Afternoon tea lover turns her passion into a business in the Vale of Belvoir
Afternoon tea has been such a passion for Annette Allington that she decided to take the plunge and turn it into a thriving business venture.
The Tea Garden is an afternoon tea box delivery service and the brainchild of Annette, who lives in Granby, in the Vale of Belvoir.
Having been made redundant from her accounts administration job and having to shield during the coronavirus lockdown, Annette decided in a positive move that this was the push she needed to fulfil a life-long dream.
She said: “Being made redundant certainly gave me lots of time to mull over the future. Having to shield also made it difficult for me to get out and about for essentials such as shopping, so I had to practically have everything delivered to my doorstep.
“I have a huge passion for baking and for many years have loved creating home-baked cakes and savouries for my family. I also love a lavish afternoon tea so I sort of had a light-bulb moment and thought, ‘why not take the plunge and combine the two plus offer a personal delivery service?’.
“Orders have been flooding in and I’ve not stopped, a real lockdown hit. Customers are ordering for birthday and anniversary gifts for family and friends, for a special treat for themselves, an alternative to a barbecue and I’ve even had orders for garden parties.”
The Tea Garden offers afternoon teas delivered directly to the doorstep, starting at £15 for an afternoon tea for one person and £28 for two.
Each box contains a selection of finger sandwiches on assorted bread, as well as savouries such as double cheese and red onion quiche. There are also fruit scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, lemon drizzle cake, chocolate brownies, and deep filled carrot cake muffins to complete the sweet side of things.
Everything is home-baked and freshly prepared. The afternoon tea boxes also include individually wrapped Twinings Teas, napkins and a complimentary treat. Gluten free cream tea boxes are also available.
Annette said: “Feedback on my afternoon tea boxes has been five star with some amazing comments and customers particularly like the fact they are delivered directly to their doorstep. I want to offer fantastic quality service and for my afternoon tea boxes to be a wonderful and truly memorable experience.”
The Tea Garden supplied 40 afternoon teas throughout the vale and Grantham as part of National Afternoon Tea Week last week.
To find out more about The Tea Garden or to place an order email tteagarden2020@gmail.com or call 07899 965667.