Cake_Masters_-_September_2019

(Jacob Rumans) #1
WWW.CAKEMASTERSMAGAZINE.COM 67

Last month, Rosie, Editor of
Cake Masters Magazine, went to
experience the beautiful Garden
Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s Hotel.
Read about her day out below!


Walking into the hotel, there was a
real sense of grandeur; the entrance
was simply beautiful with a very
unassuming air. The huge grand gates,
flanked by two statues either side,
made me certain I was walking into a
very special place.


Once inside the hotel, the first thing
I was met with was the stunning
reception, gorgeous sweeping staircase
and sparkling white mezzanine floors.
The whole area is magnificent and
really took my breath away.


The afternoon tea is served upstairs in
stylish The Tea Lounge, but I was lucky
enough to get a spot on the outside
terrace – perfect to enjoy the gorgeous
weather. We opted for the Garden
Afternoon Tea with free-flowing rosé.
Included was freshly baked scones
with clotted cream and homemade
jam, a selection of sandwiches such
as coronation chicken; cucumber


with mint and chive cream cheese;
Cumbrian ham, Montgomery cheddar
and pickle; and prawn with lemon and
dill. Finally, a truly mouth-watering
range of desserts with a raspberry and
rose dome vanilla sable and Wye Valley
rhubarb and custard verrine. There
were simply too many delicious items
to list here!

From the selection of food, the
coronation chicken sandwich was
definitely the most delicious, and the
best dessert was the milk chocolate
and salted caramel layered pot – I could
have eaten several more of these!

Presentation, down to the finer details,
was flawless. The crockery had a
beautiful floral and leaf pattern in blue
and red so all the food looked gorgeous
when plated up. The house blend tea
was the ideal accompaniment to all this
exquisite food.

During the afternoon tea, Head Pastry
Chef, Jamie Warley, stepped out of his
busy kitchen to come and greet us. He
went through each of the sweet treat
elements and it was so interesting to
hear the intricacies and how long it

takes to create each of these edible
delights.

After the afternoon tea, Loreley from
the marketing team joined to give
us a tour of the hotel. It has such a
rich history including a secret tunnel
that runs from underneath the grand
staircase in the lobby all the way to
the Houses of Parliament! During the
1930s, the hotel was used by officers
of MI6 and in 1940, Winston Churchill
held a historic meeting at St. Ermin’s.
Here he asked a group of people to
help him ‘set Europe ablaze’ and this
elite set were to become the founding
members of the Special Operations
Executive unit who carried out covert
operations during WWII from their
headquarters, an entire floor of St.
Ermin’s. Later, throughout WWII, the
building operated as a convenient
annexe for the Secret Intelligence
Service as it was surrounded by other
secret organisations, including MI9, the
SIS Chief’s office and more.

After learning all this, it was
particularly nice to have a tour of their
bee terrace where they keep their own
bees and make their own honey. I also
had a tour of their private fruit and
vegetable roof garden – it was great
to see how much is actually grown
in-house. If you have an afternoon tea
here, be assured, you’ll be getting lots of
fresh food!

I highly recommend this afternoon tea.
The standard was impeccable all round,
but especially the high-quality sweet
treats.

To find out more, visit:
http://www.sterminshotel.co.uk/eating-
drinking/afternoon-tea
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