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Where to dine during the Chelsea Flower Show
Take your pick from the floral-inspired menus that are sprouting up all over the capital
For fans of floral flavours, there's much to delight in at Bluebird, which has been transformed with impressive flower installations adorning its terraces. To coincide with the show, it's running a special afternoon tea, which features a bespoke eclair, created by Michelin-starred pastry chef Joakim Prat, of Maitre Choux in South Kensington, combining violet with a wild berry mousseline cream. And there's good reason to indulge, as a percentage of the sales is being donated to the Chelsea Pensioners.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
The menu at Tom Aiken's Chelsea outpost is dedicated to presenting British produce at its very best, and here he has created a special assortment of dishes that showcase the flavours of the finest local flora. Partake in delights such as cod scented with apricot rose and saffron, and poached cherries with an elderflower and lavender panna cotta, washed down with the signature Chelsea Garden cocktail of Hendrick's gin, elderflower, cucumber and apple juice.
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Since opening earlier this year, Aster has impressed with its innovative Nordic-French cuisine. To mark the flower show, it has created a dessert full of Scandi chic that takes its inspiration from Cornwall's futurist Eden Project. Housed beneath a sugar dome that realistically re-creates the destination's iconic biomes is chocolate 'soil' and mousse, pistachio sponge and sea buckthorn sorbet. Edible flowers complete the look.
Make sure to pencil in some time out from the show for a leisurely lunch at Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester. In a dedicated menu served for just four days, executive chef Jean-Philippe Blondet has shone a spotlight on the best plant-based produce, presented in creative concoctions such as a flowering vegetable garden with fresh herb condiment and intricate pistachio and strawberry field dessert.
While afternoon tea may be a quintessentially English affair, this version, inspired by the beautiful cherry blossoms that bloom in spring, has an intriguing Japanese twist. Served at the Grand Cafe that sits in the stunning courtyard of the Royal Exchange, it incorporates the country's flavours into an array of sweet and savoury treats, including egg, miso and watercress sandwiches and matcha green tea and strawberry trifle.
The berry planter is a whimsical dessert inspired by a plant pot. It's made here from white chocolate and packed full of all manner of sweet treats. Grab a spoon and dig into the light-as-air red berry sponge, topped with cheesecake-style mousses and seasonal berries.
Resident florist Philip Hammond has designed beautiful floral decorations in honour of the Chelsea Flower Show, on display in the hotel's Promenade. Enjoy a champagne afternoon tea, with French pastries inspired by the Flower Show, The Dorchester's signature fine finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and a selection of grand and rare teas.
The Mount Street restaurant has been brought into full bloom with a display courtesy of McQueens florists, and the floral influences continue into its Indian cuisine. The limited-edition dishes see aloo tikki and crab topped with coriander and wild garlic flowers, and kulfis flavoured with rose, while the drinks list features cocktails infused with botanicals from Jamavar's garden.
