One Stiletto At A Time

Whilst in England my fabulous sister took me for afternoon tea at The Berkeley in London, this wasn’t a traditional afternoon tea it was a fashionista afternoon tea. The Berkeley London designer afternoon tea, Prêt-à-Portea, is inspired by the themes and colours of the fashion world. It changes every 6 months in order to correlate with the fashion season. I attended the Spring/Summer 2013 Prêt-à-Portea collection which sees designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Alexander McQueen and Prada grace the Berkeley’s tea stand.

We started our Afternoon Tea in the Berkeley’s cocktail bar indulging in some bubbly and the most delicious snacks.

£4500 for a bottle of champagne anyone?

A selection of mouth-watering sandwiches arrive alongside a large cake stand filled with utterly exquisite sweet treats. Each inspired by a particular item of clothing or accessory from a designer.

This truly is a deceiving afternoon tea as at first you feel all the items will never be enough for two people but after you finish they offer to bring you a whole new cake stand as well as more sandwiches and even offer you the choice to take some treats home. So make sure you are very hungry before attending.

These are the descriptions of some items…

Balenciaga modern monochrome dark and white chocolate mousse dress set on a pecan nut brownie topped with flamenco ruffles.

Alexander McQueen whimsical yellow honeycomb cream oversized dress topped with marzipan bee.

Jonathan Saunders eye-popping ombré polka dot lemon and orange blossom dome shift dress set on a short bread biscuit.

Prada Geisha-like white chocolate and Grand Marnier oversized coat embellished with red poppies.

Oscar de la Renta playful high-waisted peach-pink bavarois shorts embellished with strawberry compote rosettes.

Dolce & Gabbana Sicilian chic pistachio green and vanilla striped pannacotta dress topped with chocolate ring.

Jason Wu coconut “Carolyn” hatbox shaped cake bag sandwiched in retro leopard print chocolate.

This is the Tory Burch’s glamorous violet halterneck biscuit bikini with magenta icing and tasted incredible. I honestly couldn’t believe a biscuit could have so many deep flavours.

The Berkley also offers a divine selection of teas…I opted for White Peony loose tea and my sister chose Amazing Apple. I loved how subtle the flavour of my tea was with a delicate peony fragrance and after taste. My sister found her apple tea rather odd and difficult to drink as it had too many spices and actual apple chunks in it.

With a glass of Laurent-Perrier it is £49.00 per person or £39 without the bubbles. Overall an Afternoon Tea that every fashion lover should attend at least once in their lifetime if not once every season!