The Nutcracker Afternoon Tea at JW Marriott Grosvenor House London

I was invited to review afternoon tea at Grosvenor House and our food and drink was complimentary. I was not paid to visit and was not under contractual obligation to write this blog post or create content on any platform. 

‘Tis the season for festive afternoon tea and I have another fantastic one for you. With it’s enviable Mayfair location, royal connections and 90 year history, JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, really is a true icon of London hotels. With the relatively recent refurbishment, this is a hotel star that is now shining even more brightly!

Oscar and I were absolutely delighted to check out the hotel’s Nutcracker Afternoon Tea, an absolutely perfect Christmas treat. The gorgeous Park Room has been thoroughly decked with baubles, presents and a giant nutcracker to add to the festive spirit and there is live piano music played throughout the tea. As part of a collaboration with the Birmingham Royal Ballet ahead of their performances of The Nutcracker at the Royal Albert Hall this December, the characters of Clara and the Prince were also there to say hello.
We were also lucky enough to meet Executive Chef Paul Bates, who has created the exquisite afternoon using the best seasonal ingredients with the intention of creating a tea that ’embodies the poise of the ballet, the spirit of the festive season and the elegance of Grosvenor House’.

My tea-mates and I toasted with a glass of Perrier-Jouët before tucking into a sweet amuse bouche, a fruity jelly topped with candy floss. 
The tea itself is in three Acts and is inspired by the characters of the Nutcracker as well as traditional festive flavours.

Act one is the sandwiches as follows:
Cucumber and garden mint butter.
Smoked Oakham chicken with tarragon, crème fraîche.
Roast Aberdeen Angus beef, creamed horseradish.
Honey roast Yorkshire ham, Coleman’s English mustard
North Atlantic cold water prawn, classic Marie Rose sauce.

There are also two tasty open sandwiches on buns which include Foreman’s smoked Scottish salmon along with cream cheese Burford Brown Clarence Court egg, mayonnaise and chive. This course or Act is intended to represent the home.
Act two is all about the scones! Set in the pine forest we were presented with soft buttermilk scones and a epic selection of six jams!

Act 3 is the finale and is set in a land of sweet decadence – for many the best course of all, the pastries. I love the thought and attention to detail that has gone into each pastry and how they express the characters from the ballet. There’s also a mini nutcracker tree decoration that comes presented alongside the cakes.

The Nutcracker is represented by a hazelnut chocolate chip tart with a Devon cream ganache and chocolate nutcracker shard.
The Sugar Plum Fairy must have been a fun pastry to create and is a light preserved plum cheesecake on a shortbread biscuit base with raspberry gel.
The Angels in the ballet imagined as William pear cream that is delicately coated in white chocolate intended to glisten under the lights.
The Spanish Dancers are created as a flourless chocolate cake topped with Spanish honey chocolate mousse and coffee infused chocolate twigs from the
forest.

Finally The Danish Shepherdess is a light mandarin and almond sponge, topped with almond cream and Danish redcurrant gel.

I honestly could have stayed in the relaxing atmosphere of the hotel all day chatting away with my friends as the piano tinkled… but Oscar wanted tea himself. We didn’t leave empty handed though as we were offered a choice of one of three different cakes. We chose chocolate of course!

A big thank you to Grosvenor House for having us at such a spectacular tea!

JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel
86-90 Park Lane
Mayfair
London
W1K 7TN

020 7499 6363

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