Learn to ice biscuits from experts in London
There is a cafe in Belgravia specialising in biscuits and it has a dedicated icing school where you can learn to do it yourself.
On the cusp of spring and summer, the sun is out and about in London and days are long and dreamy. Sightseeing, strolling and shopping await but first there’s time for a spot of pampering. The Singapore-founded COMO hotel brand is widely known for a holistic wellness focus and its herb-scented Shambhala Urban Escape at London’s COMO Metropolitan is a six-room sanctuary with Asian-inspired treatments that almost guarantee instant passage to the land of Nod. Fortunately, I choose a late appointment and rally early next morning with a bounce in my step.
Situated on Old Park Lane, Mayfair, opposite the great green swathe of Hyde Park, the relatively small 144-room property could hardly be called a resort but there’s the feel of an urban sanctuary in its white guestrooms and suites brightened with sunny yellow accents, in-room yoga mats and a dedicated TV meditation channel that’s surprisingly calming. In tune with sister hotel COMO Halkin, a smaller townhouse in Belgravia, decor and delivery follow the brand’s well-considered template of flowing spaces, personalised service and focus on healthy cuisine.
Nobu London is the hot-ticket diner at COMO Metropolitan, and breakfast is served here too, with indulgent detours in the otherwise healthy mix, including what could well be the city’s best French toast, served on brioche that drips with passionfruit custard. A pot of jasmine silver needle tea restores my conscience and equilibrium.
Neighbourhood cred includes proximity to Hyde Park Corner and Green Park tube stations, plus precincts such as Shepherd’s Market, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly and Bond Street. Minutes away are old-style pubs complete with hanging baskets and shingle signs bearing names as classic as The Kings Arms and The White Horse.
But wait, there’s icing on the cake, too. Or biscuits, to be precise. The concierge suggests I join a two-hour class at Biscuiteers, a company with branches and cafes in Notting Hill and at Belgravia’s Eccleston Yards, a courtyard hub of eateries and small businesses. I summon up a faux-Mouseketeers connection and fear I will be a flop at whatever cartoonish caper lies in store. As it transpires, my panic is ridiculous. The cafe is pretty in pink, with indoor-outdoor seating, striped awnings and even a Prosecco bar. Thanks to the kind guidance of instructor Guiliana at the Belgravia location, I learn about the techniques of piping, flooding and feathering, and turn out iced gingerbread cookies that are reasonably respectable facsimiles of dachshunds, poodles, cats and pink-piped love hearts. The company has been in business since 2007 and its hand-iced gift range and multi-tiered special occasion cakes are wildly popular.
As Guiliana oversees my attempts at curling the poodle biscuit’s tail, expert artist Agnes can be spied in the studio beyond putting finishing touches to a triple-tiered wedding cake with a garden party theme. With painstaking care, she’s icing tiny bees and intricate buds on and around the climbing stalks and wavy grasses. At the cafe entrance, shelves display tins of themed biscuits, from Bridgerton to the likes of Beatrix Potter, Paddington Bear and the Mr Men collection. So, a tad cartoonish after all, but absolute bags of fun.
In the know
Packages at COMO Metropolitan include a complimentary third night for every two-night suite booking and 15 per cent off rooms for earlybird advance reservations; from £450 ($860) a night, including taxes and service fees. Two-hour icing classes at Biscuiteers, £90 a person; mini classes, £25; full afternoon tea, £45; cream tea, £12. Boxed Biscuiteers ranges are also sold at Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Hamleys. Sealed packets and tins can be taken through Australian airport Customs and quarantine.
Susan Kurosawa was a guest of COMO Hotels and Resorts.
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