Exclusive Chocolate Afternoon Tea at Harvey Nichols to Celebrate the "Art of Scent"
November 18, 2015A little while ago, my superb blogger friend Faith asked if I wanted to join her for afternoon tea. I, of course, could hardly turn such an invitation down. The afternoon tea in question was not to be any old afternoon tea, oh no - it was to be in Harvey Nichols, with a menu designed by chocolatier Paul A. Young, and as such was chocolate themed. Erm, yes please! This exclusive afternoon tea event was created to celebrate the Art of Scent throughout October, which aimed to explore the relationship between various elements and scent, such as food and fashion. So, one afternoon, we made our way to Harvey Nichols, preparing to be indulge in a sumptuous chocolate extravaganza.
Now, whenever I intend to write a post for my blog, I always try to be as honest as I can, and give you the reasons why I think what I do - whether good or bad. With this in mind, I have to tell you right from the start that I was disappointed with this afternoon tea, pretty much from the moment we arrived. There are several reasons why this is the case, which I will be explaining further throughout this post; but let's start from the beginning. When me and Faith arrived, had sat down and started going about the business of the afternoon, the staff seemed to have no idea who we were or what was going on. I don't mean that in a "Err, don't you know who I am?" kind of way; I mean it in the sense that Faith explained that we were there for review, and were scheduled to meet two ladies from Harvey Nichols' PR team, and no one seemed to know a thing about it. Presumably the staff had not been told about us; which is not the staff's fault, but for me especially it made the situation a little uncomfortable. Secondly, it has to be pointed out that I do not actually drink tea. In 99.5% of cases, I really dislike it. As such, when asked what we would like to drink, I expressed an interest in a hot chocolate. The server dissuaded me from this choice, saying that I would find it "too much with all the chocolate". At the time, I felt that this was a sincere recommendation and I took him up on it, opting for a pot of tea instead (which, if you were interested, was nicer than others I had tried in the past but I'm still not a fan). As you will see below, there were four items on the menu that contained chocolate, but it was not at all what I would called "too much". In fact, it was a lot less than I had expected, for such an emphasis to have been placed on the chocolate aspect. That isn't to say that I expected every item to contain it, but it definitely could have been explored more thoroughly with this menu. As a whole, I felt that the menu was uninspired.
Let's move on, and talk about what was included in this afternoon tea for us to try. First of all, was a trio of sandwiches; Cucumber, Poppy Seed and Mascarpone, Roast Beef and Horseradish, and finally Savoury Chocolate Ganache with Gorgonzola. These looked promising at first, and I have to say that I did really enjoy the beef and the horseradish; very well balanced, and the filling was nice and generous. However, the cucumber, poppy seed and mascarpone combination was just too bland for me. It was very creamy, but it needed something to bring out that quality, and cucumber didn't really cut it. Instead, it was a bit too much of a good thing. Lastly, the chocolate ganache and gorgonzola both me and Faith agreed was not to our taste. I appreciate what Paul A. Young was trying to achieve here - it certainly makes you sit upright and really taste what you are eating, but I believe that gorgonzola was the wrong choice for this experimentation. It was extremely overpowering, and left a bitter, unpleasant aftertaste that refused to budge for some time. Something slightly milder, like a brie, could have worked better. The ganache was also very rich, and these two elements both fought for attention - for me, neither of them won.
Next, we moved onto the scones, and we were excited to try these. What is an afternoon tea without a scone or two? There were two varieties with this one; traditional fruit served with jam and clotted cream, and the more unusual brown sugar, with salted caramel and clotted cream. The latter in particular really got my taste buds tingling, and I couldn't wait to get stuck in. However, we were disappointed to find that the scones were stale; to the point where I couldn't eat the brown sugar one because it was rock hard. They had clearly been left out somewhere for a while before being served to us, and I expect better from somewhere like Harvey Nichols. What we did have tasted lovely, but the texture really let us down. The salted caramel is definitely for those who have a major sweet tooth, as when combined with the clotted cream, it is purely a delight. However, without resorting to sticking my knife in the tub and eating it on its own, I couldn't enjoy it properly, which is such a shame as I was really looking forward to it.
Desserts galore greeted us next, in the form of three items; Rose Crunch Cake, Chocolate Pecan Tart, and Carrot and Chocolate Chip Cake with Coconut Infused Frosting. The rose crunch cake Faith very accurately described as a "marmite" option; it was extremely fragrant, and tasted nearly exactly like Turkish Delight, but in cake form. I personally really enjoyed it, and was pleased to discover that the sponge was soft and not dry at all. The crunch on top of the cake provided tiny little bursts of flavour, and made it into something special. That being said, if you don't like rose then this will be your worst nightmare! The chocolate pecan tart was another good item, but I have to say is one of those that I felt was a "filler"; uninspired, and not exactly displaying one's creative ability off to their full potential. You can have a chocolate tart in many, many restaurants; and one that I tried recently was certainly more luxurious and enjoyable than this one. There was nothing wrong with the tart per se, but I felt that it could have been so much more. Finally, the carrot and chocolate chip cake I have to tell you I really didn't like at all. Like the scones, the sponge was dry, and weirdly so was the icing on top, which broke off in one piece. I usually like carrot cake, but the texture on this one was just not right; and as such, I took one bite and left the rest. If the quality had been assured, I probably would have enjoyed this item, but it was let down by the fact that it clearly wasn't fresh.
However, not everything on the menu was unfavourable, and I have left the standout item until last. The Moroccan Spiced Chocolate Pot had that air of sophistication and intrigue that I had expected of the entire ensemble, and left me wanting more. Me and Faith spent a few good minutes trying to figure out what spices had been used, but I would say that we were largely unsuccessful as the flavours were so delightfully complex, yet not overpowering. The chocolate was smooth, rich and melted in the mouth, with the Moroccan spices adding the unique twist unlike anything I've ever had before. It was truly fantastic, and I'm sad that I can say this only about one item from the chocolate afternoon tea. Our afternoon tea was complimentary, but at a price of £20 per person, if I had paid that I would have been even more disappointed. The previous (and first!) afternoon tea I'd had from elsewhere, strangely only a couple of weeks before, was priced at a few pounds less and was infinitely better in quality and deliverance. From Harvey Nichols, I would expect only the very best, and I cannot say that this is what I found. The quality of the food brought out really let some of it down; a higher degree of care needs to be taken it order to keep food as fresh as possible. For a menu that promised to "tantalise the taste buds", I felt that it was severely lacking and I can't say that I would recommend it if it was to come around again. I would be interested to try their "regular" afternoon tea to see how this compares, but for now I have to say - sorry Harvey Nichols, you have disappointed me!
Disclaimer: Our afternoon tea was complimentary, but this does not affect my opinion in any way.
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