# Organizing a Tea - looking for menu feedback **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304 "2011-01-04T03:20:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/1 "2011-01-04T03:20:12Z")
Hi Cafe-types! I’m organizing a Tea…it’s our second year holding the event. Last year went ok, but there’s always room for improvement. And I didn’t know about SDMB back then. 🆒 I posted a little bit about the event in this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=591577)over in MPSIMS…so I don’t want to get into any logistics here. I would like some feedback on menu items, if you don’t mind. 😉 Last year, we served: [ul] [li]Sandwiches - we got a few types from an Argentine bakery last year, but we’re hoping to partner with a major grocery store that we’ve been working with recently[/li][li]Three kinds of pastries - guava, blackberry/apple, and mango[/li][li]Scones with pseudo-clotted cream (I’m in South Florida…everything I found online said I can’t do real clotted cream here.)[/li][li]Banana, zucchini, and a few other types of bread[/li][li]Various teas (white, green, ginger, black, earl grey…)[/li][li]Lemonade[/li][li]Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for kids[/li][/ul] So…any suggestions? Anything I’m missing? Any classic types of sandwiches we should pursue? Any favorite recipes? I’m taking a few days off from work to spend quality time in the kitchen. How about tips for condiments and other add-ons to make things more authentic? Thanks! -D/a ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/2 "2011-01-04T03:57:25Z")
I’d go to that. I do feel weird being a guy and wanting to go to a tea party though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/3 "2011-01-04T04:09:09Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > I’d go to that. I do feel weird being a guy and wanting to go to a tea party though. 🙂 Don’t feel weird - I’m a guy, and I’m ORGANIZING it. I tell any of my macho friends who aren’t comfortable with it’s for a good charity..(which it is). And I tell the rest of my friends that it’s just a fun event, and they get to eat my desserts. 😃 -D/a ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/4 "2011-01-04T08:09:37Z")
How about quiches, tarts, and petit fours? I have no idea if they would be part of an English style tea party, but at the very least, they seem to go well with tea. ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/5 "2011-01-04T08:41:00Z")
As for sandwiches, how about: pesto nut, cucumber mint, chicken waldorf, roquefort pecan, cucumber yogurt, egg salad, olive cream cheese… ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/6 "2011-01-04T09:35:28Z")
It sounds great! Traditional sandwich fillings for afternoon tea- Egg and cress Cheese Ham Ham and cheese Cucumber Smoked salmon and cream cheese Prawn with cocktail sauce Egg salad Ham salad Tomato Tomato and cheese All crust free, cut into little triangles or fingers. Scones should also have the option of butter and raspberry or strawberry jam. If you’re doing various semi-sweet breads, look into a fruit cake or [barm brack](http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/599966) or similar- it goes very well with a cup of tea. Cake/buns/muffins/fairy cakes or something along those lines as another sweet option- [Butterfly Fairy cakes](http://www.food.com/recipe/gorgeous-little-butterfly-cakes-or-fairy-cakes-183505) or a [Victoria sponge](http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/513119) would be typically British. You did ask. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/7 "2011-01-04T09:38:39Z")
Thin slices of rare roastbeef, watercress, and horseradish sauce, salted… on a hearty, thinly sliced, white bread. Cut in quarters, ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/8 "2011-01-04T10:07:05Z")
A true aged wensleydale and a light smear of butter and colman’s vinegar paste, upon a white toast. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/9 "2011-01-04T10:32:36Z")
If it was a French afternoon tea, or an Aussie one in the last few years, you would be getting a variety of macarons (macaroons). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/10 "2011-01-04T13:28:45Z")
It’s not a proper high tea without [Toad-in-the-Hole](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toad_in_the_hole) and [Spotted Dick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_dick). ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/11 "2011-01-04T13:33:56Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > It’s not a proper high tea without [Toad-in-the-Hole](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toad_in_the_hole) and [Spotted Dick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_dick). I don’t think the event will be a “[high tea](http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HighTeaHistory.htm).” Which is actually supper. It’s an afernoon tea–an occasion for light food & sweets. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/12 "2011-01-04T13:36:46Z")
Yeah, I just like typing “Spotted Dick.” ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/13 "2011-01-04T13:46:50Z")
Wow…not even being a regular over on Cafe Society…I knew I could count on you guys. Luckily, work is a bit slow right now - I’ll spend some time once I get in and go through specifics. A few items I need to level set - we’re still small. Last year was almost a rain-out…it poured for an hour before the Tea, then cleared up…but it scared away a lot of people. We severd ~45 people. We expect closer to 100 this year, weather permitting. We have a mix of people who are the “stereotypical uncultured American”…people who would really be scared off by some of this stuff…but also some people who are very much into the “Society” scene, who will appreciate the authenticity. We strive to reach both by having a variety. We also have to be sensitive to cost - most of the volunteers who bake and otherwise provide the food do it for free, which really helps keep costs down. 🙂 Thanks again! I’ll probably have follow up questions as I do more research and planning…and experimenting. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/14 "2011-01-04T15:23:09Z")
How much are you planning on feeding each person? I’d, personally, take 3 or 4 little sandwiches (equivalent of 2 slices of bread) and a scone or slice of cake, and maybe a fairy cake if I was being greedy. For 100 people- 300 slices of bread and filling to make 150 sandwiches. 100 scones (say 2 dozen each of raisin/cherry, 4 dozen plain) 100 buns/cupcakes/pastries/breads (say a dozen each of 8 varieties) 10 cakes (say 3 Chocolate, 5 “stereoptypically American”, 2 Victoria sponge) Sounds about right to me- does it sound too much? Things you’ll need in bulk- flour, eggs, butter, sugar, milk, cream. I don’t pity the sandwich assemblers much, but making 3 dozen scones is child’s play, especially with hexagonal cookie cutters. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/15 "2011-01-04T15:39:35Z")
Miss Manners addressed this recently: > **[Miss Manners: Tea time is not about politics nor gulp-’n’-go beverage](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/sep/13/tea-time-is-not-about-politics-nor-gulp-n-go/)** > > DEAR MISS MANNERS: Tea gatherings are becoming more popular, and I would like to plan a tea party. I have only attended one and would like to learn how to host a very nice experience. What she says about courses is, in my experience, spot-on. I had afternoon tea as many times as I could when I was in London. I always ordered the Cream Tea, and the progression of food was always exactly the same: First: scones, often fruited, with clotted cream, strawberry jam, gooseberry jam, and orange marmelade Second: sandwiches, three or four types. Smoked salmon with cream cheese, cucumber, and egg or chicken curry mayonnaise; if a fourth type, it was black forest ham with cheese Third: the sweets, which I called Frenchified Dainties… a lot of fancy pastries and other sweetmeats Tea went exactly this way at Liberty’s, a posh new hotel not of note, Claridge’s, and the Randolph Arms in Oxford. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/16 "2011-01-04T16:48:31Z")
Oh- Coronation chicken! Mix some curry powder with some mayo, add chopped cooked chicken, use as sandwich filling with some lettuce. Or Chicken Tikka - a little Tikka or Tandoori paste with mayo, mixed with cooked chicken and used as a sandwich filling. Egg and cress is typically chopped hard boiled egg mixed with mayo or salad cream and baby garden cress shoots (which look like Chia sprouts), NOT sliced hard boiled eggs with watercess leaves. Are you thinking of having any gluten free stuff? You might need to, since afternoon tea is pretty much gluten central. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/17 "2011-01-05T00:03:56Z")
Still processing all the information..a lot of good tips. Work ended up actually being busy, so I didn’t get to do my “homework”. Hopefully I’ll get to go through this tonight. > [@irishgirl](#): > > Are you thinking of having any gluten free stuff? You might need to, since afternoon tea is pretty much gluten central. Yes! In fact, two of the other committee members can’t do gluten. One of them found a gluten free scone recipe, and she’s going to bake them. I haven’t spent any time (yet) thinking about what other gluten free options to do. I’m open to suggestions, of course. 🙂 -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/18 "2011-01-05T00:28:10Z")
Catching up..compiling list of sandwich options and other pieces.. > [@irishgirl](#): > > Cake/buns/muffins/fairy cakes or something along those lines as another sweet option- [Butterfly Fairy cakes](http://www.food.com/recipe/gorgeous-little-butterfly-cakes-or-fairy-cakes-183505) or a [Victoria sponge](http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/513119) would be typically British. Ooh..I love both of these. They have the right balance of sophistication to comfort that I think my guests will go for. And I may be able to cut down the number of pastries I need to make. > [@](#): > > You did ask. Yes, I did! And I’d do it again. 😃 -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/19 "2011-01-05T00:39:40Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > For 100 people- > 300 slices of bread and filling to make 150 sandwiches. > 100 scones (say 2 dozen each of raisin/cherry, 4 dozen plain) > 100 buns/cupcakes/pastries/breads (say a dozen each of 8 varieties) > 10 cakes (say 3 Chocolate, 5 “stereoptypically American”, 2 Victoria sponge) Last year we had ~100 sandwiches..some went quickly, some sat too long and got soggy. ☹ We need to take that into account this year. We had three varieties of pastries..I assumed most people would eat two. I ended up making 75 of each kind. I’ll make fewer this year, and add the victoria sponge and butterfly cakes. > [@](#): > > Sounds about right to me- does it sound too much? Happily, the event is a Saturday evening. Sunday morning, the Church associated with us holds a pancake breakfast. The more..standard..items will be re-used. Scones and pastries will be served directly. Extra cakes will be given out as part of the food pantry. Obviously I don’t want way too much, but very little will go to waste. It’s a nice arrangement. > [@](#): > > I don’t pity the sandwich assemblers much, but making 3 dozen scones is child’s play, especially with hexagonal cookie cutters. Last year I made a bunch of the scones, and my Mom helped with a few batches. They go pretty quickly. We bought the sandwiches pre-made. Since then, we’ve developed a partnership with a major grocery store. We’re really hoping they will donate them this year, and we won’t have to pay OR assemble! Overall I think your quantities line up with my expectations, based on last year. I’m glad - I don’t do this often enough to have a good feel for the numbers yet. 🙂 Thanks! -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304/20 "2011-01-06T04:57:30Z")
I feel bad posting when the last few posts were mine..but since they were replies to previous messages, and I have a follow up question for anyone still reading the thread.. In my MPSIMS thread about the logistics of organizing this event, **Acorns…but not Bacon** mentioned: > [@](#): > > If you’re having scones, I suggest to be proper English like, to pronounce it like the word “gone”, with a scone there must be butter, then jam, then thick whipped double cream or full fat cream plonked on top. Personal preference, course. Is there a proper order to top your scone? My guests will randomly put stuff on there if I put scones next to a bowl of condiments. They’d probably try mustard and vegemite if I put it out. But if I put the right stuff out..AND give them a hint on how to do it..they might get a better experience. So..what say you? What actually goes on the scone..and does order matter? Thanks again. -D/a [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organizing-a-tea-looking-for-menu-feedback/566304.md?page=2)