This winter, Fortnum & Mason is once again leaning into seasonal spectacle, launching a new Festive Afternoon Tea at its Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, complete with a special cocktail collaboration with Hong Kong bar Tell Camellia. From November 4, guests can expect a Christmas-forward take on Fortnum’s classic tea service, accompanied by live piano music drifting through the Piccadilly foyer.
The festive afternoon tea sees Fortnum’s pastry brigade delivering a richly layered stand that balances tradition with indulgence. Finger sandwiches include Suffolk ham cured in Christmas spices and Kames Bay smoked trout with dill cream cheese, while the patisserie tier brings a flourish of seasonal sweetness: a dulce cranberry mousse, sticky figgy pudding loaf, a characteristically polished Fortnum’s mince pie, and a glossy mandarin mousse designed to resemble a Christmas bauble.
Savoury offerings extend well beyond the expected, with dishes such as lobster cocktail tart, Stilton and walnut cheesecake, wild mushroom and tarragon profiterole, smoked trout and herb roulade, and a pheasant sausage roll served with prune and apple purée. Scones, both sweet and savoury, arrive with house preserves, curds or rich cream cheese fillings, firmly pitched at winter comfort.
Those seeking something more substantial can opt for the High Tea Stand, which introduces heartier plates including seaweed-crusted halibut with champagne caviar velouté and venison Wellington, before returning to Fortnum’s signature patisseries and scones. A showstopping mandarin cake will also make an appearance via the roaming silver cake trolley, available either by the slice or boxed to take home.
Running alongside the festive menu is a limited-edition cocktail created by Tell Camellia’s founder and mixologist Gagan Gurung, working in collaboration with Fortnum’s executive chef Roger Pizey. Drawing on Fortnum’s centuries-old tea heritage and Tell Camellia’s contemporary mixology, the resulting serve,The Merrycha, encourages diners to swap their customary glass of fizz for something more aromatic.
Blending spiced Christmas Fortnum’s tea with notes of mandarin marmalade, salted butter popcorn and dark rum, the cocktail is designed to mirror the festive flavours on the stand itself. The collaboration will run throughout the winter season and will also launch at 181 Restaurant in Hong Kong, connecting London and Asia through a shared love of tea-led drinking.