Cronut Creator Dominique Ansel Tries His Hand at Afternoon Tea

Dominique Ansel, the award-winning New York pastry chef and creator of the Cronut (a doughnut-croissant hybrid), has told Eater that he will launch a new afternoon tea menu at his London site, on Elizabeth Street in Belgravia, beginning on Friday 4 May.

He said: “I’ve always loved the classic tradition of British afternoon tea. We wanted to start a tradition of our own here at the bakery planting the seeds for our first take on afternoon tea. For us, creativity – no matter if you’re a chef, an artist, a musician, or in any field - stems from having strong foundations. So we evolved that idea into a menu that starts from the ground up and is presented in a fresh and modern way. I’m excited to see it grow and come to life.”

An example menu — which “traces the life of a flower” — has been shared with Eater, and is listed below, “from seed to full bloom.”

• “Seed”: Wild mushrooms, confit garlic, pumpkin seed, squid ink choux
• “Young Leaf”: Smoked salmon, yuzu dill cream cheese, Japanese cucumber, micro basil
• “Fallen Leaf”: Steak tartare, crème fraîche, brioche toast, red radish
• “Bud”: Coconut ganache, lavender meringue, passion fruit jelly, white chocolate
• “Flower”: Vanilla mousse, lemon marmalade, vanilla sable, whipped basil ganache
• “Full Bloom”: Brown butter financier, raspberry jam, rose vanilla ganache

DAB [Official Photo]

The afternoon tea menu will be available either as standard, a la above, which comes with scones, fruit jam and clotted cream (called “Signature” — £42 per person); with sparkling wine (“Sparkling” — £55 per person); or with the addition of a lobster roll, Sevruga caviar with buckwheat blini and crème fraîche (“Splendid” — £80 per person.)

Reservations launch this Friday at midday and can be made here. The first service will take place on Friday 4 May and will be served Thursday — Sunday 12pm to 4pm.