Afternoon Tea At The Red Lion At The Peak Edge Hotel
Published On Friday 25 Nov 2022 by Sticky Beak
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The Man and I do like an Afternoon Tea, so we were thrilled to be invited along to the Red Lion restaurant at the swanky Peak Edge Hotel in Stonedge to sample their offering. We remembered from previous visits that the restaurant car park is after the main hotel car park, so took the second entrance and swung into one of the plentiful spots.
Whilst I generally don’t garb the Nest up in its festive finery until December, I do appreciate the glamour and charm of such displays and the one at the entrance to the Red Lion restaurant is gorgeous, resplendent in its rich colours and sheer size! The garland frames the doorway, beckoning you through its beauty and into the equally elegant dining space with its burgundy, sage green and country life themed interior.
One of the tweed waistcoat wearing young male members of the team escorted us to our table and then left us to decide what teas we would like from the nine choices available. I settled on the Mid-Season Darjeeling and His Nibs went for the Lemon and Ginger blend; all the teas are loose leaf types and you don’t have to stick with a single choice whilst you’re indulging in the Afternoon Tea nibbles.
With our individual tea pots and strainers placed in front of us, the triple-tiered tea stand followed swiftly behind, and we tucked in happily. The first morsel to pass our lips was the very tasty Ham and Mustard Mayo finger sandwich, served in dark, malty bread that lingered wonderfully in the mouth, its depth of flavour partnering the meat and mustard very nicely. There was plenty of flavoursome Farmhouse Ham to savour and Chef had cleverly balanced the amount of Mustard within the creamy Mayo so that its pungent character didn’t overwhelm the other elements. Instead, what we got was a sublime warmth on our palates that just playfully flirted at the periphery of the flavour profile and partnered the Ham superbly.
I got stuck in to the Smoked Salmon and Pickled Cucumber number whilst The Man picked up a cheekily sunny toned Coronation Chicken finger. My choice was again on that superbly malty bread and this complimented the soft oiliness that this fish’s sweet flesh has to it; partnered with crunchy slices of pickled Cucumber, this was a really tasty offering and a nice twist on a classic sandwich. From a visual perspective, the contrast between the dark bread and the gentle rose hue of the Salmon and verdancy of the Cucumber was beautifully impactful.
His Nibs’ selection was on soft, springy white bread which again was a visual statement: the crisp white against the bold, deep yellow of the Coronation sauce. This filling was generous so you really got to appreciate the subtle curry tang as it washed over the palate, with creamy Chicken breast pieces rounding things out nicely in readiness for the intense sweetness of plump Sultanas. I also had one of these delicious minxes, but The Man got to savour two of them, as there was an extra one on our stand (and only one of the Goat’s Curd and Walton Lodge Chutney morsels, for some odd reason?!).
The Goat’s Curd and Chutney finger sandwich was on white bread so we played nicely and shared it rather than playing Rock, Paper, Scissors (yes, we have resorted to this in the past!). I just adore the unmistakeable musky note of Goat products and its confidence was matched by the Walton Lodge Chutneys’ zing, making this an extremely tasty treat.
With the finger sandwiches all scoffed, the large slices of Walton Lodge Pork Sausage Roll caught our beady eye and, wowsers, this was a seriously tasty morsel! The Pork meat was seasoned very skilfully so that it took centre stage, but the plethora of herbs added their tuppence-worth in the mouth. Texturally, this was hearty and satisfying and I could have happily eaten another couple of slices of this – and you all know how picky I am with Sausage and sausage-meat!
On this particular Afternoon Tea stand you get a plain scone as well as a Fruit one, so The Man and I decided to sort of bridge the transition from savoury to sweet by having the plain scone next, though we didn’t fancy it with the Derbyshire Clotted Cream or the Walton Lodge Plum jam so we asked for some butter (which the lovely young lady soon brought over for us). This scone had a really nice texture to it that let it melt quickly on the tongue without being ridiculously crumbly when cut into and, being perfectly honest, having it with plain butter really let us appreciate its finer character.
By this time we’d supped our way through our first pots of tea, so we ordered some more and they got refreshed in double-jig time, complete with fresh strainers; I thought this was a particularly nice touch, so top marks team Red Lion Restaurant!!
To kick off our sweet journey we chose the intriguing Lemon and Olive Oil Macarons whose pastel bodies popped against the darker coloured elements of the cake selection. Olive Oil and Lemon isn’t an obvious pairing really, but the fruity notes of the Extra Virgin oil went brilliantly with the sharper citrus ones and it works very, very nicely. Personally, I found that the Olive oil seems to round out the Lemon’s immediate tartness, bringing a wonderfully sweet, lingering mellowness that called to mind a perfume’s fixative in its effect – not a negative association by any means.
His Nibs had been chomping at the bit from the moment he spied the Chocolate Delice and he couldn’t resist its dark, sultry charm any longer! This was a ridiculously intense temptation that melted over the tongue and coated the inside of the cheeks where its decadence unfurled even more. Texture-wise this offering had that wonderful, moreishly gooey softness that gives it a magnificent comfort factor; perfect for a late autumn Afternoon Tea platter.
For those of you curious about Walton Lodge being mentioned so specifically, here’s why: Peak Edge Hotel and Chesterfield’s Casa Hotel are both owned by Mr. Steve Perez, who happens to own/live at Walton Lodge farm and this gent produces all manner of scrummy things – not least the Honey that I was about to sample in the Walton Lodge Honey Cake! Oh my days, this is my new favourite thing in the world, seriously! So rich and sticky was this individual loaf cake that it could do with coming with a finger bowl in which to rinse your digits. Being the glutton I am, I simply licked every last sweet bit of honey off my fingers, revelling in its impossibly floral flavour – this is a honey whose quality outshines a lot of commercially available ones! My taste buds were wielding their cheer-leading poms poms and doing a medal-winning routine as I took bite after bite of this super-scrummy treat. His Nibs was equally enthralled, agreeing that Chef had excelled with this particular element of the Afternoon Tea at the Red Lion restaurant; so good was it that he even said that it beat the Chocolate Delice – and you know what a chocoholic he is!
I always smile happily to myself whenever I see a Bakewell Tart/Slice/Sponge on an Afternoon Tea menu in the ‘shire; after all, if you don’t see it in its birth-county, where are you going to see it?! You can’t beat a bit of county pride, can you; especially when it’s such a scrumptious, world-famous morsel. I was very glad that we’d opted to have this sponge after the Honey Cake because the tartness of the sour Cherry in this cake counter-balanced the intense sweet hit we’d just had – a great example of the consideration that Chef gives to the depth and breadth of tastes he wants diners to experience when savouring his Afternoon Tea. We both got a superb blast of Almond hitting our palates, tempered by the fruity notes of the Raspberry Jam and the aforementioned sharpness of Cherry halves that studded the sponge. There was a delightful moistness to this sponge but it wasn’t soggy; more soft and comforting (thanks to the hint of Vodka warmth) which is just what you want, isn’t it?
I fancied some of the Moroccan Mint Tea for my final pot of the afternoon, but sadly it was not to be as there wasn’t any! Never mind; I was perfectly happy to carry on the Darjeeling journey, and The Man continued with his tasty Lemon and Ginger Tea. I should mention that you can also indulge in a glass of bubbles as well if you so choose; there are two 125ml tipples to tempt you: Martinotti Prosecco NV (£9 per glass) or 2016 Roebuck Estates Rosé De Noirs (£11 per glass). Obviously there’s nothing to stop you going all out and purchasing a bottle of wine, sparkling or otherwise, either – especially if you’re celebrating!
For some odd reason, His Nibs and I save our fruit scones until last; it’s something that we’ve always done, although this fact only dawned on us last year and we couldn’t think why it started! Like its plain peer, the fruit scone had a lovely texture to it and was cut into with minimal effort or crumb making. The Derbyshire Clotted Cream was housed in a separate pot and there was plenty of it by anyone’s standards: two good quenelles, I would say. I’ve never been afraid of controversy so I’m just going to say this: Cornwall you can keep your Roddhas offering, our Derbyshire Clotted Cream is every bit as good...if not better! Paired with the thick cream was a super-smooth Plum jam (homemade at Walton Lodge, no less) and its rich, deep flavour made for a sublime partnership as the two combined in the mouth.
Having taken our last mouthfuls, The Man and I sat back; our tummies almost ready to pop! Afternoon Teas are very sneaky, tricksy little beasts I think; you look at them and doubt whether they will satisfy you, but by the end you’re ready to wave the white flag of surrender as you stealthily undo your skirt or trouser button! I have to say though, that every mouthful had been delicious and there was absolutely zero guilt on our table as we gazed at the empty stand and plates.
Hot Wings happily given for this yummy Afternoon Tea; the food and drinks had been spot-on and the service was just as good. Thank you to Dawn-Elizabeth for arranging the visit for us and also to Maitre D’, Adrian who took the time to come and have a chat with us – it was lovely to see you again and your team took excellent care of us for the whole afternoon.
To book your Afternoon Tea experience in the Red Lion Restaurant at The Peak Edge Hotel in Stonedge simply visit www.peakedgehotel.co.uk/eat/red-lion (you can make a booking online here) or ring the restaurant on 01246 245987.
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