Photo Credit: Patricia Niven
Rosewood London has long been renowned for its theatrical yet supremely elegant take on the city’s greatest art exhibitions, and its latest is no exception. This haute hotel has just launched an afternoon tea inspired by the great David Hockney and his eagerly awaited exhibition at Lightroom: “Bigger & Closer.”
Executive Pastry Chef Mark Perkins, who has consistently turned out a slew of Art Afternoon Teas for the past seven years, is showcasing his interpretations of Hockney’s immersive show served in the elegant Mirror Room. The expertly designed cakes take inspiration from Hockney’s life in Yorkshire and Los Angeles, combining classic British flavors with iconic US desserts crafted in never-before-seen ways.
Photo Credit: Patricia Niven
To further immerse guests into Hockney’s world, Rosewood London has partnered with stylist and set designer, Camilla Wordie to ‘Hockney-fy’ the Mirror Room’s interiors. Wordie has taken Hockney’s everyday essentials and turned them into sophisticated sets with a highly detailed approach playing with colour, props, and whimsical nods to Hockney’s personal style including his statement yellow crocs, flat cap and glasses.
The afternoon tea menu will comprise three courses: traditional sandwiches, followed by the selection of five Hockey-inspired cakes and desserts, each a work of art in themselves.
Photo Credit: Patricia Niven
‘The Splash’, brings together a chocolate sponge with a sharp passionfruit insert, encased in Earl Grey chocolate bavarois with blue glaze to mimic the fluidity of the famous Californian pool. The cake is then carefully placed on a crumbly almond sable and decorated with passionfruit chocolate décor to illustrate the painting’s splash.
The second cake centers around the vibrant Spring colors and organic shapes found in ‘The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate’. The pinks, limes, and forest green tones of the 2011 work are portrayed by a delicate cherry mousse encasing a spherical pistachio almond sponge with griottine cherry insert – showcasing beautifully defined sections of pink and green as it is cut.
Photo Credit: Patricia Niven
In a take on the vibrant and visually arresting, ‘A Bigger Picture’, a vanilla cheesecake enrobed with purple glaze featuring a strawberry insert imitates the plum-coloured trunk of a tree from Hockney’s work. Wrapping around the trunk, placed on a luscious green vanilla almond sable, grow vines with passionfruit and yuzu leaves in an eye-catching display of Hockney’s creative world.
Alongside the cake and dessert selection, guests will enjoy a contemporary selection of freshly made finger sandwiches, including lobster and crayfish roll, cucumber, asparagus and cream cheese, smoked salmon rillette on rye and chicken avocado on spiced tomato relish, as well as traditional scones. A wide selection of Mariage Frères teas will also be available.
Photo Credit: Patricia Niven
Hockey’s exhibition at Lightroom showcases some of his most notable pieces and sees him experimenting with perspective, using photography as a way of ‘drawing with a camera’, capturing the passing of time in his polaroid collages and the joy of spring on his iPad. It will be available to visit until June 2023.
The Art Afternoon Tea will be available from Wednesday 1st March, bookable Monday to Sunday from 12.00 p.m. to 5.45 p.m.,A glass of R de Ruinart, Wild Idol 0%, Ruinart Rosé, or a specialty cocktail are also available for a fee.
Rosewood London is located at 252 High Holborn, London WC1V 7EN
