Last Friday i held my Long overdue Mary Poppins themed Afternoon Tea. I had got all the props besides the plates and then just left to plan the menu. For this i brought all the Mary Poppins Books and the original film to pick out references and food mentions. The Books were very interesting and you can see how the film was inspired by bits from them. At the time the Shard in London also had it`s Mary Poppins Tea which i looked at and took inspiration from.

The first item i got was the Mary Poppins Costume which was from Tesco from world Book day. Found it by chance and had no pricetag was £12 on sale missing the hat and cardboard umbrella. It laid away for some time until Primark brought out the Mary Poppins range before Mary Poppins 2 come out. I missed the plates as they did not go on sale as i had hoped.

I found the Mary Poppins 2 Teaset from the Disneyshop half price long after the film had come out. I had to get 2 as one set has 1 Teapot and 2 Cups. £22.50 each instead of £45.00 each. Then came the Carpet Bag from Primark the Parrot Umbrella from iwoot and some bits from Ebay.

The menu is always the most difficult part for me taking ideas and making them into symbolic dishes inspired from the film/books. The theming and decorating i can easily do. I often have tons of treats on offer which i whittle down and even then i still have many.

After all that was sorted then figure out when to do it, i spend my work holidays doing one at least. I had 2 weeks off in September so 1 week will be the day.

I try to make the Teas as immersive as possible with the colourful backdrops, props and costumes. I got myself a Jolly Holiday Bert costume, as did mum just for pictures. I was to wear a Chimney sweep outfit i made from items i already had, with the help of a Chimney sweep Brush i got off Ebay last minute. I made several Kites from Cardboard and hung above us for decoration. My Dad was Mr Banks most appropriate as he in real life worked for the Bank for over 30 years.

Umbrella Trinket dish for Teabags from Debenhams xmas sale £3 each, Mary Poppins spoons 1964 x2 Ebay. Yellow Tape lanyard i unpicked to make it a measuring tape.
Love these Mary Poppins Spoons from 1964 excellent condition so detailed. Got 2 from
Ebay

THE MENU

So taking inspiration from the films and Books i come up with a quirky Menu with references from Characters and moments.

  • Sandwiches Beef Horseradish/wasabi
  • Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese ( smoke chimney reference)
  • Cheese & Pickle
  • Lapsang Souchong Smoky Tea fruit loaf ( smoke Chimney reference again)
  • Chimney cakes filled with Chantilly Cream and also Oreo covered Chocolate ones later filled with Chocolate Cherry Mousse
  • Mr Turvys upside down Onion Tarts ( Mary Poppins Books Mrs Topsy and Mr Turvy become Topsy Turvy when they get together.
  • Smoked Applewood & Bacon Quiche slices
  • Marys Raspberry Tarts – recipe in the Mary Poppins cookbook inspired by Marys Raspberry Cakes strike me pink she loves.
  • Mrs Calicos Puff Pastry Peppermint Sticks – A character that appears in the Mary Poppins Book who is a confectioner who sells peppermint sticks which are actually Horses you ride. These were Puff pastry twists filled with Peppermint chocolate, white chocolate and Candycane pieces.
  • Mrs Coreys Gingerbread – Another Character appears in the film briefly and books in a different role.
  • Spoonful of Sugar – Biscuit Spoon with a White Chocolate Coconut Sugarcube
  • Cherry Scone – with Maraschino Cherries and served with Clotted Cream and Cherry Preserves.

Almost everything went to plan beside the Carpet Bag dessert and the Sugar Cube because i run out of White Chocolate. The Carpet Bag was to be a Chocolate handbag filled with Chocolate Cherry Mousse and a floral rice paper print on the outside. It stuck in the mould twice and when it come out was not as pretty as it could have been. Find out below what happened to it.

My 1st time making a Chimney cake, i brought a special mould for it off Ebay. As it traditionally is cooked over a fire or spit and turned. Wind it round the cylindrical mould and bake it in the oven. Coat in Butter and Cinnamon Sugar and fill with your choice. I chose Cinnamon Sugar for the 1st and the other i coated in a makeshift Chocolate Ganache and rolled in Oreo crumbs. Filled with Chantilly Cream. This come out super well and will be making it again.

As Usual was all filmed live via facebook and Dad in charge of the Music . Check out the link below live as it happened Cockney accents and all. Mum had the idea of appearing from behind the screen like Mary Poppins arriving with the menu.

Maraschino Cherry Scones served with Clotted Cream and my own Sour Cherry & Morello Cherry Jams

PICTURE TIME

Got some nice pics from the Tea with Chimney Sweep Bert, Jolly Holiday Bert. Mary Poppins and Jolly holiday Mary Poppins plus Mr Banks

What happened to Marys Handbag dessert?

The Chocolate Handbag saga actually come together but not enough finesse so the Chocolate Cherry Mousse was taken out the middle and used a a filling in the leftover Oreo Chimney Cake for Dessert another day. Part of the original bag/mousse was melted down to make a Chocolate coating to stick the Oreo crumbs on the Chimney cake. So no waste.

LEFTOVERS

Usually into work it would go, but i am on holiday and there was not much left. What was left was eaten in the following days the Quiche, onion Tarts Beef and Smoked Salmon for a cold cuts meal. The Chimney Cakes were filled with the Chocolate Cherry Mousse.

I still have some Jam Tarts and the Peppermint Sticks left, which we will have tonight. The Fruit tea loaf has been recycled into something else. Leftover Oreos and some of the Chocolate from the Bag have been used to make some PB Oreo Trufles. I hate waste and try to do my best to limit it. Only a few items were thrown that dried out or went stale. The Spoon Biscuits went a bit soft so were smashed into a Biscuit base for a Chocolate pudding yesterday.

Changes and FINAL THOUGHTS

  • Remember to buy extra White Chocolate- this was for the Sugar cubes to make a Jasmine infused Ganache inside the outer shell. Inspired by a Tea truffle i had from the Heston Chocolate Teapot gift set.
  • add some extra strong Cheese and more Smoked Cheese to the Quiche.
  • Take pictures with the Kites ( Lets go fly a Kite)
  • Alternative Smoked Cheese & Bacon Toastie with Sandwiches
  • Move backdrop closer to table as when reversed camera shows door open.
  • Possibly use phone instead of Tablet for better sound/picture

I was happy with how it went overall and the video antics with music and costumes. Every Tea has aspects i want to change or improve on. I think i have left room for a 2nd return of Mary Poppins Tea. I have ideas i did not use in this and snippets from the 2nd film i could use. So watch this space

As Mary Poppins says ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IF YOU LET IT

thanks for reading

Adam x