Afternoon Tea Review

Restaurant Name: The Cavendish Rooms Chatsworth House

Venue: Chatsworth House

Location: Derbyshire, England

Website: http://www.chatsworth.org/shop-eat/where-to-eat/the-cavendish-rooms

Open Times: 10.15am and closes at 4.30pm, serving lunch until 4pm and afternoon teas until 4.30pm

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey

A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards. ~A.A. Milne

The author of Winnie The Pooh makes a profound statement in this sentiment. I can quite honestly call myself an authority on afternoon teas as I have been taking in this English tradition at some of the most well-known and loudly tooted places. I have discovered that Very Nearly Teas come across ones path regularly and Proper Teas come into ones life on the rarest of occasions. So with that in mind, my five star rating of a Proper Tea at the Cavendish Rooms in Chatsworth is a well-earned distinction.

After experiencing an extremely disappointing Afternoon Tea at the overly-esteemed Fortnum and Masons in London, I had lost almost lost all hopes of finding and afternoon tea that seemed to satiate the soul as well as the appetite. Afternoon Teas (which North Americans often are misinformed and refer to as “High Tea”) does not necessarily need to be highbrow in order to be good, in fact a few distinguishing factors made this almost rustic Afternoon Tea at Chatsworth head and shoulders above all others.

Chatsworth House, located in Derbyshire, is known as the “Palace of the Peak District.” You can read my extensive coverage of the House HERE. The gardens are exquisite and many Ramblers (walkers) take in the beauty of the landscape with just as much delight as visitors to the house do. You can do both in a day, but expect a full day of exploring and perhaps a reservation ahead of time at the Cavendish rooms to ensure you get a seat for afternoon tea.

A few menu items exist but truly your decision will be between the Devonshire Afternoon Tea and the Traditional Afternoon Tea. The Traditional Afternoon Tea comes with tea, sandwiches, confectionaries, scones with clotted cream and Chatsworth’s own strawberry jam for fifteen pounds and ninety-five pence. The Devonshire Afternoon Tea comes with all of the above and a very fine glass of Chatworth’s own champagne and the crayfish cocktail to start with. Although the traditional version is amply satisfying, you might want to push the boat out on this one and order the Devonshire Afternoon Tea as the champagne was truly of great quality and the crayfish cocktail was light, delicate and thoroughly flavourful.

The Dowager setup an entire cottage industry at Chatsworth of products like jams, chutneys, mustards – you can even order an afternoon tea hamper online. So many of the products at Chatsworth are made from scratch – including the scones which are made fresh daily, the jam and I ordered a bottle of the Chatsworth sparkling water as the area is known for its medicinal waters (Buxton water comes from this area).

Everything about this Afternoon Tea seemed plainly exquisite. Nothing about the meal or the location was about putting on airs, in fact, the Cavendish rooms felt incredibly welcoming and with a great sense of social atmosphere. The Afternoon Tea had such similar intentions as the presentation was very suitable but not overpowering as if you had forgot to bring your parasol and white gloves for the occasion. No, this afternoon tea had a distinctly authentic feel to it.

In fact, authenticity seemed apparent in every detail, right down to the most important element of the afternoon tea – the cup of tea. Made precisely to order, the tea was brought out in an earthenware teapot and not a China teapot which made this the absolutely most flavourful cup of tea known to mankind.  This was indeed an exemplary cup of tea.

The sandwiches were delicious and one definite, and generous perk of the afternoon tea was being able to order as many more sandwiches as you liked with no extra charge. This gave the customer the feeling of visiting and being in someone’s front room “Mrs. So and so, the sandwiches are fantastic” – “would you like more dear” – “Oh yes please, thank you.”

The sandwiches selection were as follows; smoked salmon, ham and wholegrain mustard (I purchased a Chatsworth mustard afterwards as it was a delightful accompaniment), and free-range egg mayonnaise with leaf spinach.

The delicacies included a quadruple chocolate cake, meringue and mousse (seen in the cups on the picture). These were a delightful pairing as the chocolate cake was rich and filling while the meringue and mousse were light and full of delicate flavours. Along with a perfectly suitable scone, Chatsworth strawberry jam and clotted cream I felt amply “treated” and found this afternoon tea worth devouring every crumb. In fact, here is the PROOF.

Yes indeed, A.A. Milne was correct in his estimation that a Proper Tea is one of those special teas that linger in the memory far after the Very Nearly Teas are quickly done away with. The Devonshire Afternoon Tea in the Cavendish rooms at Chatsworth is easy to rave about and well worth the trip out to the palatial estate.

See all our Chatsworth Afternoon Tea photos on our FACEBOOK PHOTO ALBUM  

(Afternoon Tea seen at the end of this video)

With the Grateful Assistance of Visit England:

Written by :

Kindah