As National Afternoon Tea Week gets underway, Rebecca Buchanan pulls up a chair at The Kensington Hotel’s Town House to sample ‘Fashion Becomes Tea’ — a surrealist-inspired spread dreamt up in homage to the V&A’s sold-out Schiaparelli blockbuster…
“Eating is not merely a material pleasure,”said fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, “Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale.”
Town House is the light and airy restaurant belonging to The Kensington Hotel, just an elegant strut from the world-renowned museums of South Kensington, including the fashionista’s paradise that is the V&A, which inspires their seasonal afternoon tea menu.
Elsa Schiaparelli photographed for Vogue, 1940, by Frederich Baker
The latest limited afternoon tea experience is the ‘Fashion Becomes Tea’ homage to the current ‘Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art’ exhibition (running until 8th November), which grants an immersive glimpse into one of the 20th century’s most extraordinary fashion designers, who dressed everyone from Hollywood stars like Mae West to Wallis Simpson, whose romance with King Edward VIII prompted him to give up his throne to marry her.
But never mind that, first, make your tea selection from a menu of exemplary Rare Tea Company blends, sourced directly from producers, including the prized ‘Jasmine Silver Tip Tea’ from Fuding, Fujian Province in China, and the ‘Cloud’ tea originating from Lakyrsiew Garden, Meghalaya, India; a fragrant black tea from the “Abode of Clouds” high in the cloudy hills between Assam and Darjeeling, “as light and floral as a Darjeeling with the rich caramel and malty notes you get from the best Assam.”
The ‘Le Petite Bisou’ cocktail (non-alcoholic option available), specially created for the afternoon tea by The Kensington’s bartenders, is guaranteed to make your time at Town House go with a swing, marrying Sauvelle Vodka, Amaro Santoni, lychee juice and almond and hibiscus cordial, topped with Champagne — the perfect exotically-flavoured libation to accompany the ‘Fashion Becomes Tea’ experience. Presented on a 3-tier cake stand with sandwiches served separately on a striking black plate, this is just one small detail illustrating the time and thought which went into devising it, and epitomising Schiaparelli’s own sentiments about food: “A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.”
The Town House pastry team have clearly relished the brief of capturing Schiaparelli’s iconic designs and “translating surrealism into flavour” — the selection of finger sandwiches puts me in mind of the glamorous 1930s cocktail parties attended by the designer’s rich and famous clients. The sandwiches strike just the right balance between the familiar and the surprising: cucumber, dill and cream cheese served on black sesame charcoal brioche; roasted red pepper, hummus and black olive crumble on brown bread; and Coronation chicken with apricot on white bread.
By the time you arrive at the homemade plain and fruit scones, you’ll most likely be ready for a replenishment of tea — a good opportunity to sample one of the other blends on offer, each worth lingering over in its own right. The beautifully golden scones, which arrive warm and tucked within a napkin to keep them so while you devour the sandwiches, are served with Cornish clotted cream and homemade strawberry jam. Enjoy these before or after the astonishing array of patisserie inspired by Schiaparelli’s most imaginative and head-turning couture designs — and if you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to resist the urge to dive straight in.
With an impressive attention to detail mirroring the technicality of Schiaparelli’s couture house, each pastry is a marvel of edible art paying tribute to her most famous pieces. ‘Le Choux Shoe’ is a caramel choux bun with apricot gel and caramel chocolate, representing the Maison’s iconic upside-down shoe hat, which she conceived with Salvador Dalí (on display in the exhibition). ‘The Pink Parfum Ruby’ is a chocolate bavarois layered with a berry medley and cacao sablé Breton, celebrating her renowned 1937 perfume ‘Shocking’. ‘The Iconic Atelier’, though shaped like an eye in honour of the Surrealist movement’s influence on her designs, is in fact a delicious mandarin curd tart with orange jelly, dusted with gold leaf and featuring a white chocolate ganache. The finale, ‘Le Trou De Serrure’, is a decadent espresso and mascarpone opera gâteau, a nod to Schiaparelli’s sophisticated European heritage and years spent living in Rome and Paris.
There is only one slight problem, and that is the ‘sold out’ status of the V&A exhibition, which most diners will doubtless wish to see in order to get the most out of this unique afternoon tea experience — even if the restaurant does have a copy of the tie-in coffee table book. There are a couple of options: become a member of the V&A to gain free access to all their exhibitions, or — a more sensible option for international travellers who won’t benefit from a London museum membership — take up The Kensington’s ‘V&A Experience’ stay package, which offers guests luxury accommodation with English breakfast at Town House the next day, guaranteed tickets to ‘Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art’, and the afternoon tea itself, all included.
‘Fashion Becomes’ Tea Afternoon Tea at Town House at The Kensington, 109-113 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington, London. Priced at £60 per person or £80 including a glass of Champagne or a cocktail. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are available on request with a minimum of 48 hours notice. For more information and reservations please visit www.doylecollection.com.
‘Fashion Becomes Art’ runs at the V&A until 8th November. For more information, please visit www.vam.ac.uk.
Header photo by Justin DeSouza
