A Sweet End To A Day

Afternoon tea plates - top plate of sweets with
sandwiches poking out on the middle plate

 Today was much like yesterday, except we knew we would be done even earlier today since we had accomplished so much yesterday. I went in to help out with breakfast again, and tried some smoked kippers with lemon herb butter for my breakfast. Then I moved on to picking yet more crab (we hadn’t finished it all yesterday), making up the crab cakes, sealing cocktail sausages, vacpacking soup, picking and chopping parsley, etc. We also worked on desserts – pavlovas with fresh fruit and cream and apple berry crumbles. I was on a roll today, working quickly and actually knowing what I was doing. I could move on to new tasks without having to ask a million questions, like where is this kept, how does the vacpack machine work, how do I do this, etc. I even got to sign for several deliveries – something I still don’t totally feel I should be qualified to do despite being trained to do it. They were small, simple orders from our regular, trusted suppliers and I just had to basically confirm the delivery invoice matched the products delivered and they were in good condition, then put the items away.

Bottom plate of sweets

I took a late lunch that was quite lovely – a melt-in-the-mouth roast pork with rich brown sauce, Shepherd’s pie with cheesy mashed potatoes, boiled green beans, baked beans, cherry tomatoes, and fruit salad. 

Later in the day, when we were pretty much done our wedding prep, I helped out the breakfast/afternoon tea chef by making up a bunch of bacon buddies for the evening wedding buffets. Then I helped him out by plating afternoon tea. I absolutely adore the idea of afternoon tea, and the cute and dainty sweets and sandwiches served at it. Here, afternoon tea consists of choice of beverage (tea, coffee, or even champagne) prepared by the servers. Then a tower of plates – the bottom containing warm scones with icing sugar, preserves, and creams, crisp buttered crumpets, Chelsea buns, and tea bread. The middle plate has the finger sandwiches – smoked salmon with horseradish crème fresh on wholemeal, honey baked ham and whole grain mustard on white, and cucumber and cream cheese on white. The top plate is, in my opinion, the best and contains all the sweets: chocolate-dipped éclairs, lemon meringue tartlets, opera cake, macaroons, shortbread cookies, and fruit cones. One of each item is provided for each guest, so afternoon tea is really a (sweet) meal in itself. I was preparing and plating the items, and the chef insisted I try all the items, so I basically had my own afternoon tea ceremony myself (minus the tea, but I chose not to have that). I can honestly say, afternoon tea is delicious and a charming experience. He offered to let me go home early, but I was enjoying myself and offered to stay, so instead he decided to take off early leaving me in charge of the remainder of the afternoon teas.