Afternoon Tea At The Parish Oven, Thorpe Salvin, Worksop
Published On Wednesday 2 Mar 2022 by Sticky Beak
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It’s been a while since The Man Bird and I had an Afternoon Tea and, given how much we love this classic British treat, I’m not sure how this lapse happened! Thankfully the team at The Parish Oven in Thorpe Salvin (a few miles off J30 of the M1) rekindled the memory by inviting us to try their February take on this ‘meal’: Around the World in One Afternoon Tea – how fab does this sound?!
I know the way to The Parish Oven with my eyes closed, thanks to a friend of mine living in the village, so finding the venue was no hassle at all; neither was finding a parking spot in the large, on-site car park. There are several disabled spots right at the entrance, as well as an access ramp for wheelchairs, scooters, etc.
We used the automatic hand sanitiser on the wall in front of the bar/reception area – yes, I know restrictions have been eased, but let’s all keep doing our bit to keep each other as safe as possible eh? Those that are still clinically vulnerable are still that way; they haven’t magically got better or had the risk lessened just because Covid has been deemed to be gone in a puff of Wizard BoJo’s smoke!
The Parish Oven is a lovely open-plan venue (those tiles in the entrance area are amazeballs, by the way!) but has created interest by utilising half-height wood partitions to make smaller areas to eat and drink in, all with distinct decor themes. The area to the left of the bar has warm toned wood flooring and the area to the right of the bar (where we were) has an eye-catching blue and beige checked carpet. Dazzling white ceilings allow the teal blue walls to ‘pop’ and the arrangement of pictures and mirrors on the far wall certainly created a visual statement. There is a mixed, but harmonious, assortment of lights throughout the venue that help create a warm, welcoming feel, too.
Even though the manager had been informed of our visit, he still took the time to ask which option we’d like: standard Tea or Coffee at £14.95 per person, upgrade to Prosecco at £18.95 each or the premium option of a Cocktail for £19.95 per person. I opted for a glass of Prosecco and His Nibs had the Mexican Mojito. We then listened to a description of all the morsels that were in our experience, representing a not-too-shabby 8 countries!! This was going to be an enjoyable afternoon, I could feel it in my bones.A lovely young lady brought out the treat-laden white miniature picnic table - which looked quirkily fabulous – placing it on the table before us and bidding us to enjoy.
We decided to eat the hot items first to ensure that we tasted them at their peak, so the British Fish and Chips came into our sights, all snuggled up in their dinky frying basket. Having had Mummy Birds excellent fried Fish n Chips for all my life, I am a bit of a snob when it comes to this meal; happily, the fish was coated in a light, crisp, non-greasy batter that gave a pleasing crunch when bitten into. The Man Bird also commented on the succulence and flavour of the fish: it was clearly fresh and tasted still of the sea with a gorgeous sweetness lapping at the edge of his palate. For me, the skin-on chips were absolutely fab: they were beautifully crispy outside and their skins provided some resistance to the bite before the cloud soft inners melted on my tongue. I was pleased to discover that the spuds themselves had a lovely, lightly nutty taste to them, rather than being boring and plain.
Next up was the small bowl of Italian Meatballs and Spaghetti with a delish Tomato sauce that just begged to coat the pasta as my fork twirled it around. I loved the dense texture the mini meatballs had, they were very satisfying; better still was the fact that there was no ‘repeat factor’ to them – you all know what a fussy madam I am when it comes to this! Whilst the Spaghetti was a bit more than perfectly ‘al dente’, it certainly wasn’t soggy, and for an Afternoon Tea offering was certainly acceptable.
Staying on mainland Europe, we chomped into a petite French Croque Monsieur, the classic toasted Ham and Cheese sandwich beloved of our continental counterparts. Chef had toasted the white bread lightly to achieve a nice crispness without breaking anyone’s teeth or making it unnecessarily tough to the bite – perfect! Between the bread was plenty of tasty Ham, partnered brilliantly by tangy mature cheese that had been grated to enable it to melt easier. A slice of sweet, juicy Tomato added a nice balance to the cheese as well as garnishing it prettily.
Going further afield to India, we were served with a pair of gently spiced Vegetable Samosas; who doesn’t like these perfect triangles of temptation?. Fried golden, the super thin Filo pastry had become wickedly crisp and crunchy to my bite, in contrast to the soft vegetables that were contained within it. A variety of spices had been used to augment the taste of the finely chopped vegetables and my taste buds were happily savouring each and every one, without my lips or tongue getting that tell-tale tingle of chilli heat.
Our exotic culinary adventure continued with a stop-over in China for some delicious Duck Spring Rolls – yum! The pastry (I assume Filo had been used rather than Brick, for ease?) roll was a really good size and had been packed with shreds of Duck meat and vegetables, including crunchy Bean Sprouts, so there was an audible crunch as The Man and I bit into the cylinders. What we both really liked was the fact that the Spring Rolls were wrapped in a Lettuce Leaf; not only did it look nice visually, it minimised the mess that could’ve come from the zingy Sweet Chilli sauce drizzled over each parcel. Actually that reminds me to mention one point I thought about at the time of our visit; as well as the thick napkins, it would be a fab idea to provide one of those lemony wet-towels so that diners can cleanse their hands between the savoury and sweet courses of the Afternoon Tea.
To cleanse our palates we took a slurp of the American club Soda that came in a miniature milk bottle complete with straw for that authentic diner experience. The Parish Oven team decided to pimp up the Soda with some Raspberry juice because, let’s face it, Soda isn’t the most flavoursome tipple when it’s ‘naked’, is it?
The top tier of the picnic table looked stunning and it was a case of ‘where to start?’! There were two pastry cases, so we began with one of them: the Sicilian Lemon Meringue Tart. The pastry case was lovely and buttery and not too thick that it was going to overwhelm its filling, a marvellously sharp, face scrunch inducing lemon concoction. Scattered on top of the sunny Lemon filling were pieces of white Meringue, so His Nibs was grinning as I popped all of mine onto his pastry case - I never fail to feel sad when I see Meringue; why can’t it like me like I like it? Even without the tooth tingling sweetness of Meringue, this dessert was super scrummy.
Up next was the Belgian Waffle with Nutella, Cream and Fresh Strawberries. The Man Birds’ morsel had been so lavishly loaded that the warmed Nutella was oozing out of the waffle and making its escape down one leg of the picnic table – not for long! His Nibs swooped with the determination of a bird of prey and took a huge bite, engulfing the sweet Waffle, warm Nutella and Cream in his greedy mouth. This was, without doubt, a seriously indulgent treat; but if you can’t totally immerse yourself in luxury at Afternoon Tea, when are you going to? At least the Strawberries count as a healthy choice!
We returned back to the familiarity of individual pastry cases for the American Apple and Salted Caramel ‘Pie’. This little beauty had the same buttery pastry as the Lemon Meringue, so we knew that this element was good and were hoping that the Apple and Caramel were going to be as good. I’m happy to say that they were. The Apple had been softened to that ‘comfort food’ level and its natural sweetness glided over my tongue, accompanied by a gloriously thick Caramel that had a hint of salty tang at its periphery.
All that remained on the picnic table was the Italian Tiramisu (presented gorgeously in a teacup and garnished with fresh raspberries and sugar flowers) and the classic British Scone with Jam and Clotted Cream. It isn’t often that His Nibs and I are defeated, but we really didn’t think that we would be able to scoff both so we made the executive decision to bring the Scone and its sundries home in a ‘doggy bag’ to have later for supper.
I do love me some Tiramisu and The Parish Oven kitchens did make a good stab at it, but it wasn’t as good as the ones you get in an Italian restaurant or home, I’m not gonna lie. You couldn’t fault the Cream and Cocoa elements at all, there were plenty of both, but the sponge finger at the bottom of the cup could have done with having (even just) half a teaspoon of cooled, brewed coffee soaked into it for that caffeine hit and authentic Italian Tiramisu experience. It wasn’t unpleasant, don’t misunderstand me, but it was lacking that zhuzh that coffee would’ve provided.
Our lovely server couldn’t help but smile as we admitted defeat and came back soon after with a couple of containers for us to put the Scone and accoutrements into to have back at the nest. True to our plan, we did have the scone for supper and very nice it was too. The scone was a pleasant texture, not clarty at all, and a good quality Strawberry jam added that wonderful, familiar bounce in the mouth. I took advantage of The Man Birds previous indulgences and had all the Roddhas Clotted Cream to myself – wouldn’t want his tummy to flare up, would I ?!
I have to say that the themed Afternoon Teas at The Parish Oven really caught our imagination, and the next one, ‘Ireland’, sounds equally as good - I won’t spoil it for you by divulging details, but if you fancy going along and trying it for yourself, let me know what it’s like. April’s theme for Afternoon tea is ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ – OMG!!! I have it on good authority that it isn’t going to be all chocolate; there will be sweets and odd flavour combinations that Mr. Wonka himself would be proud of, too.
The Afternoon Teas are pre-bookable only, with at least 24 hours notice required. A small booking fee of £5 per person is required which, given the amount of ‘no-shows’ the industry is experiencing, is understandable. You can book online at www.theparishoven.co.uk Opening times for The Parish Oven are: closed Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday-Saturday Noon-11pm (food served until 8.30pm), and Sunday Noon-10pm (food served until 7pm).
All that remains is for me to say “Hot Wings are awarded to this village venue”.
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