Over aromatic cups of tea (or cocktails), you revel in the beauty of savoury sandwiches, taste-tingling petit fours, vibrant macarons and delicate madeleines. Well, hosting an afternoon tea is easier than you think and oh-so-fun! Chef Freny Fernandez of Moner in Mumbai reveals how to do this right!
Looking closely, it is a matter of art and certain finesse that laces through every step of when we’re hosting friends and family over at our home. From unfurling the most gorgeous table décor, and exquisite serveware to lip-smacking dishes, it is as much an experience to set everything up as it is finally having your guests to indulge in it. One of the most elegant ways to curate this kind of experience, especially when the rising rhythm of holidays hums its way through, is by hosting afternoon tea at home.
Chef Freny Fernandez of Moner, a dessert bar and bistro in one of the busy streets of Bandra, reveals how to host afternoon tea at home. While it looks every bit opulent and elevated, curating a wholesome arrangement of desserts, savoury entremet, teas and cocktails is in fact an interesting process.
If you reel back to the origins and history of afternoon tea, you’ll find yourself pointing a lens through the Victorian era that lingered on until the early twentieth century. According to The British Museum, the afternoon tea was an epicurean brainchild of the Duchess of Bedford, Anna Maria Russell around the 1840s.
The fine taste for tea had already been developed across the map of Britain by then and all it needed was the nudge of the Duchess to finally become a snackable course between bigger meals of lunch and dinner. So what did the possibly first afternoon tea assemblage look like? Tea, bread and butter and some cake on a late afternoon in Britain!
Fast forward to 2022, an afternoon tea charlie with its three tiers can fit in a versatile selection of gourmet fare. Here’s what you can begin with when dressing up the charlie for the afternoon tea.
- Assorted sandwiches
- Macarons
- Glazed petit fours
- Assorted tarts
- Assorted profiterole
- Madeline
- Tea cake
- Cookies
- Scones
Watch the video to decode the simple ways of how to set up the afternoon tea charlie and be the perfect host this holiday season!
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