Since its creation in England in the early 1800s by Anna, Duchess of Bedford, Afternoon Tea has long been associated with the entertainment of society. Naturally, New York society’s Grande Doyenne, Caroline Astor, or “The” Mrs. Astor as she was known in the Gilded Age, adopted this tradition as her very own. It was a joyful occasion and the opportunity to host gatherings with her closest intimates – an exhilarating prelude to her more noteworthy formal social events.
This ritual comes alive every afternoon at every St. Regis around the globe, and here at The Drawing Room of The St. Regis Mumbai as well. Bringing this elegant tradition to India at The St. Regis Mumbai, Anuraag Bhatnagar, General Manager The St. Regis Mumbai and Anandita De hosted an Afternoon Tea at the Drawing Room of The St. Regis Mumbai on 30th July 2016. The afternoon event was also an occasion to welcome and introduce Chef Martin Kindleysides, Director of Culinary, to the fine food and tea connoisseurs of the city.
Guests partook in a bespoke high tea menu that comprised a wide selection of the signatures from the Drawing Room’s afternoon tea menu:
Seen enjoying a relaxed afternoon over an array of flavored teas and sparkling Moet Imperial ice champagne were Shobhaa De, Aarti Surendranath, Gayatri Rangachari Shah, Arti sarin, Avantikka Raju, Priyanka Thakur, Anjali Gaekwar, Nisha Jamwal, Priya Nathani , Ira Dubey, Aarti Surendranath, Yash Birla, Sanam Sippy, Pratima and Gaurav Bhatia, Jenifer Kotwal, Dhiman shah, Zeba Kohli, Natasha Mehta, Sahil Harjani