Interior designer Lanassir Lawes’ vision for the Drawing Room at Park Farm in Hethersett was to create a super-stylish London-style afternoon tea destination – think the likes of the Instagrammable Coral Room at the Bloomsbury Hotel or Dean Street Townhouse.
“It was a room that was in between two other rooms, so it always needed its own purpose, but we weren’t 100 per cent sure what that should be,” explains Park Farm’s marketing and brand manager Lucy Scriven-Gowing.
“We’d seen an increase in people wanting to come for an afternoon tea and we really liked the idea that once people sit down they don’t feel like they have to then go anywhere – they can just stay and relax and chat and while away the afternoon.
“And then in the evening, it’s quite a nice spot for people to have a cocktail before going for dinner or a little after-dinnerr nightcap. We’ve found that people are staying at the hotel for a fair few nights and we really like the idea of them being able to have different little spaces where they can sit, so they feel like they are having a new experience every evening. It seems to be working really well.”
Lucy describes Lanassir’s work as “amazing”.
“She’s done quite a few different rooms now, she did the wedding venue not too long ago, and she’s definitely putting her stamp on most areas in the hotel.”
The Drawing Room is in the original Georgian part of the hotel, meaning that Lanassir had beautiful period features such as big sash windows, cornicing and ceiling roses to work with.
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“Lanassir has got the most amazing ideas you’d never even think of,” says Lucy. “When you see afternoon tea venues in London, they’re quite unique and dark and cosy. The front side of the Drawing Room is really bright, but the back end is quite dark, so she decided to play to that part of it.
“It’s cosy, there are bright colours and nice subtle lighting.”
The starting point for Lanassir’s décor scheme was a Mulberry wallpaper featuring a folly print.
“It’s got some lovely pinks and greens and coral colours in it, but then she’s done the walls and ceiling quite dark,” says Lucy. “We’ve added some more chandeliers in there, so she’s reinstated some ceiling roses, and there’s LED strip lighting which highlights the original features as well, which we really like.
“It takes the modern and mixes it with the traditional original features and style – but just doing it a little bit differently.
“Lanassir’s very much of the belief that you need to create something that’s really unlike anything you’d have at home.”
The seventh Duchess of Bedford, lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, is credited with inventing the concept of afternoon tea, having found the length of time between lunch and evening dinner intolerably long.
It’s unlikely that you’d have the room for dinner following afternoon tea at Park Farm as it’s rather a feast.
Start with smoked salmon and cream cheese, and honey roast ham and plum tomato sandwiches, an egg and rocket wrap, and a sage and onion sausage roll.
Then, moving from savoury to sweet, there’s a freshly baked fruit scone with jam, butter and clotted cream and a selection of patisserie made by new pastry chef Navita Thakur who joined Park Farm a few months ago.
She previously worked at the Assembly House in Norwich and her signature bakes include dainty vanilla pistachio macarons.
Currently also on the menu are a raspberry mini cheesecake, salted caramel and chocolate tart with white chocolate, plus lemon curd syllabub served in a shot glass.
“We’re letting her creativity run wild,” says Lucy. “She does amazing pastry, so she comes up with some really lovely sweet treats. We like to keep it nice and colourful.”
Afternoon tea is served with loose-leaf Newby teas or freshly ground coffee – or you could opt for prosecco, champagne or a cocktail.
Everything is made at Park Farm and uses as much local, seasonal produce as possible. All dietary requirements can be catered for.
Afternoon teas are also available to take away so you can either enjoy it at home or turn it into a posh picnic.
Afternoon tea at The Drawing Room at Park Farm, Hethersett, starts at £25 per person for a traditional afternoon tea. It’s served daily between 2-4.30pm and 24 hours notice is required for booking. See parkfarm-hotel.co.uk for more.
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