Thornton Hall Hotel's afternoon tea named best in UK

Fighting off fierce competition and being the only finalist based outside London, the hotel took home the title 'Best Tasting Afternoon Tea of the year' at a live final at the Westminster Boating Base.

The team from the hotel's Lawns Restaurant battled against five star London hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and The Stafford and had to serve two guests while being watched by a team of five judges who marked them on presentation, service, taste and overall experience.

Credit Thornton Hall Facebook

Thornton Hall Hotel and Spa general manager Geoff Dale: “To be up against many five star London venues and win is quite an achievement.

“I’m so proud of the whole team the Lawns’ head chef Chad Hughes, our pastry chef Ellie Fletcher and restaurant manager Abdallah Othmani.

“As we were the only countryside hotel we also took our view with us on two pop ups with photos of our gardens, so the judges could really get the Thornton Hall experience.”

The traditional afternoon tea at the hotel includes a choice of more than 20 varieties of loose leaf tea, finger sandwiches with seasonal fillings accompanied by homemade cakes, fancies and baked scones with bespoke jams and curds.

Editor of competition organiser Hotel F&B magazine Joe Bill said: “From dry ice to Disney themes, beer pairing to musical accompaniment, and the traditional to the ultra-modern, the innovation we have seen from the finalists has really blown the judges away.

“The standard of food and tea pairings was exceptional.

"Some of these hotels have spent years refining their afternoon tea service and they really brought their ‘A’ game to the first ever awards.

“There was a lot of pressure to perform in front of a crowd and in a time limit, and judges were really impressed with the professionalism of the teams.”

To book a space for Thornton Hall's Great Wirral Afternoon tea visit www.thorntonhallhotel.com