Food Critics Dr Shagufta Ahmed and Farrukh Younus make connections between their love of art, cake and foreign cities which all converged into one glorious afternoon at the Rosewood Hotel’s Art Afternoon Tea Series in London.
There are over 850 galleries in London. This is a city that caters to all sensibilities, offering artworks from the classic to the contemporary, there is something for everyone.
As lovers of food and art, we were delighted to find art expressed in the medium of food; imagine the joy of eating a Banksy gateau or chomping down a Dali lobster!
At the Rosewood Hotel, resident Chef Mark Perkins delivers to this idea by reimagining the Masters’ most iconic works within a new frame – the traditional English afternoon tea.
Awarded Pastry Chef of the Year 2023 by the Craft Guild of Chefs, Perkins’s creativity comes alive on the plate. Carefully crafting well-known masterpieces with more panache than pastiche, we began the repast with a very well curated selection of specialty teas.
The Brume De Jasmin, as the name suggests was a delicate blend of jasmine flowers with Pat Mu Tan from the Fujian province, China. The light touch takes me back to my time in Xiamen and it was a soft palette start to prepare for the headiness of what followed.
Classic halal sandwiches such as delicately smoked salmon, cucumber, and beef – was as expected, however, it was the truffled egg mayonnaise sandwich which perched on an onion brioche and crowned with tomato confit that topped the charts. It was the best sandwich I had eaten this year. I ordered it twice.
English scones were freshly baked and moist and served with side of homemade lemon curd and English strawberry jam. Again, ordinary fare for an afternoon tea.
Then there was the unexpected. Salvador Dali’s iconic Lobster Telephone.
The experience transported me from China to Liege in Belgium, where a few years earlier, I was fortunate to meet Dali’s godson, where, among other things, I had a close encounter with a Dali’s lobster in a variety of other iterations. A tale for another day. However, this afternoon tea created connections between memory, space and taste which was also unexpected – yet charming.
The other hero had to be Banksy’s Girl with Balloon. Perkins interpretation was a playful white chocolate cube filled with a light vanilla cream chow, salted caramel, and chocolate crémeux.
The Girl with Balloon fell under the hammer for USD 1.4 Million at a Sotheby Auction in 2018, which was then, after its partial shredding, was re-titled Love is in the Bin and re-sold for a whopping USD 25.4 million in 2021. In 2024, I can only say that, in a third shredding, I smashed this creamy cube with a forkful of joy – for free.
Then there was Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can which was transliterated from an acrylic twenty-year choix de dejeuner of Warhol into a flourless afternoon sponge tea cake filled with cherry jelly, chocolate mousse, vanilla crémeux and a red glaze to signify the iconic red banner of the soup can.
Once again, I found myself transported to another city, Chicago, where I sojourned for a year. It is famously windy, and I was blown away by Perkins Art Afternoon Tea Series. Whether you’re an art lover or not, there is a merry-memory moment in every bite.
Notes from the Editor: We are pleased to introduce our newest FoodHub Critics, Dr Shagufta Ahmed and Food Producer and Writer at Implausibleblog Farrukh Younus.
Dr Ahmed was Italian Embassy Pesto Champion (2013 London), and together with Younus, both are regular Food Judges at Great Taste Awards, Quality Food Awards and The Academy of Chocolate Awards in London.
As a duo on all things delicious, we are pleased to bring our MNATION community their discernment on all things delectable around London and beyond.
To find out more, visit X for Dr Ahmed @PestoChampion or Younus @implausibleblog
