Chelsea Flower Show Afternoon Tea 2014 — At Corinthia Hotel London.

Enjoy a selection of Finger Sandwiches served on Artisanal Breads 

Loch Var Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese and Chive Coronation Chicken

Egg Mayonnaise and Watercress (V)

Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire Cheese and Piccalilli (V) Roast Beef and Creamed Horseradish Severn and Wye Smoked Trout and Cucumber 

-

Indulge in a choice of English Tea Fancies inspired by the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2014 

The Gazebo (N)(G) 

Blueberry, violet and raspberry cream filled chocolate choux. Blueberry marshmallow, violet flowers 

The Potting Shed (G) Dark chocolate crémeux, chocolate soil 

Butterfly Garden (N) 

Lady Grey tea infused milk chocolate ganache, soft chocolate brownie and toasted marzipan 

Spring Meadow (G)

Lemon and lavender drizzle cake, lemon buttercream 

English Rose Garden (N)

Rose mousseline, raspberries, almond macaroon 

Labyrinth (N)(G) 

Strawberry jelly, pistachio Genoise, matcha green tea crème, caramelized puff pastry 

Knot Garden (G)

Roasted white chocolate mousse, apricot and chamomile compote, shortbread crumbles 

The Orangerie (G) 

White chocolate and coconut sponge, yuzu and orange marmalade 

Follow with a selection of Warm Scones (G) 

Plain and Raisin served with House Preserves and Clotted Cream

(V) Vegetarian (Vg) Vegan

(N) May contain nuts (G) Contains gluten

All prices are inclusive of 20% VAT.

A 12.5% discretionary service charge will be added to your final bill. 

Edible Garden Afternoon Tea At InterContinental London Westminster ( 28th April - 25th May)

To celebrate the Chelsea Flower Show, InterContinental London Westminster has created an exquisite Edible Garden Afternoon Tea. 

During May, the luxury hotel has partnered with Laurent-Perrier champagne to create sensational tiers of savouries, delightful floral fancies and seasonal English classics to reflect the elegance of Laurent-Perrier champagne and embody their beautiful Chelsea garden. 

Free flowing champagne and British seasonal ingredients have been matched with a selection of delicate floral teas to make this Afternoon Tea experience the perfect balance of a feast for the eyes and a classic spread to excite your taste buds.

The Edible Garden

Including free-flowing

Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne for the duration of the sitting time

A selection of savouries

Baby vegetable shot

Garden pea and basil tart

Miniature eggs Benedict

Roast beef and horseradish on beetroot bread

Smoked chicken and tarragon tear drop

Delicate goat cheese and tomato with cheddar shortbread

Smoked salmon roulade on rye bread 

Freshly baked mini Chelsea buns &Lavender infused scones

Served with Devonshire clotted cream, home-madestrawberry rose jam and lemon curd

Cakes and pastries

Lemon box hedge

Raspberry meringue pie

Laurent-Perrier strawberry champagne bubble

Crushed violet macaroon

Manjari Chocolate Pond

Chocolate pebbles

Floral Tea

A choice of herbal teas

Lemon Verbena Herbal Tea, Blackcurrant and Hibiscus Herbal Tea,

Whole Rose Buds, Flowering Osmanthus 

£44.00 per person

WIN TICKETS TO RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

The InterContinental Westminster has teamed up with Laurent-Perrier to offer Afternoon Tea aficionados a chance to win a pair of tickets to RHS Chelsea Flower Show, one of the most sought after and sold-out events on the British social calendar.

How to Win! 

Simply book your afternoon tea through @ICWestminster site using the link below to be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a pair of tickets to the show

http://westminster.intercontinental.com/afternoon-tea.html

The Ampersand Hotel Easter Afternoon Tea available from 12th April - 21st April

Easter Afternoon Tea available from 12th April - 21st April

Includes Savoury gougeres - Glouster old spot ham, sauce gribiche; Cheese with fruit chutney; H.Forman & Son London smoked salmon, dill and cream cheese; Coronation chicken - followed by Easter bread and white chocolate scones, served with Devonshire clotted cream & homemade strawberry preserve

You'll also be treated to a selection of Easter inspired pastries including chocolate nexts with coconut mousse, chocolate eggs and shortbread chicks, salted caramel macaroons, eggceptional Early Grey opera cake and passion fruit tart with strawberries.

£32.50 per person or £44.50 per person with a glass of Champagne

Enjoy a complimentary glass of Champagne Monday - Friday, when booking the Easter Afternoon Tea Special offer on-line.

www.ampersandhotel.com

Budapest Afternoon Tea at the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus

On a recent weekend break Chelsie and I visited the beautiful capital city of Hungary, Budapest. For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of visiting this city, it is typically credited with its rich thermal and spa waters, deep history, glorious architecture, fabulous nightlife and certainly from our perspective impressive culinary scene.

Chelsie and I were fortunate enough to be spending the weekend at the luxurious five star Kempinski Hotel Corvinus. The hotel’s location is sensational, with quick, carefree access to all of the cities must see highlights from the beautiful St Stephen’s Basilica and chain bridge, to shopper’s paradise understandably named ‘Fashion Street’ and the financial district. This hotel has a lovely ambiance, reminiscent of a ‘home from home’ feel with an air of sophistication. The decor is elegant and stylish which results in an ideal location to relax and unwind. Keeping into the consideration the above, we were not surprised to hear that Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and the late Michael Jackson, to name but a few also chose this hotel to stay when visiting Budapest.

It was at the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus that Chelsie and I indulged in our first ever Hungarian afternoon tea. We were led to the ‘Living Room’ where afternoon tea is served by our lovely waitress Anna. The tables were already laid out, in anticipation of those arriving, with simple but faultless white mats and cutlery. This set up blends perfectly with the rooms surroundings. The ‘living room’ is exactly as the name implies, and thus is themed just like a luxurious living room. There are deep, comfortable chairs, an impressive wooden cabinet filled with familiar necessities such as books and ornaments with an enticing central real fire and Duval Leray Rose champagne resting on a bed of ice at the foot of every table. This is all accompanied by relaxed, upbeat music playing in the background which results in a lovely location to enjoy a spot of afternoon tea.

As our afternoon tea commenced, Anna began by ensuring that our surroundings were to our highest satisfaction, inquiring if we had any dietary requirements (all dietary requirements can be catered for) before providing us with an overview of what the afternoon tea would entail and a vast menu for us to select our tea from. The tea selection was very impressive with teas from the following categories available Black, White, Herbal, Green, Fruit and Oolong. Our teas arrived on a mint tea with a silver kettle and a flowery cup exclusively designed for the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus by Zsolnay. I selected Superior Fancy Oolong which had a somewhat nutty-fruity body whilst Chelsie selected a black tea Golden Assam (with milk) which had a delightfully sweet note. Anna told us that throughout the afternoon tea we would be allowed an unlimited complimentary tea refill which, in accordance with the taste was fabulous news.

Our afternoon tea arrived on an elegant white three tiered square stand. The bottom tier consisted of two of the following sandwiches on crust-less white bread: cucumber with Gouda cheese, smoked salmon trout with cream cheese and cured Mangalicia ham with chive butter. Anna explained to us that the ingredients used at the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus were of the finest quality and that the Mangalicia ham has an extensive history within the Hungarian food culture. We really appreciated Anna’s passion and insight, helping to ensure that we were fully incorporated into the Hungarian influence within this afternoon tea. We really enjoyed the sandwich selection; whilst we could not name our ultimate preference, we were silenced from our conversation by the freshness and intense flavor from each.

The middle tier deviated from the traditional English afternoon tea replacing scones and clotted cream with two apple and curd strudels accompanied with vanilla sauce and strudels with cottage cheese. We really enjoyed this difference, with our favorite item from this tier being the apple strudel. The taste of this apple strudel was divinely light but flavorsome with the vanilla sauce only enhancing the flavors further, whilst the cottage cheese strudel was a nice savory compliment. I must mention that as we moved on to each tier, Anna our waitress was extremely attentive asking if we had enjoyed our food, before providing us with a clean plate each, ready for our next tier. As we sat sipping on our teas, enjoying our lovely food and taking in the ambiance we were feeling both very content and relaxed.

In accordance with our own personal preference we asked Anna if we could be served our champagne with our desserts on the top tier. Sipping on our champagne served in Champagne coupes, we decided to indulge further and asked Anna if we could order an additional small stand of macarons from the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus new concept store fittingly called ‘Macarooons’. Anna returned within a suitable time frame smiling widely, explaining that she had hand selected a delightful combination of macaroon’s that would complement our upcoming dessert tier. The flavors included milk chocolate, and as to be expected following from the previous two tiers the food standard was incredibly high and the ganache intensely flavorsome. The enticing top tier was comprised of two of the following Hungarian influenced desserts: fruit tartlets, Dobos Cake (chocolate cake with crispy caramel on the top), Esterhazy torte (covered with sugar glaze, and filled with cooked egg cream with nut) and finally Sacher cake (chocolate cake). Chelsie and I really enjoyed trying the Hungarian desserts, and once again found it impossible to name a favorite. The differences in textures and bursts of flavors made them all exceptional in their own right.

Chelsie and I really enjoyed our first Hungarian afternoon tea, and can heartily recommend if you are planning to visit Budapest an indulgent stop the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus for afternoon tea. This is a beautiful location to celebrate a romantic break away with your partner, birthday celebration or as we did some girly indulgence.

www.kempinski.com/budapest

'Macarooon' Concept Store, Kempinski Hotel Corvinus - Budapest

On a recent visit to Kempinski Corvinus in Budapest Hungary, we were fortunate to discover the hotels latest delicious sensation ‘Macarooon’. ‘Macarooon’ is a bright, fresh and sophisticated concept store located in the hotels front lobby selling an impressive collection of bedazzling macaroons ensuring that both guests and visitors alike are treated to an unrivalled taste experience. The 2014 collection consists of over twenty truly unique flavours with some limited addition must have’s depending on the season (Macaron day in March for example). We were really impressed with the vast array on offer and indulged in the following flavours that we have not previously seen on our travels including; birthday cake, bubblegum, cotton candy and cinnamon plum. In our experience the macaroons were bursting with flavours, the sensational ganache (the middle of the macaroon) made every bite blissful, and I am happy to admit we visited ‘Macarooon’ numerous times during our stay needless to say- we highly recommend a visit.

Kempinski Hotel Hall Erzsébet tér 7-8

Budapest, Hungary

1051

www.macarooon.hu

Have You Heard?: The Biscuiteers team up with Mr. Men and Little Miss to bring your favorite characters.. in icing!!

Kate and Chelsie Experience- The Mr Men and Little Miss Launch Party

On Wednesday 12^th March we were fortunate enough to be invited to the beautiful Biscuiteers Boutique in London for the launch of their new fun and playful ‘Mr. Men and Little Miss’ collection.  For those of you who are not familiar with this boutique it may very well remind you of your favourite childhood candy store. The boutique is filled with their captivating creations that included bespoke cakes, traditional sweets, hand iced cupcakes, hand iced chocolates and their new and tasty macarons combined with a warm and friendly atmosphere.

The exclusive ‘Mr. Men  and Little Miss’ collection took over 1 year to produce ensuring that the Biscuiteers perfectly captured the different personalities behind each of the beloved Mr Men and Little Miss personalities. We began by sampling some of their colourful Mr Men and Little Miss cupcakes. The cupcakes were beautifully presented, and vivid in colour; admittedly it was a difficult choice to select which character we wanted to try first (Little Miss Sunshine or Mr Messy? But Mr Tickle looked so cute!) So in the end we went with Mr Greedy and Little Miss Chatterbox. The cupcakes were divine!  We were simply smitten with the vanilla butter-cream and delicate soft sponge within the cupcake and it left us eager to try more...perhaps selecting Mr Greedy was appropriate for me?

For us the best part of the evening was when we were where invited to sit down and create our own Mr. Men and Little Miss biscuits at their icing cafe (on premise in London). The tables were beautifully presented with Mr .Men and Little Miss table cloth, a large bowl of vivid coloured icing pipes, illustrations of the Mr. Men and Little Misses we would be creating to ensure that we wouldn’t forget any details and lots of biscuits to get practising on! We were given an introduction to icing by one of the artists behind the Biscuiteers collections.  The lady was delighted to share with us best practise and helpful tips which undeniably helped us when creating our own.  Whilst admittedly it was a little tough to begin with, we soon got the hang of it and it was a great fun. The evening ended with us taking our collections away in elegant Biscuiteers packaging and wanting to indulge further in this magical collection.   

The Mr. Men and Little Miss Collection New for March 2014

The new Mr. Men and Little Miss collection is available from their website biscuiteers.com and the Biscuiteers Boutique (194 Kensington Road, Notting Hill) and include:

The Mr. Men, Little Miss Biscuit Collection Tin: These tins are presented as either Mr.Men or Little Miss and include eight of our favourite beloved characters including: Mr Happy, Mr Greedy, Mr Cool, Little Miss Chatterbox, Little Miss Sunshine and Little Miss Trouble

This is priced at £30 per box, not including postage and packaging.

Mr. Men and Little Miss Biscuit Cards:  The individual Mr. Men and Little Miss characters are hand- iced onto a Biscuiteers vanilla biscuit base and each is housed in their own special box

This is priced at £10.95 per character, not including postage and packaging

Mr. Men and Little Miss Cupcake Collection:  A boxed collection of six hand iced cupcakes of either Mr. Men or Little Miss

This is priced at £27.50 per box, not including postage and packaging.

Mr. Men and Little Miss Icing Parties

In addition to the hand-iced biscuit and cupcake ranges, Biscuiteers will be also be offering Mr. Men and Little Miss themed icing parties in the Biscuiteers Notting Hill based Biscuit Boutique and Icing Cafe.  

A team of expert Biscuiteers icers will teach you all the skills you need to create and ice your own tin of Mr.Men or Little Miss character biscuits. You will also take away a 100% cotton Biscuiteers apron and oodles of Biscuiteers tips and techniques- to ensure you can re create the magic in your home.

www.biscuiteers.com

Vintage Afternoon Tea on The Balcony, The Dorchester London

Vintage Balcony Afternoon Tea includes a selection of open finger sandwiches, warm scones from their bakery with homemade jam, lemon curd and Cornish clotted cream, a selection of English traditional cakes from our trolley and especially selected grand and rare teas served with vintage Minton china set. Indulge yourself with a glass of Laurent Perrier Vintage 2002 for a memorable afternoon.

Balcony Tea includes:

A glass of Laurent-Perrier Vintage 2004 Champagne

* * *

A selection of finger sandwiches:

Pressed Ham Hock with Piccalilli & Mustard Cress on Sourdough Crisp

Smoked Salmon Pinwheel with Cream Cheese on Pumpernickel

Harlequin Prawn on Brioche Toast

Cucumber Relish with Melba Toast

Sandwich Loaf with Egg & Mustard Cress and Smoked Haddock Rillettes.

* * *

Warm raisin and plain scones from our bakery

served with homemade strawberry jam, lemon curd

and Cornish clotted cream

* * *

A selection of French pastries

and Traditional Cakes from our trolley

* * *

A choice of our especially selected grand and rare teas

Priced from £55 per person excluding service charge

Balcony Tea is served at The Dorchester, between 1.30pm - 3.30pm and 4pm - 6pm

Additional glass of Laurent-Perrier Vintage 2004 Champagne £18.00

For further information, please telephone The Dorchester on +44 (0)20 7629 8888 or email restaurants.TDL@dorchestercollection.com