High Tea at Hippopotamus

Please note this article was written in 2017. The Hippopotamus High Tea now only operates on a Saturday and Sunday. To book your High Tea please visit our website.

words by niall roeder

Let us take you on a tantalising trip down memory lane…

Mid 2015, the team at QT Museum Wellington overcame 20 teams from 13 countries to be crowned the world champions of high tea (yes, that’s a thing). Executive Chef Laurent Loudeac and Restaurant Manager Camille Furminieux, of Hippopotamus stole the show with their high tea degustation menu – matching the aroma and flavour of 12 different teas to a selection of dishes.

This isn’t your standard brew and biscuit, this is taking the cuppa to the next-level.

The winning menu involved pairing Dilmah teas and tea cocktails with three savoury and three sweet morsels, two of which included tea in the recipe.

The sophisticated spread, titled “The Meeting of the Senses”, featured duck consommé infused with Dilmah jubilee tea, and a crepe suzette matched with a tea-infused mocktail. Loudeac’s signature salmon sashimi with wasabi was also part of the culinary escapade, matched with a single estate Ran Watte tea.

I know what you’re thinking – if it’s as tasty as it is fancy, then it must be delicious. Well, the proof is in the strawberry tea infused mille feuille… which was also part of the degustation, and by all accounts was also mouth-watering.

“We are blown away with the win – it’s very humbling and really puts New Zealand on the world stage when it comes to offering high tea with a twist. I guess you could say the tea revolution is underway – it’s becoming increasingly popular to make tea part of cooking as it’s so versatile to use in gastronomy” – Executive Chef Laurent Loudeac

High Tea at Hippopotamus is available Wednesday to Sunday from 2.00pm – 4.30pm.

 

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Celebrations, catch ups, Wednesday… any reason for this right? #QTLife #hipporestaurant #hightea : @__ninawong

A post shared by Hippopotamus Restaurant & Bar (@hipporestaurant) on Feb 21, 2017 at 6:28pm PST