If the amazing response I received when I posted a couple of photos of this gorgeous afternoon tea on Instagram and Twitter is anything to go by, then this is an afternoon tea that is soon to top the ‘best of London’ charts! And why not? The Jumeirah Carlton Tower’s “Cinderella” themed afternoon tea is just so beautiful to behold, with so many enticing details, that you could really just stare at it for hours!
When I’m fortunate enough to be invited to such stunning and unique afternoon teas, I really do spend a lot of time photographing all of the exquisite details. Executive Pastry Chef Stephan Will and his team must have spent AGES creating these miniature works of art – and all of their care and attention shone through! So why not devote as much time as I could to try to capture its beauty, charm, and whimsy!? I mean, did you see the SHOES!? Those were my faves, with their glittery bows and all!? And the clocks, and the mini macarons, and THE MAGIC WAND!?… Even the sandwiches and fabulous quail egg and caviar tartlets were so perfectly presented. Yup, I was mesmerised by it all, and tried many jaunty angles to really capture how fabulous it all was. There was also a (ok, running out of adjectives) huge and colourful macaron tower display at the entrance of the Chinoiserie dining area that I really wanted to somehow feature in my photographs. Well, after all my photo-faffing, eventually the tea did get cold, but the Jumeirah team were so attentive that I didn’t have cold tea for very long at all.
Once all my photo-faffing was done, we were able to finally enjoy, indulge and EAT! The finger sandwiches were very generously sized; we actually thought they were two portions, but no, just nicely stacked and filled (and filling) superbly flavoured finger sandwiches! The quail egg and caviar tart was seriously the star of the savouries for me, but really, all of the savoury treats were fantastic!
Savouries
Spinach bread, Mull of Kintyre cheddar and tomato marmalade
Roast Scottish beef, watercress and creamed horseradish
Smoked Finnan haddock, spinach and quail egg tart with pressed caviar
We then moved onto the sweets, and all I can say is WOW! I ate ALL of it, very enthusiastically, and as I have no shame, I asked for MORE! Well, the mango tuille slipper was what I NEEDED more of. Just. A-mazing! Totally a case of ‘as good as it looks’.
Sweet items
White chocolate brownie and popping candy wand
Yuzu macaroon pumpkin carriage
Dulce chocolate clock
Mango tuille slipper
Raspberry mousse heart
This was certainly a magical and fairytale-like experience for me, and even for a short while, I felt like a proper princess! And I was treated like one too. Kudos to the team at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower for maintaining an excellent and consistent level of customer service. Yes, I’ve returned to this fabulous hotel for their afternoon teas a few times now and I’m already looking forward to my next visit!