

 There was a good selection of black and green teas to pick from, and if you liked a particular tea you could also buy leaves to take home with you. This tea however, was to accompany the afternoon tea for one that I decided I needed to sample....

Afternoon tea for one....

 The tea consists of a pot of the house tea, sandwiches (picked from a list of fillings), a warm scone with cream and jam and a generous slice of cake (again picked from the selection on offer that day).

 

I was a little disappointed that I couldn't have the egg mayonnaise that I had ordered(there was only enough for one person and so I let Lorna enjoy the egg), instead I opted for tuna mayonnaise. However, the sandwiches were fresh and tasty. 

 

The scone was the highlight of this tea...not only was it served warmed....it was also homemade and extremely tasty. We enjoyed having a pot of cream and jam to ourselves, and piled our scones high!

 

There was several different cakes on offer...I opted for a lemon drizzle cake and Lorna went for the coffee and walnut. Both slices were large and tasty (although mine had a little too much drizzle on the top for my taste).

 

 We really enjoyed our experience at The Cobbles Tearoom, which is over 50 years old. The service was friendly and quick and the food was homemade. If you are visiting Rye, you should pop by!

Lorna and I enjoying our tea!

All in all we had a lovely tea-fuelled 1950s weekend.

Matching car and outfit...what more could a girl want?

I even picked out my next car!!

 

If you have an interest in the 1950s, then the Rhythm Riot weekend might be just the thing for you...take a peek at their website for more information!

 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Tme for Tea.....Bea's Vintage Tea Rooms

Hello there!

If you're in the UK I hope you are enjoying this fab weather - summer is finally here! Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend some time in Bath with my friend Becca. We stayed in a fab boutique hotel called Henrietta House which is about a ten minute stroll from the centre of Bath. The hotel is gorgeous, filled to the rafters with vintage furniture....and they serve an amazing breakfast! On top of everything else every member of staff we met was so incredibly friendly - I'd definitely stay there again!

While in Bath we did some of the fab tourist things like exploring the Roman Baths, but we also made sure that we made time for some afternoon tea! Well, it would be rude not too! Now, we were spoilt for choice in Bath, but we opted for a trip to Beas Vintage Tea Rooms which is located near the Fashion Museum (also worth a visit!).

When you step through the door at Beas its as if you've stepped back to the 1930s/1940s....with a lovely interior stuff full of vintage items and wonderful music playing in the background. One of the first thing I notice was their amazing patisserie cabinet full of scrummy looking cakes...... 

 

The menu has a good selection of breakfast and lunch items.....but of course we were there for a spot of afternoon tea! The tea was served on a three tier cake stand and included a lovely selection of freshly made finger sandwiches, a scone each and a large slice of cake - we were given two different slices which we then cut in half again so we could share the flavours!

 

The sandwiches were very traditional with both egg and salmon featuring, along with cucumber. The scones were a good size....not too big and not too small, I wasn't disappointed that there was only one each. One piece of cake was traditional Victoria sponge which was generously filled with fresh whipped cream and summer berries. The second piece of cake was lemon, filled with a delicious lemon curd and topped with meringue.

 

All in all this was a rather lovely tea, served on pretty china and coupled with the elegant surroundings it was a wonderful way to spend an hour or so! The price was just under £20 for two people, which is good value (as we left rather full) however you then need to add the cost of your drink onto your bill as tea is not included - we found this a little strange, but we'd still visit again.

 

 

So if you happen to be in Bath, Beas Vintage Tea Rooms is definitely worth a visit!

 

Thanks for popping by today,

I wonder where we'll be going for tea next?

 

Rachel & Lorna