Restaurant review: Dominique Ansel, Victoria, London


Now I know Christmas is over and maybe I'm a bit behind the times with posting festive content, but Dominique Ansel still does afternoon tea all year round. With Sarah's birthday outing colliding with Elodie's flying visit earlier this month, we decided there wasn't a better way to kickstart December then stuffing our faces with cake. Located just as short walk from Victoria Station, Dominique Ansel is famous for the creation of the Cronut but that isn't all it has to offer. It's a great place to catch up over a fancy cake with the only problem choosing which one to get!





The afternoon tea is located in a gorgeous undercover garden terrace, available from Thursday to Sunday from 12pm-4pm. Like all traditional afternoon teas you'll be given a savoury selection, sweet selection, scones with cream and jam with as much tea as you can drink. But this is where the tradition ended. Instead of sandwiches, we were given cute savoury Christmas trees which were filled with delicious fillings, including salmon, egg salad, turkey and mushroom. Next up was the best tier, the sweet treats! The mince pie snowman was my favourite, in fact I had two! The stars were filled with a delicious cream and jam concoction for the scones.

Service was a little slow but I think that's because of the busy festive season. But they did let us have the table a lot longer than they originally said. We always gossip too much so it was an nice touch to not feel rushed. Priced at £42, it's one of the more expensive afternoon teas in London but it is worth it for something a little different. It was a great way to kickstart Christmas!




1 Comments

A 2019 cooking challenge: 52 new recipes in 52 weeks


This year I spent a lot more time in the kitchen and realised that it really is my happy place. I love being about to switch off on a Sunday afternoon and lose myself in cooking something delicious. One of my goals this year was to start using my cookbooks enough and I certainly did that. But I mainly rotated around five books which is silly considering I now have around 200 sitting around. I found recipes, especially baking recipes, I loved and did them numerous times. Now there's nothing wrong with that but I want to push myself and stop being afraid of it going wrong.


So this year I am going to try 52 different recipes which works out one a week. A pretty doable challenge if you ask me! They can be from books, blogs or newspapers. Just a recipe that has tickled my fancy. I have literally hundreds bookmarked and have tried maybe one or two. I want to be a lot more adventurous and try and improve my knowledge of the kitchen. Bread is my top choice for something I want to ace next year.

I'll be blogging about it on here to keep me in check. I think I'll be writing a new blog post each time I complete around five which will hopefully equal around one a post a month. As nothing really counts until it's been posted on social media, I'll also be popping each recipe up on my Instagram alongside the hashtag #52recipes so be sure to follow along. 

Wish me luck!

3 Comments

A Christmas treat with Jet2 Holidays


A email popped into my inbox a week or so ago asking if I fancied a hamper from Jet2 to help celebrate the festive season. Well after a long week at work, it was such a treat to come home too! Using the theme of European Christmas markets, it was full of goodies to help get me in the mood. I can't wait to make that Yule log in time for Christmas Day and have already used those gorgeous milled wine mugs! Those chocolate coins went down faster than you can say Merry Christmas...




Coincidentally when I went to Magaluf back in May I actually used Jet2 Holidays and can't rave about them enough. We ended up delayed because of an awful storm but were kept well informed and given frequent cups of water to keep us hydrated. It doesn't sound too much but it's a lifesaver when you're stuck on the tarmac inside a stuffy plane. Inside the hamper was also a £60 voucher to go towards a trip. I'm hoping to take advantage of their Jet2 holiday city breaks if our funds allow us next year!

1 Comments

Search This Blog

About me

About me
A Essex based lifestyle blogger who lives a champagne life on a lemonade purse!

Get in touch at
sophie.warner89@yahoo.co.uk.

As from July 2015, all PR samples will be marked with a *.
Follow

Blog Archive

Design by elevatormusik. Powered by Blogger.

Copyright

All content copyright to The Story of a Girl Who Lives Above Her Means unless stated otherwise.