food
Afternoon Tea at The
Royal Hotel is priced at £17.50pp. It is served
between 3pm and 5pm and requires advance booking.
The Riviera Terrace is open throughout the summer for picnics, lunch and evening mezze.
For booking and
reservations call 01983 852186 or go to
www.royalhoteliow.co.uk
BORED of that muffin and quick takeaway latte in a cardboard cup served up by mod- ern coffee chains?
Well, afternoon tea is making a charming comeback and giving bean bars a run for their money.
All the coolest celebs are indulging with the likes of Kate Moss, Madonna and Sadie Frost going tea-total. It was one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting who invented the quaint ritual in the 1830s.
The seventh Duchess of Bedford hit upon the idea after being plagued by tummy troubles. In those days there was a nine- hour gap between lunch at noon and din- ner at nine.
Her Grace complained of being light-head- ed and suffering a “sinking feeling” around mid-afternoon. To stave off her hunger pangs, tea and slices of bread and butter were served each afternoon in the Blue Room at Woburn Abbey.
Word of the innovative mini-meal soon spread and afternoon tea was born. There are few places better to partake of such a pleasant tradition than at The Royal Hotel in Ventnor.
Here all the splendour and decadence befitting one of England’s greatest inven- tions is lovingly recreated. The service and attention to detail at The Royal is excellent and crucial to the whole experience.
As the clock strikes three, heavenly treats begin to appear like edible jewels. Well- dressed staff describe each dinky delight which grace the polished silver and white china cake stand.
Perfectly positioned on the top of three tiers are dainty sandwiches layered with salmon and cream cheese on homemade crustless brown bread.
Advertising: Call (01983) 861 007
Alongside them are egg and cress on tiny white rolls plus cheese and pickle on hunks of floury bread.
An exquisite selection of little meringues, bite-size Victoria sponge and delicately crumbly patisseries - adorned with plump, juicy strawberries grown in The Royal’s gardens - sit below. Underneath are sump- tuous treats including mini cream-filled eclairs smothered in rich chocolate.
All are lovingly created by talented patis- serie chef Steve Bott. No afternoon tea would be complete without warm fruit scones smothered in homemade straw- berry jam and thick clotted cream.
An added bonus is four slices of richly
spiced fruit cake. A stream of carefully blended tea - chosen from the menu of re- freshing Twining’s varities - is poured from the pot.
The sedate pace and quiet surroundings are tailor made for business meetings or girly gossip sessions. Lucy Perkins, Func- tion Co-ordinator at The Royal, adds: “Af- ternoon tea is definitely experiencing a revival.
“It is a gorgeous treat; refined, elegant and very British.”
Stuff the calorie count, for sheer indul- gence, nothing beats this little pleasure.
The nostalgia is comforting, the atmos- phere convivial. Despite the explosion of social networking, a few hours of face-to- face conversation with friends over a pile of pastries is hard to top.
American writer Henry James summed it up when he said: “There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicat- ed to the ceremony known as an afternoon tea.”
July / August 2011 49
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92