“If at first you don’t succeed, try try again“ the saying goes. Or in our house “if at first he doesn’t listen, keep nagging until he does!“. So I kept on and on until the boy wonder booked us in at Strutt Street Bakery in Belper for their chocolate afternoon tea. And I’m very glad I did keep persevering, because it was just out-of-this-world, totes-amaze-balls !!

We originally booked in for 4pm but Katy (one of the owners) recommended that we book for 3pm as it was something that couldn’t be rushed and they shut at 5 pm on Saturdays, so we heeded her advice and booked in at 3pm. We were shown to the “snug“ upstairs, which is a beautiful little room with cosy sofas and a separate table and chair, and gorgeous foodie prints on the wall. I should also point out that Katy had recommended we didn’t have lunch ,  which somewhat panicked my hungry bird of a man. However, I am glad that we heeded her advice again.

First up were the sandwiches, beautifully presented on slate platters ; I had the standard selection of egg mayonnaise, ham and mustard, cream cheese and cucumber and salmon and cream cheese. His majesty is a picky little bird so he had the egg mayonnaise and ham sandwiches, but Katy and her team kindly gave him chicken sandwiches instead of the cream cheese ones. We ordered separately for our little chick, and she had egg mayonnaise sandwiches. Well, you could’ve heard a pin drop for the next 10 minutes or so in the snug -  the only sounds coming from our beaks were murmurs of appreciation and satisfaction at the tastiness of the fayre in front of us. The bread was deliciously fresh and soft, and the toppings were top notch too -  no corners cut in this establishment.

 

Tea or Coffee comes as the standard accompaniment at the afternoon tea, but as it was a lovely warm Autumn afternoon we also had fresh juices; orange for his-nibs and orange and mango for my chick and I.

Katy came and cleared our sandwich platters away, and checked to see if we were enjoying our experience so far -  which we definitely were.

Reader. I cannot possibly do descriptive justice to the utterly decadent mini-banquet that was placed before us next -  it really did look breath-taking. And it was all completely more-ish I can assure you! A substantially sized slate platter was placed before us that held chocolate mousses, chocolate and orange truffle bombes, mini chocolate muffins, individual banoffi pies, mini strawberry shortcakes and  chocolate and raspberry tarts. But that is only half the treats on offer -  there were also fresh chocolate scones and fresh fruit scones to be had, with dishes of butter, fresh cream, praline spread and fruit jam. Honestly, it is no exaggeration to say that I thought  I had died and gone to foodie heaven. The presentation was spot-on and everything was so fresh and delicious it was obvious that Katy and Matt, and their staff are totally enthused about their product, and rightly so.
 

I have to say that you really can’t prepare yourself for just how incredibly filling this afternoon tea experience is, we were absolutely full to bursting; one more crumb and our crops would’ve burst! There is a hall of fame for those that manage to finish the tea, and we did get our names added to it – just. But it had taken us the full 2 hours to eat this!  However, the great thing is that whatever you don’t manage to finish , you can have wrapped up to enjoy at home.

I had wanted to do this since February, and we only got round to doing it at the end of September. I have to say that I am so very glad that I kept on and on to be taken  to Strutt Street Bakery as it was well worth it. It is essential that you book for the afternoon tea, and if you do, I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.

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