Bringing Prohibition America to Cambridge

Bursting with a passion for food, drink, vintage and a healthy dose of all things American we had long been desperate to fuse these all together and create a special event.  So we jumped at the chance to be able to hold a fringe event for Eat Cambridge this year and got going with our application as soon as we found out about it. We were thrilled to have our application accepted, Eat Cambridge celebrates all things food and drink across Cambridge with a special focus on independent small business that are bringing exciting produce to the local foodie scene and beyond.   It is currently on until 24^th May so if you haven’t already checked out the events going on make sure you do now and keep an eye out for next year’s dates!

We wanted the event to combine the tradition of afternoon tea with a flight of bespoke cocktails and this brought us to the only logical conclusion, a 1920’s Prohibition Tea Party! Once we had settled on a Prohibition theme it was all systems go and we agonised over every detail.

The Food

A passion for trying new foods, experimenting with flavours and cuisines has long been a part of my life, you don’t put on 2 stone when travelling for 8 months any other way right!? Having decided to plunge into the Prohibition theme it quickly became clear that our afternoon tea needed an American make over. Half of my fabulous family being American and having spent 3 months driving across the states we have sampled a vast array of the delicious delights the States has to offer. From pizza and BBQ to soul food and grits, pancakes to fried chicken, oh I could go on forever.

We set about researching sandwiches and trying out all the meats, cheeses and garnishes to develop our takes on two classics, the Reuben and Muffuletta and introducing the Pilgrim and West Coast Crunchy. You may have noticed we do passion with passion and that includes a passion for shopping local so we sourced local and British products including delicious breads from Brown Bread who can be found at Ely and Saffron Walden markets among others. We also ordered from the devine Keevil and Keevil for cured meats, and Limoncello for Provalone oh boy what a treat! We’d love to give away all our secrets but our home made olive spread will have to remain a secret for now!

We added some quintessential American flavours to our scones offering Cranberry and Cinnamon Scones with Cheese, Jalapeno and Bacon bites. The bites were made to an American biscuit recipe, these are very similar to scones but perhaps more fluffy and served with anything from sausage gravy at breakfast or fried chicken at lunch to cheese dip as an appetiser before dinner.

Our sweet treats came with a matching cocktail, see the menu above, but we didn’t let this hold us back on flavour or surprises. We developed a delicious apple and salted caramel cupcake, a cherry pie cake pop dipped in a black chocolate candy coating and speckled with edible gold food paint to match our colour theme as well as a peach and blueberry cobbler loaf. Despite being fully aware that we already had a pretty full menu we powered on and added petit fours to include peanut butter choc chip cookies, our much loved pecan pie and finally, you probably guessed it, a chocolate brownie!

The Drinks

Please rest assured and have no doubt that we went into the research for our drinks menu with huge amounts of gusto and enthusiasm, it’s a serious subject after all. Not being officially trained in the art of cocktails, in fact just being avid drinkers of cocktails meant this part was pretty nerve wracking. My husband, it seems, has a secret array of cocktail skills tucked up his sleeve so we spent many an evening trying gins, bourbons, soaking fruits and infusing spirits with tea.

Our first cocktail quite simply had to be served in a tea pot and we discovered a hugely talented local artist, Monique at Toasted Glass, who quite by chance happens to make the perfect tea pots for this kind of event and is also a fellow Secret Tea Society member!! Her work is bespoke, hand painted and extends to all kinds of items such as vases, julep cups, bottles, and so much more.

We infused gin with our own Earl Grey loose leaf tea and lengthened with Prosecco and Cloudy Lemonade, delicious. For our other cocktails we really wanted to add a dash of something you wouldn’t necessarily find easily and also a hint of something American. Two highlights for us where the Arkensas Apple Pie Lightning, a whisky based liqueur with apple and spice and the Harry Brompton’s alcoholic Iced Tea, newly available in some Waitrose’s and in specialist shops, it tastes just like American Iced Tea. We combined these two with Salted Caramel vodka to create our own Apple Pie Moonshine and it was a hit.We served the spirits mixed together in a hip flask and allowed our guests to lengthen the cocktail at their own discretion with the iced tea.

p> We also developed our own pale ale syrup for another cocktail and sourced delectable peach and blueberry teas to create a non-alcoholic iced tea. Finally, on one advance visit to our venue, Hot Numbers, we discovered they made an Espresso Martini and once sipped it had to be on the menu. You haven’t had an Espresso Martini until you’ve tried the Hot Numbers Espresso Martini, they use their own coffee to make it which is divine in itself, gives it a beautiful roasted coffee flavour and really wakes you up, this was the perfect cocktail to end the night on.

The Venue, Decor and Entertainment

It’s all very well and good putting all this effort into the food and drink but our event really wouldn’t have had the right mood, atmosphere and Speakeasy vibe if hadn’t been for our fabulous venue, decor and entertainment. I had already been to Hot Numbers on a couple occasions, for events and a coffee, in my humble opinion they serve the most sensational coffee, certainly the best coffee I’ve ever had. It is located in a former brewery and directly next door to antique shops which we felt not only brought it directly in line with the feel we were after but also allowed us the odd cheeky antique rumage. It is a beautiful space and the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. They also had some fab jazz art work on the walls, a piano and a kitchen oh and I suspect the craft beers helped lure my husband in!

We sourced a great deal of decor options and sadly couldn’t fit them all in the car on the night. Obviously our beautiful china and Toasted Glass tea pots added to the Prohibition feel. Sparkling fabric flowers by Daphne Rosa handmade in black and gold decorated the tables adding glamour and we picked up some wonderful wooden letters to spell out Prohibition.

What kind of Prohibition Tea Party would it have been without a delectable live performance of 1920s and 30s tunes!? Fortunately we knew just the person and were incredibly lucky to book the sensational Cherry Morello. Cherry has a stunning voice, she dazzled in a sparkling gown, interacted with our guests and even got them singing along.

We had a wonderful night, myself, my husband and my awesome friend Tamara loved dressing up, making food, serving and meeting our guests and were thrilled with such positive feedback. We hope we can dust of our outfits and do it again soon! The evening was captured beautifully by Anna Goodman, if you would like to use her photos please contact us in the first instance and we will pass on all requests.