Sweets, scones and sandwiches: How to host the ultimate high tea
MELBOURNE’S high tea experts show us how you can master the elegant treat, from perfecting the scone to easy twists on the classics.
Melbourne
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“UNDER certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”
So declared Henry James in the opening of The Portrait of a Lady and almost 140 years later those words remain as true as when the literary giant first wrote them.
This late afternoon meal of bread, cakes and scones began in the mid-1700s for Britain’s working class and was later adopted by the wealthier class as a way of sustaining themselves before evening soirees where supper would often be served late at night.
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Its popularity endures, for what’s not to like about a meal of delicate pastry sweets, bite-sized sandwiches and other savoury treats served with tea in fine china alongside a flute of champagne?
At Melbourne’s historic Hotel Windsor, the service of scones and sandwiches and a pot of English breakfast has been going strong for more than 130 years.
“The beauty about afternoon tea is that it is something that appeals to all generations,” says food and beverage manager Brad Hammond. “It carries connotations of high society and elegance, and it is still quite the experience to be waited on in elegant surrounds, in an atmosphere that harks back to a more genteel time. The feeling it has, of being a special affair, is something that every generation can understand.”
Melbourne-born, Sydney-based pastry chef Anna Polyviou certainly knows how to put on a high tea. As executive pastry chef at Sydney’s Shangri La Hotel, her signature high teas are always a sell out success with her cool candy-coloured creations as much a draw card as the hotel’s Harbour Bridge views.
“High tea is about beauty, it’s about elegance. How can you not love that? A tier of beautiful sweets and scones and savoury creations,” she says.
Anna trained at London’s grand Claridge’s Hotel, which is regularly named the best place for high tea in the UK.
“Claridge’s was beauty. From the moment you walked through the doors to the time you sat down, it was just beauty. It was elegant. It was old fashioned, but done perfectly.”
And while it’s an undeniable treat to be waited on in decadent surrounds, hosting a high tea at home takes it to the next level of luxury for your guests.
Anna, who will be reprising her role as judge and mentor on the show Family Food Fight, sets a weekly sweet challenge for the contestants in the new season.
Last year, she set a high tea challenge, which included, of course, cooking that most important of elements: the scone.
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TIPS FOR SCONES
“My scones are the best, I will claim that!” says Anna, proudly. Her recipe, from her Claridge’s days, uses buttermilk that she says is key to the perfect scone. So, too, is using raisins first steeped in Earl Grey tea overnight.
Anna’s method is to crumb the butter and flour, then the sugar, then gradually add eggs and buttermilk. Mix, add the raisins, then knead. Rest the dough for 30 mins at room temp, roll it out, cut the scones, then, importantly, turn them over and rest for another 30 mins.
“This means they will rise straight up, otherwise they rise wonky,” she says.
Bake your scones at a high heat — 190C-210C — for 12 mins.
Anna serves her scones with clotted cream for its rich decadence, and homemade jams.
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PREPARING FOR HIGH TEA
“I think if you’re doing any sort of entertaining, whether a high tea or dinner party, making sure things are pre-prepared is the key. So when your guests arrive, you’re not stuck in the kitchen,” Anna says.
The Langham is another of Melbourne’s favourite spots to take high tea and executive chef Deepak Mishra agrees with Anna that when hosting at home preparation is key.
“One of the great things about hosting a high tea at home is that you can have everything prepared before your guests arrive and that way you are able to enjoy it as well,” he says.
“I like to ensure that there is an even selection of savoury and sweet items as well as something cold and something warm. Just make sure you assemble everything just before guests arrive.”
CHOSE A THEME
The Langham is famous for its themed high teas and assistant food and beverage manager Damian Kalusiewicz says a theme can make hosting a high tea at home all the more memorable.
“Find out which flowers are in season or choose a dress code or colour that can carry through from cakes to cocktails to the invitation and napkins,” he suggests.
HIGH TEA CHECKLIST
The Hotel Windsor’s head pastry chef Jeremie Parmentier has a checklist for the perfect high tea.
“Freshly baked scones with good strawberry jam and clotted or double cream, ribbon sandwiches, beautiful patisserie, and a tea or tisane,” he says.
“Afternoon tea is also about the setting — a three-tiered stand, fine china, nice cutlery, pretty teapots and flutes of champagne make it feel extra special.”
GETTING THE MIX RIGHT
Anna says serving a dessert in a glass is an easy addition to the spread. “Something refreshing, like a panna cotta with jelly and fresh fruit on top.”
A chocolate item is a must, as is a biscuit, like a macaron or melting moment. A sweet tart is always good to add — Anna suggests buying the base and then filling yourself with vanilla cream and topping with fresh fruit in season.
“It’s about colour, it’s about texture, and it’s about excitement as well.”
TO PIE OR NOT TO PIE?
“People love pies, little mini pies and quiches are perfect to add to the middle tier,” Anna says.
For her high teas, she makes caramelised onion and goat’s cheese tarts, baked and finished with fresh tomatoes, basil and a few dots of balsamic vinegar. “Simple, beautiful, delicious.”
WHICH SANDWICHES TO SERVE?
Sandwiches are, of course, an essential component and the traditional additions of finger sandwiches of cucumber and chicken are still at home on a modern high tea menu.
“The secret to a good cucumber sandwich is to marinade thin slices of cucumber with snipped mint leaves, a dash of lemonade and some lemon zest for four hours, then when you make the sandwich use sea salt flakes,” Deepak says.
Anna, unsurprisingly, likes to put a twist on tradition.
“Presenting stuff people are familiar with, but with a bit of a modern twist. That’s really important,” she says, suggesting serving a traditional egg sandwich in a shot glass.
Simply bind grated boiled egg with mayonnaise, and spoon a teaspoon of the mix into a shot glass. Cover with wholemeal bread cut from the shot glass so it fits perfectly, repeat in layers, then finish with cress on top.
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PERFECT CHICKEN SANDWICH
The Hotel Windsor’s executive chef Jerome Trémoulèt says seasoning and texture are the key elements for a great chicken sandwich.
“We roast our chicken, then chill and shred it finely, before mixing it with mayonnaise, salt, pepper, fresh celery and chopped walnuts. The celery and walnuts add a nice textual difference,” he says.
At the Langham, Deepak says adding grated green apple to free-range roasted chicken mixed with mayonnaise and grain mustard is a winner, while Anna takes an south east Asian approach to hers.
“I poach the chicken with lemongrass and ginger, strain, cool and shred it. I use Japanese kewpie mayo to bind it, mix some chopped chives and finish with some microherbs.”
The one thing they all agree on? The bread must be super fresh, fluffy and white.
MODERN HIGH TEA
“Afternoon Tea is entirely up to your imagination,” Jerome says.
“You can pair different jams or curds, such as lemon, with the scones, experiment with sandwich fillings and bread types, such as a savoury croissant, and think of canapés for the savoury option.”
To add a modern twist to a traditional high tea, Deepak suggests using cookie cutters to create unusually shaped sandwiches, or using edible flowers on the serving platters to add visual appeal.
“You can also use interesting breads such as beetroot bread with nigella seeds or bread that is made green with pandan,” he says. For the sweet dishes, try infusing tea to use in a dish. “You can infuse jasmine or lemon verbena tea in cream or milk and use this infusion in cakes,” he says.
WHAT TO DRINK
At The Hotel Windsor a selection of 11 specialty teas are served of an afternoon, from light, fragrant green varieties to tea infused with jasmine and pear, through black tea blends.
“Earl Grey was a favourite of high society in the 1830s, and favoured by the fine ladies and gentlemen of Melbourne by the time the hotel was established,” says Brad Hammond. “We’ve added Australian myrtle to our blend for a local touch.”
Damian from The Langham says you can never go wrong with a flute of French champagne, or a local sparkling wine, while cocktails are increasingly being served as part of an afternoon tea.
We’ve just introduced new spring cocktails and one of my favourites is a twist on a gin and tonic and features whisked egg white and an edible flower. They are really pretty to look at, are sure to impress your guests and they are not that difficult to re-create at home.”
WHERE TO TRY HIGH TEA IN MELBOURNE:
The Hotel Windsor serves afternoon tea daily from noon, with two sittings Wed-Sun. From $75 per person. thehotelwindsor.com.au
At the Langham a Wedgwood Afternoon Tea is served weekdays, while a Sparkling High Tea is served on weekends with two sittings. From $59 per person. langhamhotels.com
WATCH THIS. Family Food Fight premieres on Monday (Oct 29) at 7.30pm on Nine.
*Cakes supplied by Bibelot in South Melbourne. bibelot.com.au
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