Top Tip

This week we've scaled new heights.
The Garden Tea Rooms is mentioned in Best of British magazine for July (issue out now) in a feature on Tip Top Tea Rooms.
And it's on the same page as Bettys.

Tea stands still for no man

The marquee has gone.
The bunting's been taken away along with the flowers in wellies.
There are just a few bits and bobs to be collected by the Bride's family and then it will all have been a lovely, tiring dream.
Onward now to next weekend which is looking particularly busy:
Friday - 44 people from Wendover on a coach. Coming for lunch.
Saturday - 41 High Teas for the Birmingham Bach Choir plus 5 x booked tables for three-course concert suppers.
Sunday - opening early. Sixty people coming for a morning-after-the-wedding Afternoon Tea. Groom is Canadian, bride is (I think) South African, so I'm expecting lots of folks from far away lands and at least one person from Plymouth.

Raise your Glass

Post wedding. Almost. The marquee is yet to come down as the blokes who are meant to be doing the dismantling broke down on the A1 this afternoon. Still it meant that lots of the tea rooms visitors got to look inside what is a pretty fab structure. I spoke to plenty of people about the wedding today. Most conversations started with them asking what the tent was there for, then saying "Oh, I didn't know you did weddings here". Two different women said the idea of a High Tea wedding made them want to get married again...
How did it go? Very, very well. We were happy. They were happy. Two of my 17 year old staff said they wanted their wedding to be just like it. The 19 year old bride said it was even better than the wedding she'd pictured. The father of the groom even went to the trouble of thanking all those behind the scenes - that'll include the three people frantically buttering (or cream cheesing) the bread, making the sandwiches, cutting them into the different shapes I'd demanded and filling the tiered cake stands - all at the last minute so they were as fresh as they could possibly be. Who likes curling, drying sandwiches. That's right. Noone.
It also includes all those people (including my Dad, who's claiming he's got tennis elbow. I've told him he can't get it from watching Wimbledon) who washed and dried 110 teaplates during the speeches so that they could go back onto the tables ready for the scones and cake. Yes I did have enough plates for both courses - but I don't like some of them. I wanted to use my premier plates. They also washed around 480 glasses - high balls, tumblers, wines and flutes, 110 teacups, 110 saucers, 110 pastry forks etc etc etc.
Enough wedding.
For now.
Customer of the day was the man who came in while his wife was preparing to sing in the Church recital. He ordered apple cake and a glass of milk and said it was his birthday.
As he was leaving he told me his wife doesn't like drinking milk, and doesn't really like him drinking it either. So that was his real birthday treat. Not the cake.

Even more in tents

The marquee is up. And decorated.
The bows on the chairs look gorgeous. No, I didn't do any of them. There's ivy wound round the poles with gerberas, lavender and hydrangeas mixed in, there are flowers in jam jars on the tables and flowers in wellies at the entrance. It's been quite a stressful day but I had to laugh when the florist handed me a bunch of chrysanths and some lavender: "if any of them look ropey in the morning can you just stick some of these in" he said, jumped into his van and was gone. Now I can do lots of things but I just can't do flowers. I just don't have... whatever it is. Even a beautiful tied bouquet that just has to be dropped in a vase goes awry if I'm the one doing the dropping.
So tomorrow morning I have to ensure that the cutlery is polished, the tables are set, the drinks are cooled, the jobs are divvied up, the cakes and sandwiches are made and cut, the tiered stands are in place, the quiche is warmed, the scones are made, the cream is whipped and 110 people enjoy the best High Tea we can give them.
Once I've sorted the flowers out obviously.

In tents

Another lovely day. It was groups-of-friends-from-all-over-the-country-meeting-up-day. It meant for large orders and we had to hurriedly make a second batch of soup when the first ran out at 1230.
The bombshell this afternoon came from the marquee company.
They need access to the tea rooms at 0630 tomorrow.
Not only that but they "may need help with the bows on the chairs".
I may need help when this thing is all over.

In other news, our Olympic tickets turn out to be for beach volleyball.
No. Really.
I hope it's the mens.

Jones? Brown? the Tank Engine?

This morning we set out on the ten minute walk to school in lovely sunshine. Half way there it started to rain. By the time we arrived it was dry again.
Ah, one of those days, I thought.
Today was marvellous. Lovely people making lovely comments. The conservatory grew warmer and warmer until it forced the mid afternoon crowd outside. By end of play it was glorious and I allowed myself the hope that the wedding at the weekend will enjoy some sunshine.
A group of four ladies had lunch inside, then went up to see the church and "have a sing", then returned for a proper afternoon tea in the garden. The man who's writing his book brought his laptop, went to the far end of the garden and asked if we'd mind bringing him a latte. We didn't. Mind, that is.
The only downer of the day came when I was bringing the wooden tables and chairs in from outside. At the beginning of the season I bought two sets of beautiful wooden outdoor furniture. Every night we carefully bring them inside to protect them. Every morning we lovingly carry them outside and they are generally the favoured seats.
As I carried them in this evening I noticed the name TOM carved into one table top.
Thanks, Tom.

Fair enough?

Today we had a customer who was very unhappy with us.
She complained vociferously and then wrote in our visitors' book that she is, in fact, disgusted that we offer gluten-free cake but not dairy-free cake. She wrote that this is discrimination against a large number of people in the world.
I'm baffled by her use of the word discrimination. Is it?

Fathers Day Card

48 internatioanl caravan club members came for tea and cake this morning. We poured their tea and had set out individual cakes on tea plates for them to choose. Lots of lovely comments on the apple shortcake. The church congregation came shortly after them which meant the main room and the conservatory were full just before lunch.
We tried out a mackerel paté ploughmans - very popular, but I don't think we'll be doing it all the time. Maybe it should make an occasional appearance. Like a Robbie.
Came close to running out of milk as the Afternoon Tea seekers descended but the cavalry arrived just in time.
One dad and his family came out on Fathers' Day for tea and cake. The kids (older teens) asked for this, that and the other. He waited for one of them to offer to pay. He even sighed and said he didn't have enough cash. "It's ok Dad," said the son after an interminable wait, "You can pay with a card."

Longest Day

The forecast was dreadful and I left the tearooms in capable hands while I attended to a list of other stuff. Most of the way through the list I had a 'phone call. The promised rain hadn't come, but lots of hungry people had. Could I return asap.....?
Of course as soon as soon as I arrived the crowds left and the rain came.
But I have taken two more enquries about large lunch parties next month.
And I have sorted the Concert Supper Menu for tomorrow evening.
And I've made a lemon drizzle cake.
And I have bought my husband an outlandish outfit for a Summer Solstice party this weekend - theme: Druids and Scorchio. (?)

Heaven Scent

Most people look at our Afternoon Tea for Two deal and check that they've read it correctly:
"So it's two scones AND two pieces of cake?" they say, "and the tea. All for £10?"
Others check for small print: "Which cake am I allowed?" Presumably thinking I have some inferior, teeny tiny cakes hidden in the back which I'll gleefully serve them while cackling.
Groups of four order the tea-for-two special and add two teas, saying that scones AND cake is a lot of food. Especially when the cakes aren't teeny tiny. And when the scones are served with jam and cream.
This afternoon two men ordered Afternoon Tea for Two (Cake: 1 x slice Victoria Sponge, 1 x slice of Anna's Fruit Cake). A few minutes after they'd emptied the tiered cake stand of all the goodies they were back. Two more pieces of cake (carrot).
I think they like cake.
They're welcome anytime.
Another VERY busy lunchtime. Ploughmans and quiche proved especially popular.
We have Evening Primrose flowers open in the conservatory. They look and smell fantastic. Can't remember seeing them last year.

In tune, in June

And the pendulum swings the other way.
Yesterday we had an unexpected coach party. A what? Exactly.
Today the sun blazed down and the garden was full to bursting. We started early with a WI artist group who were painting/drawing in the garden, then moved seamlessly into a very busy lunch and teatime. Lovely. But, did I mention, very busy.
I now have enough tea cups and saucers for the wedding. The bride has just sent an email asking if the string quartet can have its tea break during the speeches.
This is all getting VERY close.
I've had another email asking about 33 high teas for the choir performing in church on Saturday evening. And there's another 3-course concert supper menu to put together for the same time.
Best get my head in the game, as High School Musical would have it. Or is that soooo 2006?

Wet

If I ever thought it had rained before I was wrong.
Today it rained and rained and it didn't stop. Only a few hardy (and wet) souls made it to us. Even the usually favoured conservatory proved inhospitable because of the rain hammering down on the glass.
There is a bright side - the trade lull allowed us to wash and count all the vintage cups and saucers for the wedding, to sweep the conservatory, to polish the cutlery, to clear shelves, to check we have enough pastry forks (we don't).
We also managed to make three more three-tiered cake stands.
What do I do with it all when this wedding's over?

Gritted Teeth

Grrr.
Yesterday morning was a bit of a struggle.
People rang the bell for attention when I was in the middle of delivering an order and then didn't know what they wanted.
A woman in the conservatory plucked a lunchbox from her bag and started eating her own sandwiches. A bunch of people who wanted to buy plants put them all on the counter spilling soil as they did so.
By the afternoon I and my anxiety had settled down and we were enjoying it all again.
A pleasant batch of afternoon customers ensured the day returned to normal.
We can all have an off-morning.
She says, defensively.

Be happy.

In just over two weeks we'll be catering our first big wedding - 110 people in a marquee in our garden. It's for this that I've been buying all that china, all those cake stands, all those cups and saucers and teapots.
This morning, many months after first suggesting a range of High Tea sandwiches, mini quiche, mini toad-in-the-hole, scones and cakes, I held a taster session for the bride and groom and bride's mum and dad. If the wedding itself goes as well as this morning did then I'll have no need to worry.
However I reckon I'll start losing sleep about now.
I'll start waking up with questions and concerns in the middle of the night.
I'll write lists of things I must remember to order.
I'll worry that the list is not complete.
I'll wonder whatever possessed me to agree to take on someone's biggest day.
Such is my lot.

The Cavalry

It was wet. It was chilly. It was overcast.
I rang Becky to tell her not to bother to come in.
Thankfully she came anyway to collect paperwork and was in an apron in seconds as family after family arrived ALL AT THE SAME TIME* and ordered quiche, sandwiches, gallons of hot chocolate and lots of cake.
A friend who'd popped in for lunch was also roped in to help for a weirdly busy hour and a half.
And then it stopped.

*my shouting

Trumpet.

English Heritage looks after Witley Court and doesn't have its own tea rooms because they have us. Every year the 'eritage sends in a mystery shopper to test its staff and facilities. And the private eye comes to us too to see how we fare.
We've just had the feedback.
The secret guest ordered tea, cake and a sandwich which they said was "fresh, very tasty and good quality produce." They added: "the food looked appealing and was a good portion size".
Fab.
They commented further: "the café has plenty of space and places to sit, the tables were not close together which was nice".
Great.
My favourite comment (apart from stating that the atmosphere was "chilled out, exactly what I like") was about us: "The staff were clean and tidy, they looked well dressed and did not have any food on their clothes*."
I would so love to be a secret shopper....

*my italics

Un oeuf is enough

It's been a very good few days since the sun returned. Lovely and busy.
Today I woke to rain and expected the worst. Thankfully proved wrong.
People with umbrellas came. They filled the conservatory and the main room and ate jacket potatoes and ham and cheddar panini (see, lesson learnt). Then a coach party of Nottingham Mechanics arrived for tea and cake (they favoured millionaire's shortbread). They were not mechanics. They were a bunch of ladies and gents who formed a group originally one of the many Mechanics Institutes which apparently flourished in the 19th Century.
This morning I rang our local egg farmer to ask for two trays. He brought them straight away including an enormous egg especially for me. I hadn't seen an obviously double-yolk egg for years. Turns out that's because he's not allowed to sell them.

Instant hit.

"I'd like one of those coffees," he said.
Latte? No
Cappuccino? No
Filter? Americano?
"No, no no," he wrinkled his nose, "Too many chemicals. I just want one you spoon into a cup."
Instant?
"That's it," he said.
Sadly for him, of all the coffees we offer instant isn't one of them. A fact of which I'm rather proud. Too many chemicals?
He had a glass of milk. His wife had a hot chocolate.
I hope he bought a jar on his way home.