Well over a month or so ago, it was my mother's 50th birthday and in true style we decided to push the boat out and pop along to Fortnum and Mason for afternoon tea with all the ladies in my family. We had a wonderfully wicked time, eating our weight in cake and pretending to be posh ladies. I snapped my way through the day and wondered if you would like to come along?
First stop was Covent Garden where we truly became tourists in our own city, mooching around the stalls in the central square, watching the street performers and looking in the array of dinky shops dotted around.
Popping into Lush, the store leads on underground with twists and turns - a fragrant maze! Being the biggest Lush fan (she has a fridge for soap, no joke) my Gran went armed with a voucher to spend and out came with a few soaps - without resisting to pop the sales assistant's bubbles!
With a quick stop at Ben's Cookies, my Gran and I sneakily scoffed a peanut butter cookie. Amazingly scrummy, the chewy chocolaty gooeyness melts in your mouth - heaven!
The birthday girl & I.
For those of you who didn't know Fortumn and Mason is a grand old department store based in Piccadilly, with an array of treasures to peruse. Never having stepped inside the store, I was taken aback by each enchanting floor, British iconic hampers, luxurious fragrances, macaroons in every flavour and a jewellery section that evokes your inner magpie!
Taking our seats at The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon we sat down to a beautifully presented table, ordering our tea for the afternoon - mine was peppermint (and the best I've ever tasted, albeit very very sweet).
Following on with the sweet theme, a cake stand of treats were delivered to the table to be shared between each couple. The bottom layer was an array of finger sandwiches: cucumber with mint butter (in true British fashion!), coronation chicken, rare roast beef with gherkin, egg with mustard cress and smoked salmon. Thoroughly deceiving, these small finger sandwiches were very filling indeed but that did not stop the waitresses refilling throughout the afternoon..
Hands down the tastiest scone I ever did eat, sweetly soft buttered scones served with clotted cream and a number of jam preserves, I opted for the classic Raspberry. I could live off these forever more!
On to the exciting part - the cake! Within a blink of an eye my Gran had whipped the pink iced eclair - very sneaky, but she assures me it was delicious. Being rather fussy, I can't quite eat cake that wobbles (just me??) a creme brulee is my idea of hell, eurgh, but the gold chocolate topped biscuit made up the other two (which again my Gran scoffed) it was mouthwateringly good. For a cake so small, it's rich full flavours was a slice of chocolate heaven.
Having called ahead, Fortumn and Mason's resident piano player was kind enough to play Happy Birthday to my somewhat mortified mother - she loved it really!
If the sweet treats on your stand weren't enough to fulfil your cake needs, around the corner was a table laden with other cakes waiting to be sampled - at no extra cost! I could have eaten a slice of all... yet I couldn't resist a slice of Batternburg - words cannot describe how tasty it was.
How delicious does this white chocolate and lemon cake look?
Before we made our way home, our waitress was kind enough to whip us up each a goodie bag to take home - I think you'll believe me when I say they didn't last long ;).
A delightful day and one I recommend to anyone who fancies a foodie treat or celebrating an occasion. Fortumn and Mason couldn't have provided a better service or afternoon tea and I've been truly bitten by the whole afternoon tea bug - where should we visit next?
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