Chelsea in Bloom – Floral Safari

25-05-2017 Local Black BookChelsea, Chelsea in Bloom, John Lewis, London, tea, WedgwoodLeave a comment

Chelsea is pretty every day of the year.

But even more so during Chelsea in Bloom, Chelsea’s prestigious annual floral art show.

Organised by Cadogan and the Royal Horticultural Society, the annual competition transforms the streets of Chelsea with breathtaking, creative floral displays.

No need to plan ahead (though you can get a map of all the displays here); just follow the hordes on the tracks of the prettiest urban floral safari!

Take along a pair of binoculars, it’s an absolute jungle outthere!

There are gigantic giraffes at Rag & Bone…

A blooming gorgeous elephant in the middle of Sloane Square.

Some monkey-ing around happening at Hackett’s…

As well as a leopard walking through the glass.

Absolutely paw-some!

Another favourite is Kiki McDonough’s brightly-coloured, gem-inspired giraffe.

Complete with lavender mane and tail!

Once all the walking makes you feel like you couldn’t hit an elephant at 2 feet (which considering the amount of wild life lion around, really means something!), make your way to Peter Jones for a well-deserved break.

Nestled at the heart of the chic department store and opened for a limited time, Wedgwood Tea Conservatory is just the place to enjoy a quintessentially British tea experience.

Inspired by the tropical plants and exotic influences discovered and brought back to the UK during the Grand Tour of the 19th century, Wedgwood’s new Wonderlust collection is the perfect match to Chelsea in Bloom’s safari-themed displays.

The floral afternoon tea includes flower-inspired treats, including beautiful open-faced Smoked salmon and nasturtium sandwiches.

The most delicate spinach and goat’s cheese tartlets…

And iced tea-based mock/cocktails!

Once you feel refreshed and ressourced, pop by a flower shop to take a little piece of Chelsea in Bloom home.

Chelsea in Bloom runs until May 27th, and the Wedgwood Tea Conservatory at Peter Jones is open until June 16th.

Book your table here, put on your best tropical outfit and get lost in Chelsea.

It’s bloomin’ lovely down there!

Little Nan’s Afternoon Tea at Sutton House

20-06-2016 Local Black BookAfternoon Tea, cake, cocktail, cocktails, Dalston, Hackney, Little Nan's, London, National Trust, pop-up, recommendation, Restaurant, review, scones, Sutton House, teaLeave a comment

Nothing lifts rain-drenched spirits the way Afternoon Tea does.

Especially if said tea is of the tipsy variety and involves a bit of history and a lot of vintage crokery!

Which is just what Little Nan’s latest pop up is all about!

Hosted in Hackney’s Sutton House and taking place every Sunday starting on July 10th, Little Nan’s Afternoon Tea is the perfect mix of traditional and kitsch.

If the weather is nice you can have your tea served in the Tudor courtyard or the breakers yard and enjoy the sunshine.

But if the summer weather doesn’t quite work out the way Facebook might make you believe it does, the indoor Georgian tea-room is absolutely charming as well.

Like any self-respecting nan’s dining room, the place is full to the brim with vintage furniture, lace doilies, freshly cut flowers and the most impressive collection of china tea cups…

And an equally impressive collection of quirky teapots…

That Little Nan’s sneaky grandchildren use to serve their latest cocktail creations!

The perfect camouflage (and the number one way to improve on your Nan’s tea!)

With just a few twists on the classics, the Tea itself is delightfully retro and much more in line with what your Nan would serve…

Classic Cheddar cheese straws

Finger sandwiches

Egg & cress, ham & mustard, carrot & hummus, smoked salmon & cream cheese (the unquestionable winner of the lot), strawberry jam… It’s a sandwich lover’s paradise!

Beautifully golden home baked scones, served with clotted cream and the best raspberry jam (that we may or may not have fought over…)

Followed by a selection of seasonal pastries & cakes (Almond & orange cake + Chocolate Rocky Road on our visit, both absolutely delightful!)

Plus your choice of nutty Carrot cake or creamy Victoria Sponge…

And like at any grandma worthy of the name, you’ll definitely be encouraged to go back for seconds and thirds!

Grandma’s house vibes + tipsy tea = the perfect way to perk up to a rainy day!

Book Little Nan’s Cocktail Afternoon Tea

Find out more about Sutton House (a visit of which is included in Little Nan’s Cocktail Afternoon Tea ticket)

Proper Tea, Manchester

10-04-2016 Local Black BookAfternoon Tea, cake, cream tea, Manchester, Proper Tea, scone, tea, travle, UK4 Comments

We had been walking around Manchester all day when we stumbled upon the signs below.

Proper Tea, Manchester | Cake + Whisky

It was like it had been put on our way on purpose.

I mean, helloooo, cake and tea, have you met me ever? #CakeDiva

We followed the signs to the cutest little tea house there ever was.

Proper Tea, Manchester | Cake + Whisky

Nestled behind the cathedral, Proper Tea is the coziest place you could imagine.

Perfect for resting your worn-out feet with a nice cuppa and a slice of homemade cake from the counter.

Once you’ve made your choice, put your feet up, all that’s left to do is pour yourself a nice, hot cup of tea.

Proper Tea, Manchester | Cake + Whisky

Soon, the lovely staff will bring plate after plate of incredible goodies to have with your tea.

The best thing to do is covering the whole table with plates of homemade cakes and scones.

Including gigantic fluffy heart-shaped scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

And slices of whatever cake the charming staff recommends.

For us, it was this incredible pistachio & rose cake.

Absolutely scrumptious.

Slather the scones with just a bit too much cream & jam and enjoy the time being.

A brilliant place for a spot of proper tea (!!) with some of your favourite people.

And the perfect break before continuing your exploration of Manchester’s most beautiful sights, including the nearby cathedral.

A true gothic gem with glorious late-medieval wooden furnishing.

Cake, tea and architecture; an afternoon well spent indeed!

Find Proper Tea on Cathedral Yard, Manchester M3 1SQ

Afternoon Tea at Park Tower, Knightsbridge

08-11-2015 Local Black BookAfternoon Tea, cake, Knightsbridge, London, luxury, nut, Park Tower, party, Restaurant, review, scones, Starwood, Starwood Hotels, tea3 Comments

With Christmas fast approaching, weeks are becoming crazier and crazier already.

So busy in fact that it’s becoming difficult to take time out to just enjoy something nice and relax.

Luckily, birthdays are nature’s way of reminding us to eat more cake, so afternoon tea was in order to celebrate Michelle’s (of Petite Tea Lover) & Binny’s (of Binny’s Kitchen).

So we all braved the rain and more-than-unhelpful Google maps and made our way to the Park Tower in Knighstbridge to forget life for a few hours over tea, cake, presents and giggles.

The Knightsbridge Lounge, where the afternoon tea is served, is one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever set foot in.

The walls are covered in flowering magnolia trees paying tribute to the ones flowering each year in nearby Hyde Park.

Complete with some of the comfiest, marshmallow-like chairs and delicate tableware!

A truly stunning room indeed!

Only matching for the truly stunning, nut-centred (almond, peanut, hazelnut, walnut, they were all there!!) afternoon tea that followed.

Starting with what might have been my favourite; a stunning, crisp and elegant mushroom quiche.

Made truly exceptional by a perfectly executed, paper-thin pastry case and the addition of toasted nuts complementing the wild, umami mushrooms brilliantly.

The sandwiches selection is rather classic, featuring British favourites, such as Salmon & cream cheese, Coronation chicken, Pastrami, and Egg and cress.

Simple but not boring, thanks to small twists to the old classics: walnut bread for the Coronation chicken (quite a genius move!), the addition of nori to the salmon roll, or this golden brioche encasing the eggs…

There were of course some warm scones, served with the traditional cream & jam, as well as some more novel chestnut puree.

And finally, the best part: the cakes, pastries and all other kinds of sweet treats!

Apple & berry cup, Chocolate & orange cone, Nougat, Turkish delights, Marshmallows, Macarons…

And all sorts of nut-filled cakes, cupcakes and tarts!

Making it quite hard to decide where to start (and find the psychological strength to eat that delightful swan-shaped chou!)

Favourites around the table included the Vanilla & pistachio mousee dome.

The Walnut and whisky cupcake (of course).

And of course the adorable Paris-Brest Chou!

Putting it simply, the afternoon tea at Park Tower Knightsbridge was NUTS!!

Park Tower Knightsbridge, 101 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7RN

Le Méridien Piccadilly Afternoon Tea and Unlock London by RIBAPix

08-09-2015 Local Black BookAfternoon Tea, architecture, cake, exibition, Jing, Le Méridien, Le Méridien Piccadilly, London, Restaurant, review, RIBA, RIBAPix, Royal Institute of British Architects, scones, Starwood Hotels, tea3 Comments

Having Afternoon Tea has been at the very top of my London Bucket List for quite a while now.

I mean, what is there not to love about a meal that’s basically cake, with a few bits around it?

Nothing. My point exactly.

So when Le Méridien Piccadilly and The Royal Institute of British Architects asked if I’d like to join them for a cake-and-scone-fuelled presentation of their current collaboration, a London-centric, architecture pictures exibition named Unlock London, I could barely stopped jumping all over the place (I was THAT close to add heart-eyed emojis to the RSVP email to be honest…)!

But is there any better reason to get overexcited than the prospect of a few of my favourite things (architecture pictures, bloggers and errrrr… cake!) all in one room?

Le Méridien Terrace Grill & Bar is one of the most stunning places I’ve ever seen. Nestled on the second floor of the landmark Piccadilly hotel, there’s so much to love about it, starting with the incredible glass ceiling.

The very well-stocked bar must certainly be another (and I heard the terrace itself is one of the best places for a drink come summer…) but I’ll have to leave those for another day.

For the time being, I was far too busy contemplating the three-tiered platter that had just been put in front of me…

Luckily I wasn’t the only blogger in the room and nobody touched a thing until we all took pictures to our heart’s content!

Then it was time for a London-inspired feast!

Starting with tea (obviously).

The Jing selection available at Le Méridien is both impressive and interesting and it left many in our group wondering which one they should go for.

But I knew it’d have to go for the Whole Rosebud tea as it is one of my favourites and it’s not often you actually find it on a tea menu!

Next came a selection of finger sandwiches (of which my favourite had to be the Smoked salmon one)

Then there were scones (both plain and with raisins).

And clotted cream of course.

Since I’m quite a newbie at that whole afternoon tea ritual, I obviously had no clue as to what the proper order to pile cream and jam up was, but thanksfully, I had an expert sitting right by my side.

We debated on the topic for a little while before deciding that jam on top was more Instagramable (definitely a word) and all embrassed our new-found less-than-traditional way to eat scones!

But the best was still to come!

The cakes!

A whole platter of them, even!

The ‘Helen of Troy’ poppy seed cake (considered to be the most beautiful cake of the 1930s) was definitely the prettiest of the bunch.

But if you want to win my heart, there’s no better way than a few of Traditional Bakewell tarts!

After indulging in all those treats, we learnt a bit more about the exibition that inspired them all: Unlock London.

The exibition showcases a selection of stunning photographs from the 1.5 million held in the Royal Institute of British Architects’ massive picture library (which is now available to browse online! ?).

Left: St Pancras Station, Euston Road, London (1949) | Right: Paramount & Plaza cinema, Lower Regent Street, London (1968)

Taken by leading architectural photographers from the 1930s to 1960s, these images show iconic London landmarks as well as some less well known or long since vanished.

Left: Leisure Kitchen Equipment, Regent Street, London (1954) | Right: Night street cleaning near St Paul’s Cathedral, City of London (1957)Escalator, St John’s Wood London Underground Station, Wellington Road, London (1940)St Pancras Station, Euston Road, London (1949)

Last but not least, we went on a little tour of the hotel, which ended up in the lovely Oak Room. Powder pink from the floor to the ceiling with touches of gold here and there, it’s a little girl’s dream come true. But we were not there to play dolls! Instead, we had a bit of a photography workshop.

After picking our favourite from a selection, we had to give architectural photography a go while trying to explore angles, lighting, reflection…

I went for a bit of a darker take of the pink room to try and get details to pop up…

And ended up discovering that chair backs might very well be your best friend when trying to frame architectural details…

Tea, cake, bloggers and fun; very much my kind of afternoon!

Want to experience Le Méridien Piccadilly’s Afternoon Tea for yourself (and take a look at those stunning pictures when you’re at it)?

What about you say you’re coming from me and bag yourself a 20% discount in the process and send me cake pictures on Instagram? Deal?

Unlock London at Le Méridien Piccadilly, 21 Piccadilly, London W1J 0BH

White Chocolate & Matcha Blondies Recipe

26-07-201520-07-2015 Local Black Bookbaking, blondies, brownies, cake, chocolate, dessert, easy, green, green tea, matcha, party recipe, recipe, sweet, tea, white chocolate12 Comments

I’m a bit of a cookbook addict. I spend hours browsing through any I can put my hands one, be it in Waterstones, my GP waiting room or the comfort of my grandma’s home.

Trying out new recipes and seeing how they measure up to my current favourites is something I find terribly exciting.

For that reason, there are very few recipes I’ve sworn allegiance to. But it’s no secret I made an exception for the best brownies’ recipe of all times.

This recipe truly is perfect: it’s easy and quick to make, there’s almost no dishes to clean and you get the densest, moistest, perfect brownies at the end of it.

Unfortunately, all this perfection doesn’t prevent me from experimenting and wanting to change things up a little from time to time, and last week, the idea of matcha and white chocolate blondies simply wouldn’t get out of my head and I knew I had to give my favourite recipe a re-vamp.
And once again, the recipe proved itself to be perfect in every way.

White chocolate matcha blondies (serves 6-8)
You’ll need: 70g self-raising flour, 130g of sugar, 120g of soft butter, 2 big eggs, 200g of white chocolate, 3 teaspoons of matcha powder, 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder.In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and the sugar and whisk until smooth and well combined.Crack in the eggs and mix. Add the flour, the matcha powder and the vanilla powder and mix thoughroughly. Melt the white chocolate (I’m lazy so I do this in the microwave) and add it to your cake batter and whisk once again.
Pour the batter into a buttered and flour tin and bake for about 35 minutes at 150°C. Let your blondies cool down completely before cutting them into squares.

Add some berries on the side (both the colour and flavour contrast make that combination a winner!) and try not to eat it all in one go (I dare you!)

Gift Guide | For your (London) visitors

16-05-201515-05-2015 Local Black BookBig Ben, Burt's Bees, Cath Kidson, gift guide, Jelly Belly, London, Shopping, shopping guide, tea7 Comments

Since I’ve been living in London, I’ve had loads of people coming over to spend a few days in the capital, tour all the sights and eat some world famous breakfast.

And if I enjoy creating little guides of things for my visitors to see and do, there’s absolutely nothing I love more than putting together little London gift bags to make them feel truly special upon arrival and remember the fun times once they’ve left.

The content of my gift bags usually varies depending on what I stumbble upon while shopping, but here are a few of my absolute favourites!

1. This Gin & Tonic Lip Balm is just genius. I mean, it’s basically a cocktail that keeps your lips soft. What more could you possibly ask for?

2. I’m such a kid at heart! I LOVE Legos and this Big Ben Nanoblocks make for the perfect alternative to tacky snowglobes!

3. Tea is obviously a must and I like to get a small tea caddy from Fortnum & Mason for the added wow-effect. I tend to get classic blends such as Earl Grey or the Royal Blend but their Peach Balck Tea and Elderflower Green Tea are also cracking!

4. I have a stock of Cath Kidson purses at home, so if you ever visit me, it’s very likely you’ll be handed one as soon as you pass the door. I’m absolutely obsessed with purses so it’s near impossible to resist buying them and my friends have loved being gifted some as it’s so convenient to keep everything together, keep currencies separate, not lose your Oyster card at the bottom of your bag… Win-win then?

5. Burt’s Bees lip balm was one of the first things I ever bought when I first lived in London, so this one has quite a sentimental value to me. Plus they’re absolutely ace, entirely natural and now come in so many flavours!

6. Don’t we all need something sweet in our lives? I believe we do, so I always try to include some treats in my little London boxes, be it Jelly beans or a bar of Green & Black Chocolate!

Do you put together gift bags for your visitors? What do/would you include in them?

Yelp’s After Hours Bubble Tea Event at Bubbleology | All the bubbles! | Notting Hill

30-03-201531-03-2015 Local Black Bookbubble tea, event, London, notting hill, Restaurant, tea, yelp1 Comment

One of the reasons I love London so much is that there’s always something new to explore. Which is closely related to one of the most challenging things about this city: finding a way to keep track of what’s going on!!

For a few weeks now, I’ve been trying out the Yelp app, which is the perfect pocket companion to any London explorer. It allows you to keep track of the places you’ve visited (thanks to the check-in option), give you the opportunity to read reviews before you pick a place to go out for dinner (bye-bye dodgy restaurants!) and even to write some yourself. Basically, it’s like the whole of London has suddently became your best friend and wants to give you tips about what you should check out (or not).

Even better yet, from time to time, Yelp actually organises events for you to meet other members! So on Friday, I grabbed one of my very best friends (who was visiting for the weekend) and we headed to Bubbleology in Notting Hill to the Yelp Afterhour Bubble Tea event!We were greated by a wacky lab in the window… Mad scientist themed party? YES please!!After taking a good look at all the scienc-ey artefacts (and clicking a few pictures of us lounging around…), it was time for the bubble madness to begin!First up, pick up some tea from the very long list of flavours availables (here, apple-tea-ni or strawberry daiqui-tea). Add some chewy tapioca bubbles (they’re the dark ones and the most traditional topping) for good measure. Next up: move on to the less traditional, much more colourful side of things. Go crazy and add popping bubbles (they quite literally explode when you bite into them, it’s really fun!) and/or jelly bits… Better get a variety of colours and tastes too (you know, in the name of research…).Tadaaaaaah, you’re really to go! All that’s left to do is find the classiest way to slurp those bubbles up! (I still haven’t quite found out, but I’m working on it!!)If you need a little snack, Bubbleology has you covered too as they also serve delicious macaroons that are just as good as the one you can buy in the most luxurious of places! Except that they’re much cheaper (yay to that!!).
Mingle with other Yelpers for a little while…Grab another cup of bubble tea. Repeat. It’ll all make for a very nice night indeed.

What? Bubbly drinks in pretty much any flavour you can think of. Bubbleology doesn’t usually serve the cocktail versions of their teas (but I really really wish they will in the future as I fell in love with the strawberry daiqui-tea and our romance simply can’t end up that abruptly… Please help?)

Where? Bubbleology, 45 Pembridge Road, London W11 3HG

* disclaimer: Drinks & nibbles were courtesy of Bubbleology for the event. Yelp events are free to attend for registered members and they’re a lot of fun! Join in now, we can be buddies!

Cake and Whisky

Life in London and other almost-grown-up tales

Menu

tea

Chelsea in Bloom – Floral Safari

Little Nan’s Afternoon Tea at Sutton House

Proper Tea, Manchester

Afternoon Tea at Park Tower, Knightsbridge

Le Méridien Piccadilly Afternoon Tea and Unlock London by RIBAPix

White Chocolate & Matcha Blondies Recipe

Gift Guide | For your (London) visitors

Yelp’s After Hours Bubble Tea Event at Bubbleology | All the bubbles! | Notting Hill