New Things 2018 Number 4 - Going to Gleneagles

So just in case anyone reading this doesn't know, Gleneagles is a very posh ( 5 star ) golfing hotel in Perthshire. Website here. It features, amongst other things, a restaurant run by Andrew Fairlie which has two Michelin stars. The OH would love to go there and eat, but he knows neither my taste nor my nerves would stand it. He will have to find someone else to go with one day, but meanwhile he booked afternoon tea in the lounge for us instead to celebrate my birthday.

It was great fun. In fact, anyone who has read the previous post will realise it was probably the only fun we had last week. 

We had a little raised alcove all to ourselves, and here's the OH sitting in it as to the manor born

For some reason afternoon tea starts with two savoury amuse bouches The day we were there, and for all I know every day, they were a tomato consommé and haggis balls with a whisky mayo. I couldn't quite finish my tomato consommé, although it was very nice, and perfectly clear as consommé should be (you see, all those years of watching Masterchef have taught me something!) , but the haggis thing went down a treat. 

Then they bring you a tea stand with sandwiches and cakes. You eat the sandwiches and then they bring round scones and Dundee cake. I got to eat truffle! I was going to say that I got to taste truffle, because there was a little gruyere tartlet on there with a truffle crumb topping, but all I tasted was the cheese - not that it wasn't lovely. The sandwiches quite honestly were a bit much for me,. They were all full of fresh zingy flavours, and I could have done with a bit less fresh and zingy and a bit more cheddar and pickle. The roast beef one had horseradish, which I'm not huge fan of, and I didn't like the mayonnaise in the egg one. This is not meant as a criticism, it is simply a reflection of my palate. I know fresh zingy flavours are what chefs are after, and it is not their fault that my taste is somewhat more plebeian than their menu. 

There was a choice of scones and I went for a fruit one and a treacle one, since it is years since I actually had a treacle scone. They came with a little tray - 

- from bottom left, clover honey and lemon curd, strawberry and elderflower jam, clotted cream and blueberry and whisky jam. They were all delicious, as were the scones. There was also Dundee cake for this 'course' but I passed on that.

There were five cakes which seemed an odd number for two people. The one on the left was a raspberry and rose mousse cake, next to it a strawberry shortcake. Not sure what the one like a pink snail was. There was also a chocolate praline fancy and a banoffie thing. We accounted for three between us and I am happy to report that the ones you don't eat are, as a matter of course,  put in an elegant little cardboard box that looks a bit like a handbag and given to you to take away. 

Overall it  was a very nice experience and the food was delicious and beautifully presented. My two niggles would be the music - does there really need to be background music, and if there does, does it have to be jazz?? and the speed of the service. I am sure the hotel would describe the service as relaxed, and that is fine as far as it goes. When you've stuffed yourself with zingy sandwiches you do need a few minutes to regroup before you can start scoffing scones, but when you have totally finished, there is no need to be kept waiting 20 minutes for the bill. That's not relaxed, that's just annoying.