LONDON, June 10 — London’s legendary luxury department store has succumbed to the charm of French patisserie.
For the first time in its history, Harrods Tea Rooms is inviting not one but four of France’s finest pastry chefs — Pierre Herme, Cedric Grolet, Yann Couvreur and Angelo Musa — to create bespoke afternoon tea menus for its “French Collection” summer series.
Shopping sprees at the British capital’s Harrods department store have never been so delicious.
This summer, the legendary Knightsbridge store is inviting four of Paris’s most prominent pastry chefs to create custom afternoon tea menus for the Harrods Tea Rooms. Each chef will serve up tasty treats for 10 days as part of a rotating residency in the store’s sumptuous fourth-floor tea room.
The current king of French patisserie, Pierre Herme, kicks off this Gallic-flavoured season from July 19.
The chef will notably be serving his famous Ispahan macaron with rose, raspberry and lychee flavours, while also revisiting his millefeuille, infusing it with the Harrods Knightsbridge coffee blend.
The menu will also feature his “Tarte Infiniment Vanille” and “Carrement Chocolat” creations.
This French residency will also offer Londoners and visitors a taste of the luxury Parisian hotel experience with its second guest, Angelo Musa, executive pastry chef at the Plaza Athenee, frequented by some of the world’s most prestigious names and high-profile celebrities.
The patissier of Italian descent will be sure to serve up his signature vanilla tart. Angelo Musa’s afternoon tea menu will be served August 2-11.
Yann Couvreur then takes over August 16-25 with his hazelnut and chocolate “merveille” — his take on the “merveilleux” cake that British foodies may already know thanks to the London outpost of Lille’s “Aux Merveilleux de Fred.”
The young chef goes bold for this London stint, cooking up his version of the British afternoon tea staple, the scone, with apricot and vanilla.
The final slot, August 30 to September 6, will be helmed by Cedric Grolet, one of France’s most celebrated chefs of the moment on Instagram and in patisserie classes the world over.
The sculpted fruit desserts that made him famous will be crossing the Channel, notably with a new version of his lemon and a Royal Gala apple. His hazelnutty take on the Paris-Brest will also be on the menu.
For the occasion, the star chef will also concoct a new exclusive dessert called the “The Bee,” made using Harrods Cotswolds Honey. Yann Couvreur and Angelo Musa will also craft exclusive patisseries for the event.
Prior booking at Harrods is required to sample the special French Collection afternoon tea menus, priced £65 per person (RM345). — AFP-Relaxnews
