When Lewis Carroll and Philippe Starck do Afternoon Tea

the Lobby of the Sanderson

When D. phoned from Istanbul to say a reunion had been scheduled for friends coming in from Denmark, Turkey, and, well, Wales...as well as far-flung city boroughs...and that afternoon tea at the Sanderson was going to be involved, no further convincing was necessary for me to take the day off to go to London for a Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea.

The Morgans Hotel Group (of Mondrian and Delano fame) opened Sanderson's doors in 2000, and the 'urban spa' has no item left untouched by Philippe Starck (down to the chrome Poaa free weights, glinting in bespoke shelves in superior rooms). Turning off the tide of shopping hoards on Oxford Street onto Berners Street, one already feels the sense that 'urban spa' is not far off the mark. On entering the Lobby, which occupies the south wing and flows into the Long Bar to one's right, the usual Starckian suspects are present: the red lips couch is there, along with big, bold lines, fluid spaces, the suspended chair, and a painting of a stately-looking Pinscher(?). Glancing over at the Long Bar, there was, equally, no denying Ian Schrager's hand in the Sanderson ethos--days away from London Fashion Week and the young, svelte and beautiful had already assumed poses along the angular bar.

Tea was taken in the courtyard garden, whose plexi-paneled roof shielded us from the drizzle, and whose heat lamps kept us cozy. After a full explanation of the menu and clear instructions from our helpful server, and we were off down the rabbit's hole...

Our cake stand, made from shabby-chic recovered china
(from top)
'hot and cold lollies'
'chocolate and hazelnut ice cream 'bombes'

the best scones I've ever had

'Eat Me', 'Drink Me' and a dark chocolate espresso 'Opera' cake

clotted cream and jam that was more like delicious strawberry compote

finger sandwiches: cucumber on beetroot bread, egg and cress on brown bread, smoked salmon and cream cheese on spinach bread and butter and ham on saffron bread

white chocolate 'Eat Me' shell filled with sponge and strawberry cream

'Drink Me' potion, filled with three layers of purees: apple pie, lemon curd, and toffee pudding (we were told that this version was infinitely better than that conceived for their wintertime tea, which layered smoked salmon with roast dinner and Christmas pudding...)

an impossibly glossy chocolate cappuccino 'Opera' layer cake

going, going...gone.

Waddling back to the Lobby, we felt much more like Alice post-'Eat Me' than Alice post-'Drink Me', but it's an experience that everyone should try while it lasts!

Sanderson Hotel
50 Berners Street
London
W1T 3NG
020 7300 1400
Tube: Oxford Circus

Birthday Bourguignon

And another month gone. With no post. Not that there hasn't been some cooking happening. There certainly HAS been eating going on, and so I shall try to redeem the neglectful silence with some highlights.

We start with a birthday dinner of Beef Bourguignon--Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon, to be precise. Yes, a food blog post about Julia Child and Beef Bourguignon...wasn't there a book or a movie or something recently...?

Anyway, for friend P.'s birthday, Chef E. and I hosted a French-inspired evening. Taking our cue from Julia's master recipe in The Way to Cook (a 'crowbar separation' from both Amy Adams and Mastering the Art of French Cooking)we meticulously patted man-portion kilos of cubed beef with paper towels and got to browning. A bottle of wine, Italian tinned tomatoes, some stock, and a few hours later we had stew, served with green beans with lemon dressing and toasted almonds.

As this was a celebration of E.'s birthday as well, an apple pie, as requested, was wrestled up, and there was dinner!

Our dessert was experimental to say the least, without Grandma's recipe for pie crust to hand, and dear friend A., who can't eat dairy. Soy butter to the rescue! I ended up with a super pliable dough that rolled out beautifully, and the roux for the stew was definitely none the worse for this lactose-free substitute.