Feature Secret Tea Room
We get a behind the scenes peek at Leeds' only secret afternoon tea party
Feature: Secret Tea Room
The idea of an afternoon tea party in a secret location has something very Alice In Wonderland about it. Especially when what’s being served all sounds so magical: indulgent cakes laden with giant strawberries and inches of thick cream; home-made macaroons in marvellous pastel colours; real tea brewed in vintage teapots and served in mismatched china.
And being curious as a Cheshire cat, we arranged to meet with the hostess of these underground parties – the woman we can only refer to as “Bakelady”. She prefers to remain anonymous, perhaps to maintain an air of mystery. She talked to us about the food she serves, what inspired her and how to get on the waiting list… as long as you’re not a “nutter”.
“I do the secret afternoon tea parties in my home – in a secret location in south Leeds,” she says. “Even the neighbours don’t know what’s going on.
“My home is a pretty unassuming 1920s semi in south Leeds. I don’t reveal the location to my guests until about a week before. I love creating a sense of mystery. I hold just one party a month, on a Saturday from 2-4pm, and I can accommodate for up to 12. As a guest, you don’t know where it will be, what the food will be like – of course, you run the risk of turning up at some nutter’s house! But I run the risk of getting some nutters as guests too! I vet everybody by doing a quick Google of their name beforehand – I don’t want anyone too odd in my home…
“My guests can rest assured that everything’s well above board. I try to be very professional – I got my health certificate last year and I’ve registered my kitchen with the local authority. It shows I’m taking this seriously and that I care about the food and my guests.
“There’ve been no arguments between guests and no romance (that I know of). Everyone always gets on very well – the conversations tend to revolve around food. I use the best ingredients (butter, never margarine), and make everything fresh in the morning. All my food is generally homemade or bought in Yorkshire. I really care about the ingredients and take a lot of time choosing what to serve; whether it’s Yorkshire-made chorizo for the tartlets or coffee and tea from the York Coffee Emporium (I’ve served their Yorkshire Harrogate Earl Grey and Yorkshire Harrogate Breakfast Leaf Teas and in October and November I’ll be serving the El Salvador San Miguel Coffee and Malawi Satemwa Leaf Tea, which, apparently, will go nicely with chocolate cake). Everything is locally-sourced and carefully-considered. My guests would pick up immediately if I was taking shortcuts like using squirty cream.
“I have a set menu – I’m not a restaurant. But I do take into account if people are vegetarian or vegan and make tasty food to suit them – I learnt how to make hummus and a veggie guest said it was the best they’d ever had.
“I don’t technically charge for the event, but there is a £12 suggested donation to cover the costs of buying the food. I’m not making a profit – I do it because I enjoy it. And I don’t advertise – the only way I promote it is through Twitter, this wouldn’t work as an underground thing without Twitter.
“It wasn’t programmes like Come Dine with Me that inspired me to do this. My real inspiration is MissMarmiteLover. She’s based in London and started the whole underground food movement in the UK. I became a fan of underground supper clubs through her and then realised there wasn’t anything like that going on in the north.
“I’m booked up until the end of the year. On top of that I’ve got a huge waiting list – I could do double the number of events and still not get through the list. Of course, I intend to keep doing this for as long as possible. It’s hard work, but very rewarding.”
To book a place, go to Bakelady’s blog (bakelady.wordpress.com) and contact her directly – alternatively follow her on Twitter @MySecretTeaRoom or visit www.secrettearoom.co.uk
Posted on Wednesday 1st September 2010
Sophie Haydock
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