The Queens Hotel is preparing for Southsea Food Festival on 16 and 17 July. Head of Pastry Chloe Barter loves the alchemy that results from mixing simple ingredients to create mouth-watering teatime treats. Visitors to Portsmouth’s ultimate food event will be able to sample her “afternoon tea in a box”.
Chloe Barter, Head of Pastry at the Queens Hotel said
“We want to give visitors to the Southsea Food Festival a taster of what our afternoon tea is all about and I’m hoping to spend some time on the stand too.”
Her passion for pastry is palpable – and when you ask her to explain, the reason becomes clear.
“I love the fact you can take simple ingredients like milk, butter and flour and depending on the way you mix them you can create so many different things – I love the variables.
“To me choux pastry is a beautiful thing – and then there’s a macaron. Simple ingredients and together they make something incredible,” she declared.
Since she joined the team at the Queens Hotel, her afternoon tea has earned multiple plaudits and ecstatic reviews on Favourite Table and Tripadvisor. Every element of the tea is created from scratch, with only the clotted cream and jam being bought in.
“Afternoon tea is the perfect meal. It’s fancy but not too over the top. It’s something you can look forward to and a great excuse to get together with friends and family.”
“It’s very British and the perfect mix of sweet and savoury.”
“And I’m looking at making my own jam too. I love that everything is baked at the Queens Hotel and you can taste the freshness,” explained Chloe.
Looking to the future, Chloe has just put the finishing touches to a festive afternoon tea offering that will take Christmas to a whole other level. And she’s working on a strawberry custard tart that promises to be a pink perfection on the plate.
Southsea Food Festival, sponsored by the Queens Hotel ,returns packed with stalls offering goodies from some of the best food and drink producers in the area. Food lovers will be able to browse, sample and buy a wide range of products including sausages and bacon, pies, afternoon tea, chocolate, cheese and even Portsmouth gin. This year the event covers a bigger area, taking in Palmerston, Clarendon and Osborne roads and Avenue De Caen. There are two live music stages featuring local musical talent, family entertainment, plus loads of great tips from chefs, bakers and industry experts.