“Puttin' on the Ritz for Tea”

      The Ritz London. The mere mention of the name evokes glamorous images of fashionably clad ladies and gentlemen chatting gaily in posh surroundings. Conceived by the renowned hotelier Cesar Ritz, the hotel opened in 1906 to great éclat. Befitting the Edwardian era elegance, recent renovations have restored the magnificent hotel to its early Louis XVI splendor. 
      What a better setting, then, to delight in Afternoon Tea. And visiting The Ritz London, you are treated to this delicious epicurean occasion in The Palm Court. 
      A long, narrow room tucked off to one side of the hotel’s main corridor, The Palm Court embraces you in Echaillon marble columns and pink dressed tables beneath a wrought-iron framed glass ceiling that allows sunlight to caress you beneath golden crystal chandeliers. A magnificent fountain sparkles playfully over gilt figures and holds court off the center of the room.
       Once you have selected from the many varieties of tea, or opted for a glass of ebullient champagne, you are served delicate sandwiches such as egg mayonnaise with cress, cucumber with cream cheese, and smoked salmon. Freshly baked raisin and apple scones with Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry preserves, and fruits of the forest compote with English cream are also brought to the table by the most accommodating servers. 
 
     Dame Barbara Cartland, famed romance novelist and step-grandmother to Diana, Princess of Wales, described tea at The Ritz in the early 1900's as, “A useful institution for the ‘also-ran’ men. One could meet men, without chaperones, for lunch and tea. So you had lunch with men you were keen on, and tea with the rest.” 
      Uncomparably elegant and irresistibly delectable, Afternoon Tea at The Ritz London is a triumph for the connoisseur’s soul. 

      A debt of gratitude goes to Sina Hoekstra, Sales & Marketing Coordinator and Helen Amos, Marketing Manager with The Ritz London for their tremendous assistance with the preparation of this newsletter.


Source: www.theritzlondon.com
Photos:  © Ritz Hotel London