Last week, I had the pleasure of attending my first secret tea room event at Vintage Afternoon Teas hosted by Gwyneth in a beautiful part of South Manchester (I can’t comment much more on the location-after all, it is a secret!). This was the first time I got a taster for what it’s like for my guests when I send out The Spice Club’s secret location which made the whole experience all the more exciting.
We were warmly welcomed and given a refreshing Iced Tea on arrival. It was great to see some familiar faces as I walked into Gwyneth’s lovely home. I bumped into Lynn from The Secret Tea Room and Sheila, a girl who had been a guest at my supper club event the night before! I also had a bit of a “Tweetup” with some guests that I had been talking to on Twitter so it was great to put faces and real names to Twitter ID’s. I also got the chance to mingle and meet some more of Gwyn’s guests. After everyone had introduced themselves to each other we took our seats at the dining table and read over the menu. I was instantly excited.
We were offered a selection of teas. I opted for the Earl Grey initially and also tried the Mango and Strawberry Tea. Both were delicious.
Soon after, a selection of finger sandwiches presented on beautiful vintage crockery were placed before us.
Burt’s Blue Cheese Tartlets-I’m not a huge blue cheese fan but these were really good.
Tucking into the delectable tartlets and sandwiches, I almost forgot that we had cakes on the way. The theme for the afternoon was strawberries. Everyone “Oohed and Aahed” at the beautiful strawberry inspired cakes that came in from the kitchen into the dining table.
Buttermilk Pound Cake with Pimms-soaked fruit.
Guinness Fruit Loaf
Strawberry layer cake-I think this was my favourite.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Gwyn’s chickens that live in her garden-the eggs of which are used in her baking and cooking.
Whilst enjoying all of the amazing cakes, I also had the pleasure of talking to some really interesting fellow guests on the table. I can’t stress enough how much I love the communal aspect of supper clubs and secret tea rooms. Good food is a conduit for good conversation and I think that’s why the supper club settings works so well as a social event. All in all, I had a fantastic time at Vintage Afternoon Teas and I would highly recommend it! For upcoming Vintage Tea events, check out: www.vintageafternoonteas.co.uk
Photography by www.vikasshah.co.uk.
