Lenotre High Tea, Phillip St, Sydney

Lenotre High Tea, Phillip St, Sydney
Saturday 14 April, 2007

After experiencing the '30 minute lunch special' at the Sofitel Wentworth recently I was determined to go back to indulge in the Lenotre High Tea.

This French indulgence is truly an experience not to be missed. As the hotel explains, "The Lenôtre Afternoon Tea experience includes a beautiful selection of cakes and tarts, assorted finger sandwiches, Mariage Frêre tea and espresso coffee. Lenôtre is available at Sofitel Wentworth Sydney in The Sofitel Lounge from 2pm daily, The Bistro Garden Court and the Banqueting department. Lenôtre Afternoon Tea $38 per person."

We arrived at the Lounge for our 3pm booking and were directed to our table for 5. After settling into the plush surrounds and viewing the exquisite tiered trays that were being delivered to the tables around us we wondered what Lenotre was all about. The menu provided this description for us,

"French haute cuisine, Lenôtre, now at Sofitel Wentworth Sydney. Sofitel Wentworth Sydney is thrilled to launch the French haute cuisine brand, Lenôtre, in Australia, through its much-celebrated Chef Pâtissier, Mark Stone. Sydney is one of only a select number of cities, outside of France, to offer Lenôtre. Mark spent three months at the Lenôtre professional culinary school, earning his certification to produce the cakes, pastries and desserts exclusively for Sofitel Wentworth Sydney. Mark is currently the only chef in Australia to have accredited Lenôtre certification."

It definitely feels special to experience the delights of a chef that is the only one of his kind in the country. We ordered our teas and coffees and sat in anticipation. The staff were lovely, if a little lax at times as we had to request refills several times before they were delivered and our quest for water took over an hour. However, what was delivered to our table was exceptional........and quite overwhelming. Here's a run down:

-Cone au Chocolat - A rich dark chocolate cone filled with luscious berries and served with cream
-Macaronades - Macaroons made of soft almond meringue filled with fresh raspberries and lemon curd
-Tarte au Citron - The classic French lemon tart, sweet pastry filled with almond and lemon cream, topped with lemon meringue
-Opéra - Chocolate pastry with layers of almond biscuit, decadent chocolate ganache with coffee butter cream and topped with gold leaf
-Camaïeu - Layers of chocolate sponge flavoured with marzipan in between layers of dark and milk chocolate mousse topped with ivory Chantilly cream.
-Ambiance - Layers of vanilla Bavarian cream, with fruits of the forest jelly and caramelized hazelnuts
-Scones Jam & Cream - Traditionally baked scones with homemade jam and cream
-Assorted Finger Sandwiches
-Mariage Frêres Tea & Vittoria Espresso Coffee

We sat in awe of the three trays and had no idea where to start. It was completely overwhelming. We enjoyed every minute of the experience and my absolute favourite was the Opéra - Chocolate pastry with layers of almond biscuit, decadent chocolate ganache with coffee butter cream and topped with gold leaf . I could have eaten an entire tray of these!

This is great experience and I can highly recommend it.

Lenotre High Tea, Sofitel Wentworth - 61-101 Phillip St, Sydney - (02) 9228 9104

http://www.sofitelsydney.com.au/sydney_hotel/lenotre.html