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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Afternoon tea

My friend Katy works at the Boston Athenaeum, which is a very old, private library at 10 1/2 Beacon Street in Boston town centre.  She is a pastry chef, and it is her job to organise and create literary themed afternoon teas.  Ever since I met her I have been fascinated by the notion of these teas, and it has been one of my Boston ambitions to go to one of her teas.  As the library is private the teas are members-only, and quite exclusive - we were only able to go as Katy got us in.

Their current exhibition is works by the illustrator Edward Gorey.  I've come across him in passing before and found his work very appealing.  And he was at Harvard / lived on Cape Cod so of local interest too I think - strange, slightly Gothic / Victorian-style, detailed drawings - quite curious and wonderful.  Illustrations for books by Edward Lear and Hilaire Belloc; miniature books; beautifully illustrated envelopes from letters he wrote to his mother while he was at uni...


The tea was served in the Long Room.  The menu was all based around things mentioned in, inspired by, or related to Gorey's work:


Savoury:

Squid ink sandwiches

Cucumber sandwiches

Jam sandwiches

Stilton and honey tartine

Tiny cheeses that looked a bit like earplugs


Sweet:

Tart cherry scones with creme fraiche and blood orange curd

Chocolate cupcakes with raspberry mint frosting (and crumbs - Gashleycrumbs? - on top)

Cinnamon toast (Gorey often served cinnamon toast to his guests)

Blackberry and sesame ice cream

Teas: Earl Grey or Hu-Kwa


It was all beautiful, and very exciting.  Katy had personalised our table with a cupcake on a special plate and a letter 'a' in fruit puree.  The crockery was beautiful in a kitsch, old fashioned kind of way, the cutlery was silver, there were guests in bow ties, it was all lovely.  I think my personal favourite was the ice cream - the sesame was really good.  Although the blood orange curd was also excellent... and everything was very tasty.

Afterwards Katy gave us a quick tour of the library.  The stacks were hidden at the back, on many levels with frosted glass floors - you could squint up and down between them.  So many beautiful old books.  The building was full of quiet library spaces, curious nooks and antique furniture.  Rescued colonial books from the King's Chapel (after the revolution).  Washington's library.  A book made of human skin you have to make an appointment to see.  A portrait of an artist smoking weed hidden in the members' lounge.  A huge, tucked-away window with a wonderful view over the old graveyard next door.  It would be nice to have time to use a place like that - to go and sit and read or research, take afternoon tea...


We left and walked across the common to take the T back to work as the light began to fade (around 5).  There was a lit-up cuboid and runners shooing people (incl paparazzi) around - apparently Sarah-Jessica Parker was there filming a mayonnaise commercial.
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