1. Chef Robert’s Traditional English example menu:

1. Tea: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Black Rose Tea, Emerald Mango Paradise
2. Substantial items: Bakewell Tart, Cheese and Onion Flan
3. Tea sandwiches: Lemon Chicken, Garden Vegetable, Dijon Pesto, Watercress Egg Salad
4. Sweets: British Fruit Cake, English Scone, Margarita Pie, Chef’s freshly baked Tea Cookies, Toasted Coconut Tea Cakes, Mini Cheesecakes with Vanilla Wafer Crusts

2. Chef Chris’s Modern Australian example menu:

1. Teas: Bergamot Black Tea, Burdock Journey, Rose Green Tea, Chamomile
2. Substantial items: Yorkshire Curd Tart, Mushroom Strudel
3. Small savoury: Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Finger Sandwich, Scotch Eggs, Shrimp Skagen, Dijon Pesto tea sandwich
4. Sweets: Victoria Sponge Cake, Custard Pie, Thumbprint Cookies, Candied Citrus Peels, Eccles Cakes, Earl grey teacakes

3. Chef Sailesh’s New Zealand example menu:

1. Roasted Dandelion Green Tea, Coconut Black Tea, Linden & Elderflower Tea, Sleeping Beauty
2. Substantial items: Pork Rillettes, Corned Beef Egg Rolls
3. Small savoury: Smoked salmon slider with cream cheese & dill, Coronation egg finger sandwich, Chicken Curry Puff, Watermelon and buffalo mozzarella salad
4. Sweets: Dilmah Earl Grey and raisin scone, Dilmah Green tea cheesecake with hazelnut, Passion fruit mini tart with raspberry Italian meringue,  Raspberry macaroon with white chocolate ganache, Chocolate cupcake with Valrhona chocolate mousse, Pear & saffron and browned butter muffins

High teas are the perfect catering option for small gatherings and special occasions like bridal or baby showers, hens nights, picnics, Christenings, birthdays, and celebrations like Mother’s Day. High tea catering doesn’t distract from the event nor requires too much in terms of setting up & serving, and so it is the perfect option when you want food to be the backdrop and not the main star of the show. 

Order high tea when you want your event to have small snacks and finger foods that are substantial but not too filling. It’s the perfect catering option when your event sits between two mealtimes but you don’t want people to go hungry.

High tea first achieved widespread popularity in the 1840s. At that time, the tradition was to serve breakfast in the late morning and dinner in the late evening, with no meal in between. The aristocratic English gentlemen of the time would often hold long, extended business meetings during the middle of the day while their wives sat waiting for them at home. These lengthy meetings were sometimes quite drawn out and lasted hours on end, leaving the wives at home getting hungry. Enter high tea! 

Duchess Anna of Bedford is often credited with having the first high tea, asking her servants to bring her a tray of tea, cake, and bread and butter while she waited for her husband to return from his meeting. This became a regular habit for the Duchess, and she eventually started inviting her lady friends over to enjoy a cuppa and a small sweet snack. Slowly, this afternoon tea habit spread amongst the English aristocracy and became the event it is known as today. 

In the 1920s, high tea came to be recognisable as the event we all know and love today – complete with extravagant teacups, silverware, fine linens, and the best tea money can buy! Of course, high tea is just as much about entertaining your company as it is about sipping on delicious tea and sweet scones. 

What is high tea etiquette?

Some people equate high tea with a set of etiquette or table manners, which can be intimidating. But don’t worry! Firstly, we at CHEFIN would never impose any etiquette or table behaviour on you – you are free to enjoy your meal as you like, with the company you love. That said, if you’d like to prepare yourself with some know-how of high tea etiquette, here are the dos and don’ts: 

• You must first spread cream on your scone before jam, 
• You can only sip from your tea once you have finished chewing and swallowing the food in your mouth, 
• You must try both sweet and savoury dishes – this is a balance that should be maintained!, 
• Of course, you mustn’t talk with your mouth full, 
• It’s advised to eat with small nibbles rather than big bites, 
• When sipping from your teacup, keep your eyes focused inside the cup and not staring at whoever is seated across from you, 
• When leaving the table, drop your napkin on your chair and excuse yourself before getting up, 
• Never drink from your teacup while it has a spoon in it, 
• Don’t place your napkin on the table unless you are ready to leave.