The Royal Academy and A Flowering Afternoon Tea!

The Royal Academy

The Park Lane Hotel

You Know I Can Find a Bay Tree!

Wild Blossom Champagne Cocktail

Special Tea Sandwiches

Scones and Very Special Desserts!

Scones, Scones and More Scones!

My Favorite Part of the Flowering Afternoon Tea!

The Gnome Looks Soo Lonely!

My English Herbal Companion and I spent Monday in London at the Royal Academy of Arts in the morning seeing the exhibit of George Bellows, an American artist from the turn of the last century who was known for his paintings of boxing matches and the gritty urban landscapes of early 20th century America just to name a couple of themes.   I did my tea shopping at Fortnum and Mason and then we went for a special flowering afternoon tea at The Park Lane Hotel.  Here is the menu:  

Selection of sandwiches:

    Poached Scottish salmon, cucumber and fennel crème fraiche, mini muffin (cucumber flowers)

    Orange blossom honey, wholegrain mustard roast ham, candied tomatoes and watercress, white bread

    Roast corn fed chicken, walnut, celery, red onion and nasturtium mayonnaise, granary bread

    Smoked trout and confit trout, citrus cream cheese, radish and herb leaf salad, crostini

    Goats cheese, asparagus and lemon verbena tartlet, soft boiled quails egg

Scones:

    Traditional plain and apple and raisin scones served with lemon verbena curd, clotted cream and seasonal preserves

French pastries:

    Chocolate hanging basket with spiced Chai tea mousse and chocolate soil

    Honey orange blossom pain de gene with mango compote and edible honey bees

    Rosewater and raspberry mousse with crystallized rose petals on a rose macaroon

    Pistachio and hazelnut chocolate financier “garden patch” with chocolate ladybird

Tea will be served with a Wild Blossom Champagne Cocktail

We each had a plate of sandwiches and we shared (very diplomatically) the sweets.  It was a wonderful tea with beautiful harp music playing in the background.  A fabulous day.

It is a beautiful summery (finally) day here in the 'Burgh.  Hope you're having a great day.  Talk to you later.