Gluten Free High Tea at Radisson Blu, Sydney

I'm such a lucky Chef indeed

There is a wonderful community of Bloggers out there that I love to read and connect with over the Internet, and now and then I get to interact with them in the Real World too!

This is what happened when I was contacted recently by Lovely Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella, with the offer to join her for a Gluten Free High Tea at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sydney. The Radisson Blu has just launched it's 100% Gluten Free High Tea, and you don't even need to pre-book with dietary needs, just turn up as it's all available all the time!    http://www.radissonblu.com/plazahotel-sydney

Lorraine organised a great get-together for us along with Charlie, Tania, and Brydie, and as it just happened to be my birthday at the same time, I felt very special indeed :)

It's so fantastic that more and more main stream restaurants are starting to realise the validity of food InTolerances and catering for our needs. I don't think most people realise that it certainly requires a lot of extra work and commitment by the chefs and kitchen team to make this all happen.
I wanted to know a bit more about the reasoning behind the Radisson Blu's decision to create a Gluten Free High Tea menu, so I was very grateful when Executive Chef Oswin Ribeiro was happy to answer some of my questions:

I was just wondering how the decision to create a dedicated gluten free menu come about?

The Gluten free market is growing and quite a few people are either highly intolerant or are by choice on this type of a diet. I realized that there was an increase in demand for the same and it only became more evident during our high teas as we had to prepare stuff to accommodate our guests request at the last moment and this often took a while as we had to be 100% clear to ensure that there was no form of cross contamination. Secondly, I decided to observe reactions of people not just at the hotel but at other places where I would go, check menus and make request for Gluten free Items, I must admit it seemed more like pleas being made by myself to accommodate my requests at many of those places even high end one’s. I then asked myself the question, Why should someone with a condition have to be sounding this way? Why should it be that catering places would be doing a favour trying to accommodate this need. Hence, started the journey of introducing a High tea where someone could just look at the menu and order confidently. This concept carries on from all our offerings at the Hotel our Breakfast buffet in the morning has tags which specifies Gluten free Items and of the 74 items on offer 80% is gluten free, Our In-room dining menu has alternate choices of the same dish prepared in a manner that is gluten free. So on and so forth. The high tea will keep evolving at Radisson.

Are all the items  made in-house, or if not, which ones?

Beside the bread and Wraps every item on the High tea is made in- house, We do production of the Gluten free items before anything else is produced for the reasons mentioned prior.
 

I was also interested to know if any of the chefs experience a gluten free lifestyle, and how they chose the gluten free options that were on offer.

None of our chefs experience a gluten free lifestyle at the moment, But I guess this due to the fact that we have to deal with varied kinds of food and prep, vitally important is that we have to taste what we cook, on second part of the question, we did trials for about 3 months before we were fully confident of the products, time of delivery, handling, sourcing etc We now have a repertoire to work from now for the future as well.
 

Did they perhaps trial them on both regular and gluten free eaters? I was certainly interested to hear my friends reactions to my meal, and to see how it compared to theirs as well.

Yes we did on few friends who were willing to try it out and give us their opinion this was during the trial stages. the interesting part is people on regular menus can eat gluten free without any effects, but it is the opposite for a Gluten intolerant person.

(I have to admit Dear Readers, that I find this to be a very odd answer, of course anyone without food allergies/InTolerances can eat the 'Special Menu' offerings, the question is why would they want to if it wasn't as delicious as the Regular menu?) 

High Tea at Radisson Blu is held in Bistro Fax, with the Regular menu costing $40, and the Gluten Free one at $50. It's best to make a reservation, but it's not necessary to pre-book as gluten free.


The two types of High Tea side by side: the Regular one set for 3 on the right, and the Gluten Free set for 2 on the left

The nice thing about the two High Teas is that there is relatively very little difference between the two- the sandwich fillings are the same and the top sweet layer is identical. The scones are substituted with shortbread rounds, but sadly there are no little hot pastries for the gluten free menu


The Gluten Free stand, beautifully customised especially for me!

The array of sandwiches and wraps

Cucumber, cream cheese and dill; Roast beef, caramelized onion and horseradish; Smoked salmon with cream cheese dill and capers.

The fillings are delicious! A great variety and lovely balance of flavours in each mix as well. I just wonder though, if the chefs have ever tried one of the actual gluten free offerings themselves? As a whole I mean. Having a quick taste of something is very different to actually eating an entire sandwich.
Gluten free bread is just not the same as the soft, fluffy regular variety that squishes away and lets the filling shine. This bread is certainly a decent gluten free one, but as we know gf bread is quite dry and not at its best unless toasted, so they are a bit too dry and hard to swallow. My advice would be to make open faced sandwiches and so cut down the bread by half, making it a much nicer experience. I ended up discarding the top layer of each so I could taste the too-good-to-miss middles.
*Update* I recently received this news in a follow up email from Chef Oswin:
I have done a couple of minor adjustments already to the Gluten free high tea. We have begun presenting the sandwiches as lightly toasted open sandwiches which presents better and the bread forms a crisp base. Food is all about improving and at every stage and so the journey carries on.
Great news indeed!
Sadly the wraps were also not-quite-there-yet. The hotel has certainly used quality ingredients, but this brand of GF Wrap snaps instead of wraps and are again very dry and hard to eat. The chicken and avocado filling is so amazing however, that I scooped it out with my teaspoon as I didn't want to miss a bit! The best solution to this problem would be to use a lovely light GF crepe instead of the wrap. There are some very very good GF ones on the markets, and my favourite best crepes ever  from Creative Gourmet, would be perfect for this. They thaw in seconds or can be microwaved, so having them on hand would be easy and much yummier indeed.


Shortbread Rounds with Jam and Whipped Cream

Again, these have a lovely flavour and the true shortbread snap and crumble....but ... They are HUGE and nearly impossible to eat. The first bite is delectable, but then the lovely short dough crumbles all over you, down your blouse (and cleavage) covering you with delicious dust, then the rice flour goes to work sucking all moisture out of your mouth leaving you gulping for tea and spluttering behind your hand as you try and swallow it  down. Elegance is out of the question, and as you are sitting back in an arm chair relaxing, suddenly having to squat hunched over the coffee table in front is rather ungainly to say the least. I did try smearing on some of the jam and cream, but that just meant that I now had sticky crumbs all over me instead...
The answer to this one is so very simple indeed- just make them smaller! One bite is enough. Several small biscuits are much nicer than one humongous one on it's own. I get that these are supposed to be the scone substitute, but they aren't and shouldn't try to be. Treat them as their own little treat and they will be gobbled up gleefully as they really taste very good. Again, I think just good old GF scones on their own would be nice though, especially if they were served warm as in the Regular High Tea version.

Top Tier of Sweets, exactly the same for both types of High Tea

Walnut Slice; Mini Pavlova; Coconut Macaroon; Mini Chocolate and Lemon Curd Cups; Passionfruit Jelly

Just lovely indeed!
Marvelous moist Walnut cake, light Coconut cake, crispy Meringue, tangy Lemon Curd, and a very delicious Passionfruit jelly.
Definitely my favourite treat of the day, the jelly was softly set and a beautiful balance of sweet, sharp and tangy. A great way to cut through the other sweets and wake up your palate a little.



The Radisson Blu and Chef Oswin have obviously put a lot of effort into creating this Gluten Free High Tea, and overall it's been a success. There are a few teething problems that need to be addressed, and some will have already been tweaked by the time you read this, but the underlying tastes and flavours are top-notch indeed.
I have to say that this was a much more successful and enjoyable meal than the one I had at Raffles Hotel in Singapore, and I would certainly love to try it again- especially with the new style sandwiches on offer!

So Dear Readers, who would be your ultimate High Tea companions, and what treat would you most like to serve?


Disclosure: Radisson Blu and Bistro Fax kindly supplied two complimentary High Teas to our group.

Read Lorraine's review here for her take on our dining experience, Tania's post here, and for an amazing afternoon treat check out Charlie's post here for the fantastic gluten free/lactose free cake she bought along on the day for us as well. Yummo!
My review on the gluten free High Tea at Raffles, Singapore can be found Here

Gluten Free High Tea at Raffles Hotel, Singapore

When I was little, we had a painting of Raffles Hotel hanging in our entrance hall

It was of an older Raffles, with rickshaws in the street and not a high-rise in sight. Bell shaped skirts and parasols spoke of a quieter time of elegance and sipping tea daintily to catch up on gossip and escape the tropical heat

That's what I saw when I looked at the painting anyway, and I always wanted to go to try and capture a bit of that exotic elegance for myself. When we decided to visit Singapore for our family holiday, one of the first things I did was to lock in a booking for High Tea at the Tiffin Room at Raffles- it was a must-do. I didn't care what else we missed out on, but no way was I missing out on my touch of Elegance, and I made sure to pack the posh frock to prove it!



Posh frock donned and makeup melting in the pure humidity, we arrived at the appointed time and hoped we hadn't made a mistake when we saw the line of patrons waiting to get in. But not to worry, we were ushered in quickly and efficiently within a very short time indeed

Look at the huge line up of Eager Eaters

Lucky early arrivers already seated

BigJ and littlej were dining with me, and of course they just ate standard fare, no InTolerances for them, so it was good to get some perspective from the Other Side Of The Plate

The Regular menu High Tea Stand, shown here for comparison with the Gluten Free version  - set for three although booked for two.
I guess they are just so busy that the kitchen sends out standard plates regardless of places booked. Warm Scones for the regular menu were also bought around with jam and cream from time to time in lovely baskets by the wait staff.

Now the Generous Gluten Free offering- and yes, all of this for me although we only booked for one GF seating. Lucky me I thought!

Gluten free sandwiches:
Egg salad with cucumber and tomato; Tuna mayonnaise; Smoked Salmon with cream cheese; Turkey tomato,basil and cheese

Now I had been unable to find any gluten free bread in Singapore so I was initially pleased to see these here- until I tried them. The bread was very dense and dry despite the fact that they were mostly open faced, and I ended up just eating the topping and leaving the bread bases on my plate. I always wonder if chefs try the gluten free offerings they make, or do any research with customers. There is no reason they should not taste as good as anything else in the restaurant, and if they don't find it palatable why send it out? The only topping that could compete with the bread was the egg salad as it had plenty of flavour and moisture to compensate for dry bread. The salmon on it's own was yummy, but the tuna mayonnaise was a very thin smear of tinned tuna mixed with sweet mayonnaise that tasted like one from a bottle.




Middle Layer: Caramelised apple Panacotta; Orange Jelly with fresh Berries

The Orange jelly was nice and refreshing with a lovely burst of fresh tart berries, not overly sugary which made it a nice choice to counteract the sweet offerings. But the pannacotta....was just plain weird. The jellied caramelised apple layer was really quite tasty, but the rest was dreadful indeed. I don't know if it was soy based, some type of dairy substitute I've not tried before, or just plain off- but it tasted curdled with the sour nose-wrinkling effect to go with it. I spat it out and it almost ruined the whole meal. There was no real explanation from the wait staff when I questioned them, just polite apologies and deferential smiles.




Top Sweet Level: Fresh Blueberry Marshmallow, Assorted Chocolates

The chocolates were nice and rich, very smooth and creamy, but the marshmallow was the star of the show. Light as a feather and not too sweet, it was gorgeously melt in the mouth with a lovely berry flavour



Selection of Cut-your-own-cakes (not gluten free), Fresh Fruits, and at the end Fresh Berries in Tea Broth

There was a good selection of other cakes available for gluten eaters and they certainly all looked very nice, but it was good to see a gorgeous array of sliced tropical fruits including Star fruit, Pineapple and Dragonfruit too.
Right at the end there was also a great big bowl of delicious berry flavoured 'Weekend in Shanghai' Tea Broth with masses of fresh berries macerating in it. It was unusual in that it had to be carefully spooned up like a type of soup, but it was so yummy that I didn't mind risking my blouse with red drips.



Dim Sum buffet selection for gluten eaters- it all looked and smelled very good indeed and very popular with my littlej who has a love for everything dumpling shaped

I do have to say that the Regular High Tea was fantastic. BigJ and littlej enjoyed everything so much and there was such an abundance of choice that they didn't try everything and had the luxury of picking and choosing whatever caught their fancy.

With a price tag of $58 per person, I'm glad there was no extra charge for Gluten Free. I was quite disappointed with the selection- especially as a lot of it wasn't very nice and was left languishing on the tea stand hidden by my crumpled serviette. My comments are really just related to the Gluten Free options. I certainly didn't think the food was value for money for my Gluten Free selection and I was still hungry despite having a stand for two..........but I didn't feel completely ripped off...

 

I felt grown-up and special and excited and elegant all in one, as I soaked up the slightly snooty atmosphere that is exuded by Raffles. The service was first class, attentive without being cloying; the staff were lovely and were always ready with a top up of tea; and the room was spectacular with hugely high ceilings and gorgeous architecture that showed the age of building gracefully and proudly instead of trying to modernise it and cover it up with fake facades. It is what it is.

I wouldn't go back to Raffles for their Gluten Free High Tea again, but I'll always be glad that I did.


So Dear Readers, do you have any fulfilled childhood ambitions, and would you be interested in more Gluten Free High Tea reviews?