A few weeks back I was invited to join Gerla at Cambridge Food Tours for a different view and tour of my home city, thanks to a Facebook competition that saw me win 2 tickets… It was all based around food pit stops around town and I didn’t need inviting twice! We joined Gerla and our fellow food-loving companions for the tour at the Fitzbillies bakery for coffee & a taster of their world famous Chelsea Buns be

With my new offering of Afternoon Tea Etiquette Workshops in partnership with John Lewis Brasserie in Cambridge, I thought I would share some advice with my readers over a matter of varying topics on this subject. Afternoon Tea is famously known for being the mealtime favoured by Anna Maria, The Duchess of Bedford, starting off most likely in her boudoir before she realised how much more fun it would be to invite her friends a

We hosted the final of The Cambridge Bake Off at “The Big Weekend” on Parkers Piece and WHAT a day for it… It was so hot, the food marquee that we had taken over for this event was like a sauna before we had even started! I genuinely felt sorry for the 3 finalists, as the heat hit you as soon as you walked into this large tent and some of the bakers had prepared chocolate elements to their concoctions…

Poets House is a new boutique hotel in Ely which has literally opened up within the last few weeks, with a stunning view of the cathedral from most bedroom windows throughout. Situated on St Mary’s Street, opposite The Old Fire Engine House, this large townhouse-style hotel has brought us the sort of style I’ve personally been craving for a long time when it comes to an afternoon tea venue – Cambridgeshire tr

Round Two: I was lucky enough to be invited not only to judge The Cambridge Bake Off, but for the second round I was also invited to come to the Cambridge cookery School to watch all 3 physical baking sessions for this round and see the contestants baking their concoctions in *real time*. After 100 chocolate cakes in the first round, we had whittled the number down to 36 for this round, where they were invited to bake their Vi

I recently won a Twitter-based competition to join Martin Morales from Ceviche in Soho for a masterclass and pop up Supperclub in Suffolk. Ceviche is a Peruvian kitchen based in London’s Soho, having previously been an underground supperclub whilst Martin worked with the likes of Steve Jobs at ITunes in his day job at the time. I knew of him back when it was early days for “The Secluded Tea Party” myself, however I had never g

I was recently asked to help a family prepare some treats for a boys 7th birthday party, complete with traditionally homemade lemonade, cupcakes and finger sandwiches according to his fancies – I was in my element! As I’m no longer baking to order, but teaching my afternoon tea treats, I set to work devising a menu and recipe book to help this family whip up a storm. It was a fantastic project to help with, as it g

I am so excited to announce a new joint venture with Cambridge Kitchens & Independent Retail Month in partnership with “Love Cambridge”. This is a superb support for indie traders and retailers and I’m thrilled to have been asked to get involved. With the fantastic and fully functioning demo kitchen that Cambridge Kitchens will be offering (complete with “Great British Bake Off” style oven doors, wahoo!), we will be joini

It’s the start of a new week and time to think positively for a great 7 days ahead… First things first, brew a pot of tea with me and decide on 7 positive changes you can make this week, mine are as follows: 1. Exercise. Today. Not tomorrow. Not on Friday. Today. Get the dog walked, hop on your bike, grab an aerobics DVD or even pop the Xbox or Wii on to get moving. 2. Eat well & drink more water. As easy as i

A few months back I received an email from Lindsey who was plotting a secret baby shower and afternoon tea party for her friend Liz. She wanted to book me to pop over and teach them some of my delicious afternoon tea recipes in preparation for their own little feast later that afternoon. She had invited me to join her and 7 of her friends in Cottenham to set up base in one of their kitchens. Once we were ready she popped out t