One of our newest Chamber members, Jane from the Wealden Kitchen, explains a recent afternoon delight…
At the outset of lockdown, I anticipated that our kitchen, which had only recently been re-accredited with five stars with Wealden Council Environmental Health, would be dormant for a while and that business would be paperwork, menu planning and maybe a bit of recipe testing. Four weeks later, after validating my thoughts with the Food Hygiene team, I decided that there was one option I could pursue whilst still socially distancing and working within all the guidelines that had been set. So, I started promoting home delivered, home baked afternoon teas via social media as a way, in particular, for families to treat self-isolating parents, just because they could or for a special occasion.
Little could I have anticipated the popularity and it hasn’t just been anniversary and birthday celebrations that the teas have been used for; one client ordered eight teas to deliver to friends so they could all enjoy them whilst having a “Zoom” call together.
Seeing, from a distance, the delight on people’s faces when they receive a ribbon tied box, and then getting messages of thanks, along with photos of the teas laid out on people’s own china, or on a picnic rug with a bottle of bubbly for a celebration, has been a joy.
But afternoon teas aren’t just for lockdown and they will continue to be a big part of what we offer on an ongoing basis.
If you’d like to treat someone socially distanced from you in the Uckfield area to an Afternoon Tea you can email Jane at jane@thewealdenkitchen.co.uk