Ladies What Lunch

Last weekend, nine aspiring “ladies that lunch” did exactly that – well not exactly that, it was afternoon tea to be precise.   The occasion?  A celebration of the impending nuptials of one of our party.  Off we went to London, for a weekend of sophisticated entertainment that encompassed champagne, swanky central London hotel, champagne, afternoon tea, champagne, midnight show at “The Comedy Store”, a bit of shopping at “Harrods” and finally more champagne before setting off for home.

The Grosvenor Hotel

Afternoon tea at the Grosvenor Hotel was fabulous.  On arrival, we were greeted by the courteous doorman and directed to the Park Room where afternoon tea is served.  In this elegant room, which overlooks Hyde Park we chose “Anna’s Tea” - named after the Duchess of Bedford who is credited with starting this very English tradition. 

Anna's Tea

Anna’s Tea included a selection of delicate sandwiches – smoked salmon, chicken and tarragon, beef and horseradish, prawn with rosemarie sauce, egg mayonnaise and – of course – sliced cucumber.  Next came the scones, served up with lashings of thick, juicy strawberry jam and luscious, velvety clotted cream.  By the time we had put those away, we were all feeling rather over indulged.  But who could resist the selection of cakes and pastries, so temptingly flaunting themselves on the final tier.  Not any of us, that’s for sure.  So after a suitably polite interval, a few sips (or gulps in some cases) of champagne to wash it all down, we set about these final delicacies.  The whole spread was accompanied by a delicious selection of 17 different blends of tea from around the world.  The conventional brews of Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Assam, English Breakfast, Afternoon Tea and so on were joined by the celebratory Royal Wedding Blend which is being served in honour of the upcoming marriage of William and Kate.

The whole event was superb, if somewhat extravagant, but definitely something to be experienced and I would thoroughly recommend it as an option for a special occasion.

Anna’s Tea

Afternoon tea is said to have originated with Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, whilst living at Woburn Abbey.  During the 18th century, dinner began to be served later and later.   By the early 19th century, in fashionable circles dinner might not be served until 8pm.  An extra meal – luncheon – had been created to fill the midday gap between breakfast and dinner, but as this meal was very light it left people feeling hungry mid-afternoon.  The Duchess began to ask that a tray of tea, bread & butter and cakes be served to her as an afternoon snack.  This became a habit of hers and she soon began inviting her friends to join her.  Afternoon tea quickly became an established custom in middle and upper class households.  Society ladies would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for afternoon tea in the drawing room between four and five o’clock.