Private Chef Dining

Vintage High Tea

$115.00

High Tea:

Indulge in a traditional high tea experience, with a little extra flair. This gourmet high tea will be carefully designed by your personal chef to match your unique tastes and preferences, and can even be tailored to a cuisine or theme of your choice.

Enjoy an abundance of delectable canapés and a variety of exceptional organic teas, including a range of small food items and larger savoury canapés. All ingredients hand-selected by your chef to guarantee the highest quality, and the experience includes set-up and decor. 

The price is per person, inclusive of GST, a minimum of 10 guests applies, includes an average of 12 gourmet canapés per person. 

What’s included?

  • All necessary High Tea equipment, including crockery, cutlery, and decor/set-up,
  • Minimum of 4 varieties of premium, high quality organic Australian-grown teas,
  • 2 varieties of substantial savoury food items,
  • 4 varieties of smaller savoury food items,
  • 6 varieties of sweets/dessert items. 

You can find a few sample high-tea menus by scrolling further below. 

Book in 3 easy steps:

  1. select add to cart,
  2. enter event details,
  3. secure pay online.

If you would like to book this package and add service staff or additional products please add this package to the cart and then go on to add the additional packages. In case you want a different package simply go back to the main shop page and view the rest of the Private Chef packages. 

Your menu will be fully customised based on your requirements by a Private Chef.


Menu examples

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

CHEFIN Booking process

Next Steps

  • Secure your booking by paying in full. If using bank transfer/EFTPOS, please ensure you use the order number as a payment reference.
  • CHEFIN will email you a booking confirmation and calendar invitation. This will include a form to collect your information and particular needs/requirements.
  • Once you have filled in the form and sent it back to us, and your booking is sooner than in 3 weeks, we will assign a Chef based on your needs and desires.
  • Your assigned Chef will design a unique menu tailored to your brief, event, dietaries and tastes.
  • You can preview this menu, provide feedback, and advise of any menu & event changes along the way.

Frequently Asked questions

Can I choose my menu items from a pre-set selection of menus?

Your private chef will custom tailor a menu for you when your booking is confirmed. We are 100% certain you will love your menu or we will return your money-back guarantee! Our Chefs LOVE to create dishes and every menu they construct is fully exclusive for your taste buds.

Can I select a specific Private Chef for my event?

Once a booking has been secured & confirmed our sophisticated algorithm will take your preferences & match these with the available Chefs in your area. You will be presented a choice of Chefs, though during busy periods/last minute bookings you will be assigned a Chef to work with.

How does booking a Private Chef work?

Once you book online with us you’ll receive a Booking Confirmation email with your order details & the next steps. You will need to fill in your dietaries, food preferences & desires and an algorithm will then identify and match you with the best-suited Chef who will tailor a menu for you.

Do you have Chefs available to cook for my event?

As a platform with more than 250 available Chefs across Australia, we always have availability – or your money back guarantee! Our team works relentlessly to ensure we have the largest selection of Private Chefs across the country and are able to fulfil every single guest’s request.

What do I need to prepare for my event?

You need to prepare a space in your fridge (1-2 shelves), clear your kitchen bench and introduce the Chef to the kitchen & dining areas. Depending on your booking you will need to prepare crockery/glassware/cutlery & set the table if no wait staff are included in your event booking.

What time does the Chef arrive on the day?

Your private chef will arrive 1.5 hours beforehand with all ingredients, and begin preparing your dishes. Waitstaff arrive separately. The team will take care of all the food and drinks (as advised). After the event is over, the team will clean the kitchen and event area before leaving you to bask in the afterglow of a wonderful event.

When should I order a high tea?

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.

What is the history of high tea?

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.