Read on to learn Chef Wayne’s thoughts on afternoon tea, the inspiration behind the below 5 recipes, and – most importantly – whether it’s pronounced Scon or Scone!
Alternatively, you can skip straight to the tasty recipes here.
Why is it a good idea for care homes to offer afternoon tea?
Afternoon tea not only tastes great, it’s a good opportunity for care residents to be more social. As well as a meal, it’s an activity for the afternoon filled with food, celebration, dancing – all things which are excellent for the residents’ wellbeing. An afternoon tea service is an event that gets them out of bed and socialising, really.
It’s also good for nutrients and hydration. We’re always trying to find ways to get more calories into residents, so it’s a good way of doing this, as well as that extra fluid intake for hydration.
What was the inspiration behind these afternoon tea recipes?
These recipes are good for chefs who are new to care and need a bit of inspiration. They might be seeing trending food and recipes and wonder how they can adapt this to the care sector, and that’s exactly what we’ve tried to achieve here – we want to inspire chefs to make care cooking a bit more interesting.
So these really adapt what those chefs are seeing on the high-street into their workplace, like the nostalgia trend, as well as those bold, strong flavours.
These recipes in particular are also great for creating joyful mealtimes for residents – most residents love a slice of cake, don’t they! They’ve all got a very sweet tooth. When the dishes are well cooked and presented, it creates that overall positive experience for residents.
I’d say it’s important that you don’t do all of these recipes at once, so you don’t overwhelm the residents. Pick 2-3 for the day and focus on doing these really well.
Are these recipes transferable to other sectors?
Yes, why not! Everyone loves an afternoon tea, don’t they. Most kitchens are now open all day, so it’s a good way of getting customers in during the afternoon to get in that extra revenue.
It’s also the perfect way of using up products. If you’ve got fruit to use up you can to make things like the jam for the scones, or leftover vegetables can go in a savoury scone or sandwiches. This is a good way of reducing waste – if you’ve got the product then why not use it up?
Everyone at the moment is looking at afternoon tea, bottomless brunches etc, so these recipes will definitely fit the B&I sector, hotels, restaurants to name a few.
It’s got that modern twist and feel about it, and again if you’re looking a trends, why not include a bit of this on your menu.
What are your tips for venues which are short staffed or low skilled when creating these recipes?
Make these desserts in bulk. For example, for the Black Forest gateau, cook a whole load of it and freeze the sponges to save on time and skill. I’ve tried to keep these particular recipes as simple as possible and broken down step by step, meaning low skilled chefs can make them.
I’d also recommend having a look at seasonal produce, as this will help lower costs.
(For more recipes and tips on this, explore our Unlock Your Menu page here)
What’s your favourite afternoon tea product and why?
Umm… my favourite is a scone! Purely for the fact it’s so diverse – I’ve made it with a lemon curd and poppy seeds for this recipe, but you can quite easily add different flavour fruits throughout the year to match the seasons. But me being both a savoury guy and a sweet tooth, you can actually turn these scones savoury and add things like cheese in, different flavours for different regions. You can even put bacon through there, a bacon crust.
Scon or scone?
Scone!
Top 5 recipes:
1. Lemon, raspberry scone with lemon curd cream
Strawberries and cream? No thanks. Lemon and raspberry is the new classic combo for scones!
Top tip: Serve in half portions for small bite size portions
View the full recipe here.
2. Black Forest gateau pots
Served whole or potted into portions, this classic and well-loved dessert is a great way to enjoy traditional flavours. Top with cream and fresh fruit for an extra sweet offering!
Top tip: make this dessert in bulk and separate into smaller portions to freeze and defrost when required.
View the full recipe here.
3. Lemon raspberry white choc sponge
The ultimate British pud, this tasty cake has the lightest sponge and a vibrant fresh filling. It’s sure to go down a treat and can be personalised and adapted for any occasion – here we’ve topped it with spun sugar for the wow factor!
Top tip: top with seasonal, fresh fruit.
View the full recipe here.
4. Quorn and feta tostada
Packed with flavour, this dish is a perfect and unique addition to an afternoon tea offering.
Top tip: Don’t overload the canopy! Granted, it’s easily done
View the full recipe here.
5. Sriracha prawn vol-au-vent
These combine an old school favourite feel with a retro twist of bold, tangy and sweet flavours… delish!
Top tip: be sure to keep these small so they are bite size portions.
View the full recipe here.
There you have it, Chef Wayne’s top 5 recipes for afternoon tea!
We have lots of support available for your care home. Whether it’s our e-learning platform Caterers Campus to learn everything from dysphasia to diabetes, or to get some more recipe inspiration – it’s all available on our care homes page here. Keep an eye out for more support on catering for diabetes very soon…
