Afternoon Tea at The Lancaster, London with Chef Ben Purton - such a treat!!

Over the last year I have been enjoying Afternoon Tea in various establishments around London and the Home Counties. Its a difficult job, but someone has to do it!! I have been part of the #LDNBloggersTea group - about 25 bloggers who have tea, drink champagne and then write about their experiences. This Sunday was the turn of The Lancaster, London, under the expert cheffing hands of Chef Ben Purton. The lovely Melanie, from Sunny in London, had worked very hard to organise the event, taking over the reins from Selena at Oh The Places We Will Go. And a very professional job she did too!! Thank you Melanie for giving us all such a treat!

I have attended all the London Bloggers Teas bar one and that was when Chef Ben created tea for us last. Since then he has been an enthusiastic supporter of our little tea scoffing band and I was looking forward to both meeting him and eating his wares.

I made my way to Lancaster Gate tube station and from there it was a two minute walk to The Lancaster. We had our own private room, just off from the lounge on the first floor and we were greeted with warm smiles and chilled pink Laurent Perrier champagne. Things were looking good!

If you are visiting London, then The Lancaster is in a brilliant position for seeing the sights and the views from our room were gorgeous. The windows looked out over Hyde Park, the Serpentine and its fountains. It was beautiful.

Chef Ben had obviously worked very hard on their menu and it was clear that they were very proud of their work. A huge amount of effort has gone into creating an Afternoon Tea here. Before Ben Purton arrived it was a service that they did not offer so full marks for adding to London's menu of top notch teas.

The scones were freshly baked and we were the first to try the Christmas Pudding flavour scone, along with a plain and a raisin flavour. And the good news was that there was plenty of clotted cream and delicious homemade strawberry jam.

One of the things I really loved this afternoon was the attention to detail... we were able to see the huge range of teas on offer - from Pear and Ginger to English Breakfast to Dragonwell Green Tea. And the lovely representative of Laurent Perrier, Ashley, told us all about what was best to drink with the champagne - apparently strawberries are good, but so was the terrine shown below. Yum.

As is usual at these occasions I was pretty full up by the time it came to eat the dessert tier. There is only so much tea and champagne a girl can consume before she gives up the ghost. However I manfully continued and was treated to white chocolate and raspberry lolly pops which sparkled in my mouth, mostly because of the surprise popping candy! A honey and apple cake was another favourite and the tiny lemon tart was scrumptious!

I sat back in my chair and looked around the room, dressed for Christmas and full of happy smiling blogger faces, some new, some who had been to a LDNBloggersTea before, and the feeling was good. 

Afternoon tea at The Lancaster, London costs £30 per person, £35 with a glass of Laurent Perrier champagne and £40 with Laurent Perrier Rose. We were fortunate enough to be given a discounted rate of £25 for our tea. If you are looking for a safe haven just a few minutes from Oxford Street, where you can watch the world go by and indulge yourself then this tea is very lovely. I can't recommend the staff enough as they could not do enough for us! Thank you to Ben Purton from The Lancaster and Ashley Wilce from Laurent Perrier. You spoiled us magnificently!!

Afternoon Tea at Laura Kate, Welwyn .... vintage deliciousness.

My friends and I just came home from a lovely afternoon tea in the village of Welwyn. I have been to quite a few afternoon teas over the past year and have written about them on my blog - The Conrad St James, The Milestone, The Ampersand  all lovely posh places in London. Today I thought I would try a rural tea in leafy Hertfordshire.

We chose Laura Kate in Welwyn. It is a tiny Tea Parlour set on the High Street, seating about 16 people. We thought it would be interesting to see the sort of tea available, especially as the Laura Kate tea costs £14.95 - half of the cost of most London teas.

We arrived to friendly smiles and were shown to our table. The shop is pretty, mainly white with fresh pink roses and displays of their delicious cakes - all made on the premises by the team.

Our waitress took our orders for tea. My friends had English Breakfast Tea while I ordered Peppermint Tea. They both arrived in pots, loose leaf tea, which, during the course of the afternoon, were refreshed frequently. Delicious! There was a good tea menu, offering the teas we had alongside Assam, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Chamomile and more.

Our tea stand arrived and the contents were explained to us. We had previously been asked whether we would like to choose the flavour of our cupcakes or be given a surprise. Being quite courageous types we went for the surprise option!

I loved the quirky tea stand - made of stiff cardboard and so pretty! When we booked (booking is essential) we were asked about our dietary requirements and they took note of my friend being a vegetarian. Everything is served on quirky vintage plates with funky cups and saucers too.

We began with the sandwiches ...

Beef with horseradish, egg mayonnaise, cucumber & cream cheese, brie & cranberry.

They were all delicious, on soft, soft fresh bread, but I think my favourite was the beef ... or possibly the egg ...!!

Next we moved onto the freshly baked, warm scones. It is a fact universally acknowledged that scones should always be served warm from the oven, and I was very pleased to see that these were!

There were two scones each, served with lashings of clotted cream and raspberry jam. The waiting staff were incredibly attentive and friendly without being intrusive. We were asked if we needed more jam or cream and although there was enough of both we were feeling rather greedy and asked for even more.

By the time we had eaten our scones we were starting to feel a tad ... well, to put it bluntly ... stuffed!

And yet we still had the top layer to go ...

Banoffee shots

Millionaires shortbread bites...

 Raspberry white chocolate, chocolate, vanilla cupcakes.

I have to admit that we simply could not finish our cupcakes, but the lady serving us noticed this and offered to wrap them for us so we could take them home. They were brought back to us wrapped in cellophane and ribbon. How lovely!

We spent our afternoon laughing and chatting, totally relaxed and having fun. The afternoon tea at Laura Kate is absolutely delicious! All the cakes are baked on the premises and everything we had to eat and drink was beautifully presented, wonderfully fresh and scrumptious!! I have to say that the tea was one of my favourites, coming in second after the Conrad's Festive Tea. Everything from the welcome to the service and, of course, the food was really super. I highly recommend, if you are in Hertfordshire, that you make a booking for tea, or just pop in for a cuppa and a crumpet ( Marmite provided!) or a homemade cupcake. 

And, just in case you are wondering ... we paid full price of £14.95 for our tea and were most happy to do so!

Festive Afternoon Tea at The Conrad Hotel ... A Scrumptious Treat!

There are days that come along sometimes and fill you with joy. Days that feel like Christmas did when you were a child. Yesterday was a day like that. The sun was shining and people were sitting in deck chairs in Green Park as I strolled along in my summer dress, but before long I could have been back in my childhood, opening presents under a Christmas tree, full of excitement for the goodies to come and sharing the pleasure with good friends.

I had been invited to the Conrad London St James with a group of bloggers, continuing our mission to find the perfect Afternoon Tea. We have been sampling the delights, and sometimes not so delightful delights, of London hotels over the last year or so. Yesterday was the turn of the Conrad as they unveiled, or should I say unwrapped, their Festive Tea.

I could as well come straight out with it, rather than teasing you ... this tea was simply the best I've ever had.... in every way. From the moment I entered the Conrad the staff were kind, attentive and friendly. They met us with champagne and couldn't do enough for us.

I settled myself down and began an afternoon of chat and laughter and general shameless indulgence! Instead of my usual PG Tips I chose Vanilla Black from the extensive list of teas. The waiter informed me that it could be taken with milk, but that he recommended it black as it was so delicious. He was right! I did, and it was.

Next the tea stand arrived, accompanied by Zoe Wager, Executive Pastry Chef at Conrad St James. She was the creative genius behind the Festive Tea and she explained both the scrumptious tea and the inspiration behind it.

Zoe Wager - Executive Pastry Chef

Now ... you may, like me, not be a huge fan of Brussel Sprouts, but I promise you that this tea will change your mind. "Brussel Sprouts??!!" I hear you gasp. Yes. To be more precise Brussel Sprout shots. Simply one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted ... a mousse of Brussel Sprout with light goat's cheese, topped with a tiny sprout salad and a bacon shard. Oh - My - Lord!! To die for.

Zoe has tried to incorporate all the flavours of Christmas into the Conrad's imaginative and fun-filled take on Afternoon Tea. With the Brussel Sprout Shots comes a tiny Venison Pie and a Turkey Ballotine with a spoon of Cranberry ...bursts of flavour.

Next came the sandwich layer ...

smoked salmon & lemon creme fraiche
beetroot & spinach
cured gammon & mustard

They were all lovely, soft and full of flavour, but the beetroot sandwich was my favourite.

And then ... SCONES!

freshly baked orange & cranberry scone
Christmas spice scone
Devonshire clotted cream, home made strawberry jam, blackberry curd

Everybody loves a scone and these were soft, warm and tasty with ( Thank Goodness, because some places can be a tad stingey) LOTS of clotted cream and jam. Yum.

By this time I was feeling quite full and settled back on the sofa as I would after my Christmas Lunch. Things were going pretty well and then the strains of Let it Snow! came drifting across the room, played on a full size harp. Oh Good Grief ... I wondered if it could get any better. Surely only the first snow of winter would make this more heavenly?

Well, you won't believe this, but even though it didn't snow ( that would have been verging on the ridiculous...) it did get better. A flurry of staff emerged carrying the piece de resistance -  a beautiful snow scene, complete with meringue snowmen, edible snow and a winter berry Christmas tree. All of this was enclosed in a glass cloche ... just beautiful and, it turns out, de-licious.

I cannot recommend this tea highly enough. I paid a slightly discounted rate, but it is available for £37 per person or £45 per person with free flowing Laurent Perrier champagne. I think that this is remarkable value when you consider the imagination that has gone into creating this Festive Tea, along with the superb service and absolute deliciousness of the fare.

The staff at the Conrad are so knowledgeable and friendly - able to tell us how the chocolate is sprayed onto the Christmas trees, about the teas we could choose from - and the hotel also laid on some tasty looking vegetarian and Gluten free options.

If you are looking for a special treat in the lead up to Christmas then this would be a place to head for. The Festive Tea is available from the 24th November and I am thinking of taking along my husband and boys so we can have a Christmas memory that will leave us feeling rather lovely. Thank you Chef Zoe and all the staff at the Conrad! I may sound a bit gushy today, but yesterday I was in Heaven!!

London Bloggers Afternoon Tea at the Milestone Hotel

I have been very lucky, over the last few months, to be one of a group of bloggers who get together for afternoon tea in some of the most lovely hotels in London. Today it was the turn of the Milestone Hotel - a 5 star boutique hotel in Kensington. I prepared myself for a sumptuous tea and headed off on the train ...

Walking into the luxurious surroundings of the Milestone I was greeted with smiles and friendly staff who directed me to our private room - The Windsor. I knew that I had come to the right place because of the hubbub of blogger voices and friendly laughter! Although a tad hot and flustered from my journey I soon relaxed when met by the smiling face of Selena from Oh, the places we will go! and of course the chilled champagne helped too!

We were looked after by a couple of very helpful staff who came round offering us either Earl Grey or English Breakfast Tea. I chose the English Breakfast, but it would have been nice to have rather more of a choice and I prefer to have my own pot rather than be served. At other places we have had a choice of all sorts - Assam, Darjeeling, Chamomile, Peppermint and so on, but the tea was hot and wet so that's fine. I'm sure if I'd asked for something else it would have been available.

I had tried to download the Afternoon Tea menu from the hotel website, but had been unable to do so, so I was excited to see what delights would be on offer. There was no menu on the table, but when asked the waiter told us about the sandwiches and cakes on offer.

The tea was very traditional. On our three tier stand were crustless finger sandwiches with various fillings - smoked salmon and cream cheese, egg and cress (delicious!), cheese and tomato and ham and mustard. They were very tasty, but if I'm honest nothing to really write home about. The bread, in places, had the very slight dryness about it that told me it wasn't absolutely fresh. I also prefer my ham cut from a joint as you can see in the ham gougere from a visit to a different place - rather than "plastic ham" found in the sandwiches today. This really disappointed me. I certainly wouldn't buy ham like that and I was surprised to find it at the Milestone.

The Milestone ham sandwich

Ham gougere from ... another hotel. 

Next we began the homemade scones with jam and clotted cream. They were warm, which is lovely, and quite crispy on the outside. I'm not sure if the hotel quite realised how much we bloggers like our jam and cream as we ran out a couple of times and had to ask for more. Even then I felt a bit cheated. 

The cakes on the top tier looked gorgeous - pretty and dainty.

Our favourites were the lemon meringue mille feuilles and the cheesecake with mango. I couldn't resist the pink macaroon with vanilla filling either!

Sadly the chef did not come out to meet us, which was a shame. It has always been a real highlight to meet the team who have worked to create the food and some chefs continue to tweet our little team as we do our best to sample every tea in town!! Its a good idea to meet us because we are writing about their service and any info they can give to impress us is great, after all we are potentially giving a hotel free publicity!!

 I wandered off for a nosy at one point and saw the main hotel tea rooms which looked gorgeous. It would have been lovely to sit in such beautiful surroundings, but the Windsor was very smart and comfortable and we did need a private room for our group.

All in all I left the hotel having had a nice time. It was good to see the girls again and the tea was pretty good. But it wasn't great and it certainly wasn't outstanding. I hate to give negative reviews, but I like to be honest and although I received a discounted rate I still paid £30 for my tea. I think that if I had paid over £40 which is what they usually charge I would have been very disappointed. The tea lacked imagination, fell down on quality in places and the service was good, but not excellent. One shouldn't have to ask for more milk, more jam, more cream (and I am not a greedy person, let me point out) and there should be a menu available so you can see what's on offer. I still can't open the  one on the hotel website.

I would rate this Afternoon Tea at 6/10. 

Science Afternoon Tea at The Ampersand Hotel .... a gorgeous birthday treat!!

Did I mention that its my birthday this week?? Well, if I hadn't brought it to your attention before then let me tell you now!! This week I am 50 years old!! In fact yesterday I was 50 years old!! And by way of celebration my week is filled to the brim with treats!!

I began my self indulgent week with a bloggers Afternoon Tea. The lovely Selena had been invited to the Ampersand Hotel for a bloggers afternoon Science Tea and she kindly asked me along too!

The Science Tea was at The Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington, London - within shouting distance of the Science Museum and about 100 metres from the Tube Station so very easy to get to! I made my way into The Drawing Rooms to find gorgeous mirror tables laid for 16 of us, complete with retro milk bottles for flower vases, linen napkins and sumptuous turquoise leather armchairs!!

Each place was set with white china cups and saucers, complete with silver tea strainers. All rather lovely as befits a birthday girl!!

As you can see we indulged in a glass of champagne and then chose our tea of the day. I chose fresh mint, but I could have had anything from English Breakfast to Earl Grey, from Jasmine to Lapsang Souchong and many more inbetween.

The service was friendly, but discreet and we were all made to feel that nothing was too much to ask. My coat was whisked away to the cloakroom so I didn't have to feel loaded down by it. The Drawing Rooms themselves were quirky, but light and chic, with fascinating objects placed in cabinets like scientific exhibits.

Tea arrived with a touch of theatre!! Dry ice turned stuffy English Afternoon Tea into a delicious and fun version of a Science Lab and the food itself was hugely imaginative!!

Science Afternoon tea

Served from 2.30pm – 5.30pm

£32.50 per person £44.50 with a glass of Champagne

Savoury Gougères

Gloucester old spot ham, sauce gribiche

H. Forman & Son London smoked salmon, dill & cream cheese

Coronation chicken

Cheese with fruit chutney

Homemade white chocolate scones served with

Devonshire clotted cream and homemade strawberry preserve

Pastries

Hazelnut, walnut and chocolate cake with mango mousse volcano and

Chocolate dinosaur

Pistachio macaroon with cherry sauce pipette

Raspberry cake planet

Citrus cocktail in a beaker

Cream tea

Homemade scones served with

Devonshire clotted cream and homemade strawberry preserve

With your choice of tea £7.50

Head Pastry Chef Ji Sun Shin

I have recently been on a bit of a bread free health kick so the arrival of savoury gougeres - choux pastry buns filled with the most delicious tasting combinations - made me feel rather virtuous! They were so light, but packed with flavour. I think I am in love with whoever invented them!! 

I headed next for the white chocolate scones ... served with clotted cream and homemade strawberry preserve ... Do you put cream on first? Or jam? Or do any of us really care when they taste so darn good??

I have to say that at this point there wasn't a whole lot of talking going on!! It was a case of concentrating on the scrumptiousness and savouring every mouthful!!

At this point the chef, Ji Sun Shin, came out to see us. The Science Tea is her creation and she advised us of the best way to apply the cherry sauce. This may seem silly, but have you ever seen a pipette filled with cherry sauce before??

The top layer of the tea was the piece de resistance. Chef Ji Sun Shin has created a tea the likes of which I certainly have not come across before! She presented citrus cocktails in mini glass science beakers, pistachio macaroons with blood-like cherry sauce ( don't worry - it tasted yummy!) and chocolate dinosaurs climbing a chocolate cake with mango volcano!!

I loved having Afternoon Tea here and would definitely go back. The Ampersand very kindly gave us this tea as a complimentary treat so that we could review it, but it started my birthday week off brilliantly and I genuinely thought it was the best tea I've had for a long time. I loved the setting, but most of all I loved the imagination used to create a fun and delicious meal. 

If you are going to be in London over the next few weeks, perhaps visiting the museums or shopping, then I would recommend this as a special treat. The Science Tea is available up until the 21st March, but I am certainly going to keep an eye out for future menus and plan to take my husband there for Tea for Two!! He is partial to a little bit of yumminess!!