New afternoon tea collaboration with Great British Bake Off finalist

‘Great British Bake Off’ fans are in for a treat or even two as a new collaboration between The Swan at Lavenham Hotel and Spa and ‘Great British Bake Off’ finalist and Netflix ‘Baking Impossible’ Judge, Andrew Smyth has inspired the creation of the hotel’s latest exclusive afternoon tea.

Andrew Smyth, who made it to the final of the last BBC ‘Great British Bake Off’ in 2016 and then went onto produce and judge Netflix’s ‘Baking Impossible’ has been working alongside The Swan’s Head Chef, Jon Ellis and Pastry Chef, Sarah Gilbert to create the exclusive menu which will run for six weeks only.

An aerospace engineer graduating from Cambridge in 2013, Andrew is the creator of Bakineering, a mix of baking and engineering, and a Judge and Executive Producer of the Netflix series ‘Baking Impossible’. He has also baked a cake for HRH Prince William.

Thrilled to be working with The Swan, Andrew said; “During my visit I was blown away by the history, warm welcome and incredible surroundings, so it really is a dream collaboration to work with the team to design an afternoon tea to treat yourself to this autumn. Expect 15^th century surroundings and a nod to my time on ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and ‘Baking Impossible’."

James Sanders, General Manager at The Swan at Lavenham Hotel and Spa, added; “We’re always developing our afternoon tea, so this collaboration suits with our joint passion for innovation.

“From initial concepts through to delivery, working with Andrew was an absolute pleasure and we are sure that our guests will be delighted with the newest edition to our afternoon tea menu.”

The delicate finger sandwiches include smoked salmon and lemon cream cheese, egg mayonnaise and ham and mustard, as well as the ‘must have’ cucumber. Homemade plain and sultana scones follow topped with clotted cream and jams with a generous serving of two per person.

The third course is a delicious selection of individual cakes and pastries.

Amazing to both the eye and palate, the ‘showstopper’ of the afternoon tea is inspired by his time on both the BBC and Netflix shows. A white chocolate mousse with ‘fruits of the forest’, namely pickled blackberries and blackberry gel topped with roasted pistachios and a pistachio tuille, sits inside a white chocolate hemisphere ‘boat’ floating on blue sugar syrup. Flavours for the invention come from Andrew’s week seven creation for ‘The Great British Bake Off’ while the fully edible boat is inspired by a ‘Baking Impossible’ task set by Andrew to contestants.

There’s also carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, baked cheesecake with orange and hazelnut and cherry and pistachio Battenberg for guests to enjoy, all served with unlimited refills of your chosen Novus Tea or coffee.

Presented on fine bone china, the autumn afternoon tea can be enjoyed in the hotel’s elegant Gallery restaurant or the cosy lounges near a warming open fire until 26 November.

Served Monday-Saturday from 12noon until 4pm, and between 2.30pm and 4pm on Sundays until the end of September, its priced at £27.50 per person or from £36.50 with a celebratory glass of bubbles.

Pre-booking is essential either online at www.theswanatlavenham.co.uk, by calling 01787 247477 or email info@theswanatlavenham.co.uk. Please advise any special dietary needs in advance.