Kensington Hotel Fashion Afternoon Tea.

Last Sunday my friend Catherine and I (yes, we both have the same name), went to try out the Kensington Hotel Fashion Forward Afternoon Tea, which has been created in celebration of the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Exhibition at the V&A, which is just around the corner. The afternoon tea included the standard afternoon tea fare, as well as cakes and pastries inspired by McQueen's iconic designs. I've been to the Kensington Hotel a couple of times before, and I just adore the contemporary boutique decor and luxury aspects.

After a bit of a slow start, our tea arrived; I opted for the Hibiscus which was delicious, while the other Catherine went for the English Breakfast. 

Then the tea stand appeared on our table, and our eyes grew wide at the huge amount of food in front of us. We had four sandwiches each, two scones (one plan and one fruit), three canape style treats, and then five cakes and pastries each. e a c h.

We decided it would be best if we just went for it, so we both decided to try and finish the whole lot. So we started with the sandwiches. They contained the traditional fail-safe fillings; chicken, salmon, egg, and cream cheese & cucumber. All of them were really very yummy, 

Then it was time for the trio of delicious canape treats; Dorset crab and artichoke cocktail, foie gras cornet with mango, and quail eggs adorned with edible gold (paying homage to the Bird's nest headdress made with Swarovski Gemstones for Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2006). This was where we had the biggest first world problem I think we've ever had "Oh...your lips are covered in gold...does that mean mine are too!?" "Yes, yours are as well!" "Ugh!". I mean it's not a bad thing to have your lips covered in edible gold, just a small inconvenience as it makes you look a bit silly. 

Anyway, after our canape treats we decided to have a short break and sip on our rose champagne while chatting about the latest goings on. Our conversations usually always revolve around men (why is finding a decent man in London so bloody hard!?) and clubland and what events we have coming up. Naturally there is almost always a bit of bitching too (yes, we are horrible people - maybe that's why we can't find decent men). I feel so sorry for the people who were sat next to us.

After our champagne break (which lasted all of 2 minutes), we started on the scones. I decided to forgo the plain scone and just have the fruit one, and save myself for the cakes and pastries. I was already feeling quite full, and I'm not much of a scone person anyway. The fruit scone I did have however, was perfect.

Finally we got to my favourite part - the cakes and pastries! I loved all of them, especially the red velvet and rose water cake/muffin presented in the style of the Butterfly Hat by Philip Treacy (as seen at McQueen’s Spring/Summer collection in 2008), and the buttermilk pannacotta with raspberry! Ugh, I could eat them all over again. But I musn't, for I will get fatter. And I have numerous bikinis to get into in September (more about this soon!).

We had such a lovely afternoon at the Kensington Hotel! It's such a calming place, and I love how it feels very understated and boutiquey, rather than screaming 'huge hotel full of tourists'. 

It would be the perfect place for an afternoon tea with a group of girl friends. The Kensington Hotel Forward Afternoon Tea is available for £35pp, and is running until 2nd August 2015. Although the service was patchy and quite slow at times, the food surpassed itself, especially the cakes! 

*Our afternoon tea was complimentary, but as always my views are completely my own.