The Foods class at Notre Dame continuously puts out creative dishes that emit nose-tingling aromas wafting through the halls. High Tea was a great example where food can also tickle another sense: sight.
By | Saray Membrano
Straight out of the manors of the wealthiest British families in England, the event of the term has come upon us in the Foods 11 classroom. High Tea is one of the biggest projects, where students are expected to assemble an eyecatching platter of various tea sandwiches and desserts. The objective is to evaluate each kitchen’s teamwork skills and the ability to follow directions without having to rely on watching a demonstration. Blue, teal, black, pink, green, and red battle it out in the ultimate challenge to showcase their treats in a limited amount of time before the judges arrive to cast their ballots.
What is High Tea all about and why is it considered a special occasion in England? This tradition dates back to the 1700s, where those of high status and nobility would engage in an afternoon meal after a long, tiresome day of work around 3-4 o’clock. Prior to attending theatre performances or participating in other activities on their social calendars, High Tea gave them the opportunity to indulge in a substantial, filling meal to tide them over until supper.
The bottom tier mainly consists of finger sandwiches, such as the classic cucumber with cream cheese. The middle tier will include delicious scones with clotted cream and jam. Finally, the top tier holds an assortment of sweet treats such as fluffy cakes, tarts, and much more. This traditional English social event came into play as part of the Foods curriculum and is a student (and teacher) favourite. It is proven to be enjoyable yet tasking for students to accomplish but the best part is having a huge amount of food to eat afterwards.
Those teachers who participated in the judging, and who are much more interested in eating than judging – let’s be honest, had a blast. In the first block, the green kitchen rose to the top to claim victory and in the second block, teal takes the cake.
What a successful and delicious project.