Dilmah High Tea

Monday at the Hilton Sydney with Dilmah High Tea was a wonderful way to start the week. I have been priveileged enough to have been selected as a

finalist for the Dilmah High Tea Challenge. Like most people, I wasn't expecting to be selected to do a live presentation of my item and the brewing of the tea. I showcased my berry tea-infused jelly with rosewater cream and the brewing of my chosen tea, Dilmah's Berry Sensation Tea. I found it daunting enough given that I have never won anything like this or been asked to showcase my dish in front of three judges with more than 20 years experience in tea, which included Peter Kuruvita from Flying Fish and the head of Dilmah Tea.

As I stepped into the room to set up my presentation, I was amazed at the amount of effort some of the other contestants went to setting up their table. Just looking at the number of flowers and silverware they used for

their table, my jaw dropped and that made me dash out for a moment to grab some tulips. I initially thought that we were only going to be judged on the tea and item itself and I was right. On the other side of the room, the professionals had elaborate plates of bite-sized portions of sweet and savoury tarts and cakes. One contestant in the consumer's category did a high tea cocktail and mocktail.

To finish off the day nicely, all the contestants were invited to a Charitea, a charity high tea held at the Hilton Sydney hosted by Dilmah.

Given that I adore high tea, I couldn't resist the opportunity to taste those beautiful treats which the hotel has to offer, including the tuna pies with sour cream, chopped strawberries and passionfruit, mini meringue tarts and the classic scones and jam topped with cream. And who could forget the beautifully brewed Dilmah teas which should form part of any high tea. It would be a disgrace or doing a disservice to anyone enjoying a perfect high tea if it weren't for the tea itself.

Even better, I ended up finishing off with a bronze medallist with a beautiful wooden Dilmah tea chest and showbag filled with of course, a huge selection of their tea range.

More pics can be seen here.