I have now completed my 2nd time traveling theme Afternoon Tea now this 1970s and the previous 1940s one. It had never occurred to me to do a back in time theme even though i do love retro vintage stuff.

I try to create the most immersive Afternoon Teas i can with the Food, Crockery and props. It is much like Party and event planning. I was very happy with how this turned out and probably had the most comments and people tuning in live to date.

LIVE AS IT HAPPENED https://www.facebook.com/adamthepastryguy/videos/4086302181412436

Where to begin? first for me is the Crockery, can i get a Teapot and Cups etc. Answer is yes but which one. I fell in love with a design called Lotus made by J& G meakin 1969 which was designed by Jessie Tait (whoever that is) No teapot but a Coffee pot and Coffee Cups, but they will suffice. Get them Coffee pot handle broken. Order another one okay. Find pieces gradually over a period of months on Ebay. Find the mother load a week before my Tea 56pcs lot Cups, plates, Bowls Tureens etc. Reality 50% of it is smashed in the post as it is very inadequately wrapped. It would not be so bad if i could replace it, but i cant. This pattern was not commonplace in searches to some others . I luckily found plates from 2 other sellers and what survived from this lot.

It was difficult to find a Teapot, as most of the sets in the 70s are Coffee pots and Coffee Cups. It cost more than some of the other whole lots !

Looking at the 1970s lots of Orange and Brown. Especially with the Crockery set. I ordered an Orange Tablecloth to go with it and it worked perfectly.

THE FOOD

The 1970s offers no shortage of ideas for dishes and Whacky creations. I made a menu up of popular dishes and some of my own creations. More savoury this time around than sweet. Comprising of foods like Angel delight which was super popular in the 70s, Quiche Lorraine, Chicken Kievs which went on sale in M&S in 1979. Black forest Gateau, Artic Rolls, Vol au vents and Babycham.

Scones, Chicken & Mushroom Vol au Vents, Quiche Lorraine Sandwiches, Black Forest Gateaux

I did a lot of research for the menu concept and found the most popular Sandwich in the 1970s was Ham Salad ( Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Ham) and i also made a creation of my own. Based around the Cheese & Pineapple Hedgehog i made a Cheese & Pineapple Toastie. This worked well sort of tasted like a Hawaiian Pizza. 2 people yes 2 people no. Their was also a Cheese Fondue which had some snags it did not want to melt uniformly.

It was my 1st time making a Quiche, basically a savoury Custard! With Bacon and Cheese and i served it cold, although you can heat it also.

For the sweet selection i had Strawberry Angel delight, Artic Roll and Black Forest Gateaux. Angel delight debuted in 1967 in a Strawberries & Cream flavour. Several flavours were available then including Black Cherry, Peach, Lime, Tangerine, Lemon. Now we just have Strawberry, Banana, Butterscotch, Chocolate and White Chocolate limited edition. I was brought up on Angel delight in the 90s so would have loved to try all those retired. flavours.

Artic Roll was invented earlier in the 1950s but popularised and largely manufactured in the early 1970s.

I have never had Babycham, and thought it was a Sparkling wine not a Perry made from Pears so like Cider. Of course i had to get some Babycham Glasses for this. Babycham was Launched in 1953 and was most popular in 1970s. In 1973 144,000 bottles were being produced each hour. I also found out how to date the Glasses. The Yellow Fawn is 1970s with a Gold rim and Babycham logo on base. The earlier 1960s Glasses are a Tan colour Fawn. The 1950s saw the Fawn be White. Over the years also saw changes to the Babycham logo, the stem of the Glass and the Gold rim around the Glass.

WHACKY RECIPES AND CREATIONS

Searching through websites and recipes archives, there is a treasure trove of unusual recipes. Some downright absurd like Ham and Bananas and some interesting creations. Like this Party Sandwich Loaf popular in the 60s/70s comprising of layers of Bread with different fillings and covered in a Cream Cheese frosting. This was a modern day recipe so must still be around. The idea of a Chicken filling below a fish filling is a bit stomach churning. So i made the whole loaf Salmon. It fooled everyone looking like a Cake. Some thought it was a Meatloaf or ice cream Cake

I put dad in charge of the Disco Music and got a Disco background for some photos later. I ordered a Jumpsuit and a Black Bob Wig and moustache. The pairing looked great very Sonny without Cher. I just about got into the Jumpsuit!

OVERVIEW CHANGES

This was the 1st Afternoon Tea to be more savoury than sweet, but did work well. All of the food got eaten up afterwards and reused for other days meals/desserts. Their are not many changes i would have made just a few below.

  • Sort out the Fondue mix, was not right consistency and cut the Bread into Cubes
  • Use Smoked Salmon in the Loaf cake instead of Tinned, less Cream Cheese frosting
  • Bigger Disco backdrop for pictures, this was just a plastic one
    • need a Disco Ball
    • Cocktail Cherry in the Babycham Glass i was informed by dad and Sarah about this!

This was a fun Afternoon Tea with less dishes than my usual offering. I was still late though ( insert sigh) I am glad quite a few people tuned in and commented who have not before. And thanks for all the comments.

I think we will be revisting the 1970s so watch this space for the RETURN TO THE 70S TEA. I think their are plenty more dishes and recipes weird and wonderful, i can bring together for another evening. With the changing influx of different cultures bringing food to Britain, their is loads more to explore. Vesta Meals, the growth of Freezers and powercuts.

Watch this space Thanks for reading

Adam x