Fashion Becomes Tea at The Kensington

Created to coincide with the V&A’s Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art, Fashion Becomes Tea takes one of London’s most civilised rituals and gives it a surrealist wink. The hotel is only minutes from the museum, which makes the experience feel like a delicious postscript to the exhibition itself. The V&A’s show is the first UK exhibition dedicated to Elsa Schiaparelli, tracing the house from the 1920s to its present-day life under Daniel Roseberry.

The pleasure here is in the way couture codes are translated into food in a very smart way. The pastries are expressive and deliberately playful, deliberately moulded to emulate Schiaperelli designs. Le Choux Shoe, a caramel choux bun with apricot gel and caramel chocolate is a nods to the designer’s famous upside-down shoe hat, made in collaboration with Salvador Dalí. Pink Parfum, inspired by the 1937 fragrance Shocking, arrives as a ruby chocolate bavarois with berries and cacao Sablé Breton. The Iconic Atelier, shaped like an eye, brings mandarin curd, orange jelly and white chocolate ganache to the table, while Le Trou de Serrure folds espresso and mascarpone into an opera gâteau with Italian and French references.

The savoury tier is no afterthought either. Cucumber, dill and cream cheese on black sesame charcoal brioche sits alongside roasted red pepper with hummus and black olive crumble, coronation chicken with apricot, and a beetroot, pecan and goat’s cheese tart. Then come The Kensington’s warm plain and fruit scones, properly familiar before the tea steps back into fantasy.

For those who prefer their surrealism with bubbles, Le Petite Bisou is the clever flourish: vodka, Amaro Santoni, Champagne, lychee, almond and hibiscus cordial, sealed with a black charcoal sugar lip. It is floral, pink and just theatrical enough. The K Bar continues the conceit with its own surrealist cocktail quartet, including Faux Gelato and Trompe-l’Œil.

All you need for a day of intellectual glamour. At £65 per person, or £80 with Le Petite Bisou or Charles Heidsieck, it is an afternoon tea with real editorial charm: pretty, witty and far more interesting than another pastel pastry parade.

Fashion Becomes Tea
The Kensington Hotel
109-113 Queen’s Gate, London
Reserve your table, HERE.a

Author: Lina Ress

Find out more about the exhibition, Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art, HERE.