Everybody Must Get Sconed: A Ritzy Tea Affair

I was chatting with my good friend British actor Nicholas Hosking about scones, and he enthusiastically decreed, "there are no finer scones than the ones you get with an afternoon tea at the Ritz Hotel in London.

In fact, tea at the Ritz is one of life's great joys!" I looked up the Ritz London on the web and found a glorious room and sumptuous tea menu-and, alas, a very long waiting list.

So why not do it yourself? Create your own afternoon tea with some delicious scones as the crowning jewel to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or simply for a downright royal time any time at all.

Designing the drama and elegance of tea at the Ritz in your own home or backyard is easy with my Putting on the Ritz tea menu and easy pro tips! 

• Best to make the sandwiches right before serving as the bread can dry out quite quickly.
• One of the tricks we use in catering is to make the sandwiches in the morning and cover loosely with wax paper, then a damp kitchen towel. '
• Make sure the kitchen towel has been well wrung out and is truly damp, store in the fridge till you are ready to serve.

• For convenience, you can prepare some of your ingredients in advance.
• For example, the cucumbers can be sliced the night before and stored in a plastic or glass sealed container.
• This will make the assembly of the tea sandwiches really easy on the day of your royal high tea!