Our Story
Growing up in the UK, the eldest of four, as time has gone by my siblings and I started to compare notes of our individual childhood experiences. One thing became crystal clear; we had all been traumatized by our mother’s lack of cooking skills or creativity at mealtimes. She wasn’t the worst cook in England, but she surely would have found herself on the winner’s podium if it were an Olympic event.
There were the basic desserts: apple or rhubarb crumble with custard, sometimes stewed rhubarb with a moratorium on the sugar, or stewed apples. We had a robust rhubarb patch behind my father’s greenhouse and two apple trees grew in the back garden that produced a large crop of crab apples which we picked in September. In fairness, Mother did make a mean shortbread that none of us can replicate – believe me – we’ve tried. Shortbread represented the outer limits of her baking acumen. She didn’t make pastries, or pies, or cakes. (I was allergic to eggs as a child) hence all the crumbles and custard most likely).
Her main courses were simply brutal. Thursday’s meal was always Liver and Bacon Casserole.
What child eats liver, willingly, I ask you?!
The Horror, of Liver & Bacon Casserole
Our collective experiences were this was the worst gastronomic offering mother ever produced to torment her children. Liver cooked to a dull, dry, tasteless gray. Onions that never luxuriated in the warm embrace of a good butter as they sizzled away in a sauté pan (sadly a piece of kitchen equipment Mother did not own) no, they went in raw, just like the liver, and the bacon too! Mother didn’t mess about with a roux as her starter for a silken gravy. No, she used the ubiquitous Bisto Gravy Mix – a prepackaged brown powder. But we’ve also determined, she failed to follow even those package directions since we often found globs of unmixed powder floating around in the casserole.
I simply refused to eat dinner on Thursdays. Eventually my brothers and sister followed suit.
We Survived childhood meals
My siblings and I are all foodies. We swap pictures on WhatsApp of our baking efforts and special meals prepared with love for our families. We laugh about Mum’s hatred of cooking. It’s amazing any of us survived childhood! We all grew up really appreciating good food, prepared with care to the extent all of us have developed some fine kitchen skills and worked in various hospitality fields for many years. At least three of us are a bit ‘cheffy”.
It started with Carrot Cake
To be honest it started with my maniacal cookbook addiction. One of my favourites is a Southern Cooking tome that has some truly lovely cake recipes. And so, the quest for the perfectly baked Carrot Cake began. A friend professed it ‘heaven on a plate’ – quite the accolade. I’ve branched out into pastry, choux [ who doesn’t love a softly textured puff of choux with fresh cream inside?] Hot water crust has allowed me to experiment with game pie. Flaky and rough puff helped me develop and create some delicious quiches. Homemade soups, especially Cream of Carrot with Ginger are a specialty. I’ve created my own “Winter White Soup”, a medley of light coloured vegetables such as cauliflower, creamy yellow potatoes, squash, with cannellini beans; complimented with a little fennel and savory, and a smidge of garlic.
I’ve always loved to entertain and feed people. Hence I decided my secret dream to open a tea room could become a reality with serious planning.
A perfect excuse to eat cake at noon.
Arianna’s Tea Room concept was born in the Spring of 2023 when I finally found myself in a position to work toward that long held passion and dream. The name in olde english means ‘silver’ (indeed, that colour is a theme throughout the tea room). Through special friends and business connections I’ve been honoured to partner with the Oddfellows Home – Presidential Oakes, right in the New Hampshire capital. What was once a lonely parlour has been transformed into Arianna’s Tea Room a space with a vibe of plush understated elegance where you can expect topnotch unobtrusive, attentive service, comfort, and really good quintessential English food.
Come for Tea …
For at least two centuries “come for tea” has been just another way of saying “come let’s share a little bit of our lives together”
About the Afternoon Tea custom
Tea drinking; specifically, the ritual of Afternoon Tea, has become incredibly popular again on both sides of the Atlantic as more people put emphasis on the health aspects of tea and de-stressing from the hustle and bustle of daily life. As popularity gains each year, and familiarity and enjoyment of this long held English tradition are enjoyed by women, and men from all social economic strata, it is widely recognized the re-imagined ‘taking tea’ offers a sense of occasion.
Afternoon Tea once more is a graceful event enjoyed in leisurely surroundings, and offers a place where friends come together and exchange news over tea where the light is kind, cakes are unabashedly frivolous and the pace is decidedly calm.
Indeed, Arianna’s tag line, ‘a simply delightful excuse to eat cake at noon’ really says it all.
I am thrilled to welcome guests to Arianna’s Tea Room where one can enjoy a few hours away from the hustle and bustle of a busy life and take a step back in time transported by your tastebuds to a place of relaxation while sipping tea and sampling the best of British baking.