Jam or cream first? National Trust Mother's Day cream tea advert sparks outrage

The National Trust’s Lanhydrock restaurant “sparked fury” this week after posting an advert on social media this week inviting people to treat their mums to a cream tea this Mother’s Day, says the BBC.

The advert’s photo “angered Cornish locals” among the restaurant’s Facebook followers for depicting a scone with cream first and jam on top, in the rival Devon tradition. About 300 people complained on the original post, and it was shared over 400 times.

Cornwall Live described the photo as “the most heinous crime in Cornwall’s food and drink.” Several locals even threatened to cancel their memberships over the matter.

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In a follow-up post, the Trust offered its apologies for the “heinous mistake”, saying that staff will wear #JamFirst badges to support “a proper cream tea”.

Richard Levy, Lanhydrock’s Visitor Experience manager, told the BBC that the post was a “genuine mistake” and that the staff member responsible was “meekly crawling around trying to avoid the storm” before returning to work on Monday.