midlands food bloggers festive afternoon tea.

Last weekend myself and another 9 midlands bloggers met up for an afternoon of tea, Tiny sandwiches, miniature desserts and an abundance of Instagram opportunities. Mostly though, it was super exciting to put a few faces to Twitter names and finally continue our foodie chats face to face. Off we headed to Hotel La Tour, With no sign of their festive afternoon tea menu online and a head full of Google images from previous reviews. 

christmas treats to make, bake and do.

what have you been baking and a making this festive season? there are still a few days left for you to dash to the shops and create some merry christmas treats for you to leave out for santa. here are a few of my christmas baking recipes to give you a little inspiration for things to gobble up or give away as gifts...

charlie and the chocolate factory afternoon tea at one aldwych, london.

“I am the maker of music, the dreamer of dreams!”
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl. 

When I was at primary school, I remember reading Roald Dahl's books front to back until the ink wore off the pages and the covers were dog eared. Accompanied by the all too well known sketches from Quentin Blake, firm favourites were the BFG, The Twits and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What child wouldn't be gripped by tales of fizzy lifting drinks, coloured changing caramels, edible wallpaper and everlasting gobstoppers?

To coincide with the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical in London's west end, One Aldwych has collaborated to create a magical afternoon tea, inspired by the whimsical delights of the book and, now, theatre show. And since it's christmas afterall, throughout December there's a festive afternoon tea twist on the usual menu.

festive afternoon tea at the hyatt regency, birmingham.

you all know i love afternoon tea and i certainly love christmas. combine the two and you get the best of both worlds; delicate sandwiches filled with the likes of turkey, cranberry and brie, festive takes on the classic scone and the gentle scent of warm mulled wine swirling across the table. myself and a few other midlands bloggers went along to sample the festive afternoon tea at the hyatt regency birmingham, which will launch on 1st december, starting from £19 a head.

festive afternoon tea at harriet's secret tearoom.

Mum and I have been up to lots of festive things lately; including making a chocolate christmas wreath and going to the christmas party at the birmingham coast to coast. So to top it off, it made sense to go for a little festive afternoon tea. We headed over to Harriet's Secret Tearoom in Melton Mowbray to sample their Christmas style lunch with beautiful mismatched vintage crockery and cutlery.

Amendment: This tea room sadly doesn't exist anymore but there is a new tea room in its place - I'm yet to try.