MFWF 2012 – Vintage High Tea @ Werribee Mansion
I was lucky enough to be invited to Werribee Mansion again this year as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. Last year they held an unforgettable 19th century degustation dinner, and this year they hosted a vintage high tea on the balcony of the historic mansion.
We arrived to a lovely glass of champagne and we were escorted to our table. It was lovely to catch up with Patty and Sarah, and talk to hotel manager Adrian Dent. He said they are looking at making the high tea at the mansion a weekly event, so if you like the look of this, keep your eyes out for it later on in the year.
Perfect weather and an amazing view of the grounds made for the perfect setting to indulge in the delicious looking high tea caddy. A colorful variety to choose from; scones, madelines, strawberry macarons that tastes like iced vo-vos, chocolate sponge lamingtons (my favorite!), apple tarts, ribbon sandwiches, savory muffins, as well as mini pies and quiches. All amazing and beautifully presented.
We sipped on Melbourne Breakfast blend by T2 in the cute cups that were also from T2. They matched perfectly with the historic location.
There was also a mention of a possible game of badminton or croquet on the program, but there was a wedding on, and a music festival setting up in the grounds, so I think there wasn’t any room for it at the last moment. Not that that was a problem, we enjoyed a walk around the gardens anyway to walk off the high tea.
Hamsley was lucky enough to come with me to enjoy the accommodation at Werribee Mansion Hotel & Spa. We had dinner in the bar of the hotel, dipped our feet in the pool and veged out in the cloud like bed for the night. I was watching horrible tv shows, whilst Hamsley played with my first, and new iPad.. *yay!*
We were very impressed by the serving size of the dishes in the bar. I wasn’t sure if I should eat ribs or meatballs. I was torn between my two loves. I put the question out to twitter and it was a unanimous vote for ribs. Well, I definitely wasn’t expecting so much meat on the ribs! They were cooked so well, the meat was so tender and just fell off the bone. Hamsley went for the burger and thoroughly enjoyed it.
We enjoyed a buffet breakfast and took the hotel’s bikes out for a spin. We also enjoyed a picnic hamper prepared by the kitchen on the lush greens of the park, which made for the perfect ending to such a lavish weekend.
Iron Chef Shellie and Hamsley stayed at the Werrribee Hotel Spa courtesy of the Lancemore Group and QStrategies.
Sarah
Woah, you blogged so quickly! 🙂 Great stuff! Beautiful pictures, and it was great catching up with you guys! 🙂
xox Sarah
Cara @ Gourmet Chick
The mansion is such a beautiful setting isn’t it? Love the sculpture walk as well. They should certainly make the afternoon tea a regular feature!
Nic@diningwithastud
Love the pictures 🙂 to grounds look stunning!
April
Wow, that was a super fast post! Lovely pictures – the weather was so perfect for a trip like this!
Agnes
Oooh a regular afternoon tea? That sounds great.
Sounds like you had a great weekend – fancy pants 😀
Ashley
Sigh, how simply beautiful! Loving that teapot! 🙂
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Oh I remember seeing your pics on Instagram. What a wonderful experience! 😀
MoMo & Coco
Your photos of the mansion itself looks far more beautiful than the food itself…rather generic afternoon tea. As dessert-only bloggers, we have a section dedicated entirely to high tea and have blogged about a few Melbourne high tea places. Yet to find one we really really love though….
tania@mykitchenstories
Howlucky are you. A truly exciting experience. What a lovely place
Sara (Belly Rumbles)
What a gorgeous place! The high tea looks scrumptious as well as the rest of your stay there.
Daisy@Nevertoosweet
So so so jealous again 😛 you’ve been invited to two events that I really want to go to lately hehe the B&P event which thankfully i have booked a table for ~ really hope the Werribee Mansion will make the high tea a weekly thing! I think it really suits the whole place hehe
I’ve visited the mansion so many times but I never take amazing photos like you do 😀
Would you recommending staying at the mansion for the weekend? I’m starting to plan a little get away with Mr Bao hehe ~
Chopinand @ ChopinandMysaucepan
Dear Iron Chef Shellie,
I’ve been out to Melton and Werribee a few times for my work but never realised the mansion had such wonderful food and facilities! Love those ham and cheese sandwiches on white bread 🙂
Lowongan Kerja
What a great weekend esp with tons of food
Nicole
Great post! I will be pinning this for sure!
Food is our religion
I love all the pictures but my favourite would have to be the accommodation welcome sign! It’s so cute!
msihua
SO pretty! I really do want to get there and stay once.. instead of going there for conferences all the time!
Lianne
What a beautiful place ! (: And that room is just gorgeous!
Lucky you for being invited back again and having all the yummy food!
Adrian (Food Rehab)
hehe re: bathroom pic. Lovin the tier and the amazing gardens!
Lyka Ricks
I love how the sweets are temptingly arranged. This could be a wonderful getaway to relieve stress. Are there bikes available for children? I would love to bike with the kiddos and enjoy the flower garden.
Rosalie
I really like these places…It looks really fabulous and perfect to have a vacation…
Heidi - Apples Under My Bed
oooh pretty pretty pretty!!! Love this. & the bike & picnic are such romantic touches 🙂
Heidi xo
Cindy
It look so classy calm and uplifting 🙂
Leslie42
This is a perfect place for a great fun and activities, how I wish I can stay here even just for single day…
Thanh
Looks like such an amazing place to go. High tea looks awesome too.
Thanh
Looks like an amazing place to stay. The high tea looks awesome too. Love the photos.