Chez Nous: The High Tea Guide (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780999175729)

I ate some amazing food during my weeklong adventure in London. I knew I would I
salivated right and left when I did my research before leaving. I always have an epic plan before I leave for any international trip - I research museums, events, markets, and foods and restaurants. Each trip, for me, is an opportunity to explore a new culture to inspire a new international dinner at Chez Nous Dinners.

London has everything, and no one discourages you from ordering a slice of cake with your cup of tea. I adore cake, and drink a heck of a lot of tea, so this was the place for me I knew I wanted to have a proper High Tea during my travels. Historically, tea was a luxury item in European cities, imported from the East and only accessible for the
Aristocracy. With the increase of steamboat and rail travel, tea became more
attainable, but the cultural aspects of the elite "High Tea" remain. Did you know how the term "High Tea" came about? Generally, the aristocracy would take their tea reclined on lovely couches amidst their most wealthy companions, but High Tea would be taken at a proper table - literally, higher up

I had High Tea in London at Cellarium Caf in London. Cellarium cafe is a historic
storage room of the monks at the abbey. The lovely vaulted space was whitewashed and repurposed into an airy cafe that offers a wide array of sandwiches and cakes and a delicious, while affordable, high tea I was served a three tier stand of delicate little tea sandwiches, scones with butter and strawberry jam, and an array of tiny, single-serve cakes. I really enjoyed the meal and some of the flavors I had the opportunity to savor made their way to our menu for High Tea.

I put a great deal of preparation into the presentation and dishes. I wanted to serve several teas at a time, so I scoured Ebay for antique teapots to add to what I already had. I found a beautiful blue and 22 karat gold teapot and cup from Limoges, as well as a Silver Edwardian teapot from England. I paired this with my Lomonosov Royal Porcelain teapot from Russia to make a bit of a trifecta of the three biggest tea-drinking nations in Europe. I did not have any tiered platters, so I used some display goop to mount plates and cake stands together for that fancy tiered look.