A Quintessentially British Affair: Afternoon Tea

Book Ultimate Afternoon Tea Class at Cookery School

The history of Afternoon Tea

The concept of ‘afternoon tea’ first appeared in 1840 when Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, became hungry around four o’clock in the afternoon. Dinner was not until around eight in the evening, so the Duchess asked for a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake to be brought to her room during the late afternoon. This became a habit and the duchess would invite friends to join her, which led to afternoon tea becoming a social occasion!

Make your London experience a memorable one!

From tradition to a ‘must do’ for tourists and travellers alike, afternoon tea captures the imagination of globetrotters visiting London and the UK from near and far, in search of tiny cakes, sandwiches, tarts, sweet treats, teas and champagne. From Fortnum & Mason and The Ritz to Claridges and The Wolseley, thousands of people enjoy cakes and cups of tea every day.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could learn to make your own afternoon tea menu and enjoy your creations in the Cookery School Ultimate Afternoon Tea class? An unforgettable experience that you can take away with you and recreate with your friends and family at home, choosing your favourite tea and fizz to serve alongside your cakes, sandwiches, tarts and scones. An experience that you can relive time after time!

Ultimate Afternoon Tea at Cookery School

In our Ultimate Afternoon Tea class at Cookery School you will learn to make your own traditional afternoon tea recipes, including a range of British cakes, a selection of sandwiches, lemon tarts and scones with jams and cream. You’ll learn to make bread, shape rolls, make your own jam and lemon curd and perfect the best sandwich fillings.

We have tea gardens in the UK in Scotland and Cornwall and at Cookery School we use delicious and fragrant Tregothnan tea for our Ultimate Afternoon Tea class.

“Wonderful time with the Afternoon Tea Class… Chef Ghalid did a wonderful job sharing his techniques and making the class very hands-on! I learned a lot from baking the breads and pastries up to making the jams and lemon curd and the tea sandwiches!“

Like the duchess, our Afternoon Tea class is a social occasion and at the end of the session, you will sit down to enjoy what you have made, with a glass of English sparkling wine or a cup or two of Tregothnan Cornish tea.

In our Ultimate Afternoon Tea you will-

-shape finger bread rolls
-create classic British sandwiches: egg mayonnaise on finger rolls, cucumber sandwiches on homemade white bread and smoked salmon on wholemeal bread
-bake the lightest of scones to be served with homemade seasonal fruit jam and clotted cream
-bake savoury cheese and herb scones – a Cookery School favourite
-make Devonshire cream cake
-make traditional lemon curd tartlets

Our teachers and our approach

The Ultimate Afternoon Tea class is taught by either Ghalid or Maddy, both of whom are trained pastry chefs and bakers. More importantly they are brilliant teachers who will teach you all the techniques, tips and tricks needed to make the perfect afternoon tea. Take home your new skills and test them out on your friends and family!

From sourcing top quality, seasonal, mostly organic ingredients, to running the kitchens on renewable energy, we do everything possible to minimise our impact on the planet. Our expert teachers offer fantastic knowledge on how to cook confidently and source responsibly and seasonally in your own kitchen.

Join one of our upcoming Afternoon Tea classes  – Book a Class: Join us for the Ultimate Afternoon Tea

For larger groups, get in touch and we can work with you to create a bespoke class on another date that is convenient for you.

Reviews

Visit London enjoying their Ultimate Afternoon Tea at Cookery School.

Heidi Roberts of Kitchen Talks and Travels joined us last summer for our Ultimate Afternoon Tea, her favourite meal of the day! She was particularly impressed with the homemade lemon curd.

“I had no idea how amazing this class would be but Ghalid is a brilliant teacher and all of the staff are incredibly friendly and professional… We made home-made bread, bridge rolls, jam, lemon curd, pastry casings, the best egg mayo I’ve ever had in my life! The cucumber sandwiches were perfection and the light sponge cake with whipped cream and chocolate ganache was incredible but the very best items were the scones; homemade fluffy scones with our homemade jam and clotted cream.“

The Ultimate Afternoon Tea Class is a unique and enjoyable cooking class for you to experience when visiting London. For more memorable experiences in London, visit Kayak’s London Travel Guide.

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Classes