Garden Centre Catering Awards winner profile

Afternoon Tea of the Year - Green Pastures Plant Centre

At Green Pastures, which sits on the outskirts of Norwich, they recognise that an afternoon tea should be a real treat or celebration for their guests. Not only do they aim do surpass their visitors’ expectations of what constitutes an enjoyable experience with their friends and family, they strive to really surprise and delight them with a unique and creative spread of both sweet and savoury treats.

Crucially, all components of the afternoon tea offer are homemade by Green Pastures’ chefs, who go to great lengths to create innovative and delicious treats. Even more importantly, in the eyes of the judges, they maximise the experience for their customers by serving up a continually evolving menu with two days rarely ever being the same. This creates a real element of surprise for diners and ensures that the offer can truly explore the seasons and utilise the chefs’ creative juices to the full.

Green Pastures’ sincere belief is that an afternoon tea is all about detail and it has concentrated on many aspects to make its offer stand out from the crowd. The team say that if they don't hear a ‘wow’ when the food arrives at the table and see customers reaching for the cameras, they have failed.

All of this effort in the kitchen is, of course, mirrored by the front-of-house service team. When each group of guests is greeted and settled, their host explains what they are being served and a printed copy of their unique afternoon tea is given to them so that they see exactly what treats they'll be enjoying.

The aforementioned ever-evolving menu always creates a great sense of excitement and anticipation, as the guests don't know what they will be receiving until they are seated. Not only does this encourage plenty of repeat custom, it also adds to the sense of occasion – which, at the end of the day, is what the Green Pastures team believes afternoon tea is all about.

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