Global High Tea award goes to Wellington

Global High Tea award goes to Wellington

Executive Chef Laurent Loudeac and Assistant Maitre d’ Camille Furminieux of Hippopotamus restaurant are the winners of the Dilmah Real High Tea Global Challenge in Sri Lanka over the weekend.

The pair competed against 20 teams and 13 other countries culminated from 710 competitors over the last 8 years of the competition held nationally in countries around the world. This is an epic win for New Zealand and this is their winning menu.

Laurent and Camille wowed the judges with their high tea degustation menu, which involved pairing Dilmah teas and tea cocktails with three savoury and three sweet recipes, including two creations featuring tea.

The winning menu featured duck consomme infused with a Dilmah jubilee tea, and a crepe suzette matched with a tea-infused mocktail. Loudeac also served his signature salmon sashimi with wasabi, pairing this with a single estate Ran Watte tea. A mille feuille, resembling a custard square, was infused with strawberry tea. The Menu was titled "The Meeting of the Senses"

Laurent commented “We are blown away with the win – it’s very humbling and really puts New Zealand on the world stage when it comes to offering high tea with a twist. I guess you could say the tea revolution is underway – it’s becoming increasingly popular to make tea part of cooking as it’s so versatile to use in gastronomy.

“The competition was intense and involved us experimenting with different tea flavours and included 12 different tea varieties in our menu. It was important to select a tea that had an aroma and taste that would best complement the dish. Some of the tea varieties have different noses, such as hints of chardonnay or syrah,’” said Camille Furminieux.

For the past four years, Hippopotamus has been offering guests a high tea experience with a distinct French influence, serving madeleines, macarons and mousse among the treats offered.

ENDS

© Scoop Media