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Top things to do in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire

1. Explore Potters Bar’s walking routes and parks

Oakmere Park

Oakmere Park is a beautiful and peaceful town park in the heart of Potters Bar. With lots of history behind this park, it was once the grounds of a Victorian house. With any mature trees that remain and originate from the Victorian times, including Cedars, Giant Sequoia Trees, and much more. Oakmere Park has great character, with its two large lakes embedded throughout the park, it’s the perfect spot for bird watching and feeding the wildlife.

Parkfield

Directly opposite Oakmere Park, you will also find other walking routes in Potters Bar such as Parkfield. For those looking to stretch their legs and enjoy the wildlife, you can find an array of things to do here. Including Parkfield’s enchanting Japanese Garden, finding the remains of an ancient Roman Tile Kiln as well as the Parkfield Statue made entirely of oak wood.

Movern Park

Situated directly opposite Milly’s Patisserie Florist Café, you’ll find the beautiful Movern Park. With 20 acres of peaceful open-access parkland, it dates back to the 14th century. This park is the ideal place for taking a stroll and enjoying its lovely scenery.

Watch a show at Wyllyotts Theatre

Located, just off Darkes Lane in Potter Bar, Wyllyott’s Theatre is the ultimate destination for fimaholics and live entertainment enthusiasts. With a diverse lineup that includes timeless cinema classics, captivating theater performances, musical acts, and enchanting pantomime shows, it’s the go-to spot for your entertainment needs. Offering something special nearly every day of the week. Whether you’re a fan of movies or live performances, Wyllyott’s Theatre can guarantee you a great experience.

Discover local businesses in Potters Bar

If you’re in search of some exercise at a nearby Pilates or leisure center, a shopping excursion, or a dining experience, Potters Bar High Street, Hatfield Road, and Darkes Lane are the perfect locations for a fantastic day out.

Have a spot of Brunch or Afternoon Tea at Milly’s Patisserie

Milly’s Patisserie Florist Café, nestled in the heart of Potters Bar on Hatfield Road, welcomes you with open arms. As a locally owned patisserie, we take pride in offering an array of delightful brunch choices and a tempting display of sweet treats, alongside our opulent afternoon tea packages. In collaboration with Ramel’s Florist, we’ve created a lavish experience where cakes, coffee, and beautiful flowers come together to provide you with the perfect setting to indulge and pamper yourself.

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A guide to afternoon tea etiquette

There’s no doubt that in the UK we Brits are avid tea drinkers, so much so, that research has found a staggering 28% of the UK population goes out for Afternoon Tea at least once a month (according to the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal). With Afternoon Tea experiences increasing in popularity, we thought it’s only right to give you our guide to afternoon tea etiquette. In this blog, we’ll cover our top tips for enjoying your next afternoon tea experience, including how to dress for afternoon tea, the best times to go, down to the best teas to help it go down a treat.

What is afternoon tea?

Dining for afternoon tea is a historic tradition that dates back to the 19th century in Britain. A traditional afternoon tea often includes a delightful spread of light snacks, cakes, scones, and pastries washed down with a pot of tea. What’s special about afternoon tea is not just the appetizing selection of food, but also the way it is presented on a tiered afternoon tea stand, making it the perfect setting to gather with friends and family for both special occasions and casual meetups.

Afternoon Tea for 4 people

What to wear to your afternoon tea experience

Whether you’re treating yourself to afternoon tea at a lovely hotel, local patisserie, or a tea room you can never go wrong with wearing smart casual attire. However the dress code may vary depending on the venue and location, so we recommend checking the website of the location you’re dining at to ensure you’re matching the atmosphere of the location.

Milly's Patisserie Interior - Tree

Here at Milly’s Patisserie Florist Café, we love any excuse to dress up in a smart casual outfit. Our beautiful lilac floral settings are the perfect Instagrammable location to take the most aesthetic photos, so if you’re looking for your next photo opportunity, you’ve got it here at Milly’s Patisserie!

BOOK AFTERNOON TEA

When is the best time for afternoon tea?

The perfect time to book your afternoon tea experience is usually to cater for a light meal between lunch and dinner. Typically, anytime between 12 – 5 pm is the ideal time to book afternoon tea however, this depends entirely on your preference. Your location may also have a set time frame in which they serve afternoon tea in which could play a part in what time you make your reservation for. Here at Milly’s Patisserie, we serve afternoon tea between 11 am – 5pm.

Top teas to go with your afternoon tea experience

With the average person in the UK drinking around 2- 3 cups of tea a day, it’s important to consider which one is best suited for your afternoon tea. Usually, an afternoon tea package comes with multiple pots worth of refillable tea, so choosing your preferred type is super important.

A classic English Breakfast Tea is the most popular type of brew to wash down all the sandwiches and cakes you’re about to eat. However, there’s nothing wrong with going against the grain and opting for a revitalising herbal tea such as Earl Grey, Peppermint or Green Tea. Overall, the type of tea you choose to accompany your package is completely down to personal preference, after all you’ll want to ensure you select an option that will enhance your overall experience.

The best order to eat your afternoon tea

Whilst afternoon tea traditionally comes on a tiered cake stand, we like to recommend eating your afternoon tea from the bottom layer all the way up to the top. Starting with a selection of savoury sandwiches is the perfect way to kickstart your tastebuds. Whilst enjoying a sip of tea inbetween, your second tier on the stand tends to be your sweet scones with a touch of clotted cream and jam (we’ll cover the debate around this order later!). Last, but not least, your top tier is usually filled with the sweetest of them all, including cakes, pastries and (our personal favourite) macarons!

The big debate, jam or clotted cream first?

A huge topic of conversation around how to eat your afternon tea, is in particular how you would layer jam and clotted cream onto your scones.

Well, we like to settle this debate depending on which location your dining in within the UK. Customarily, afternoon tea-ers in Cornwall will argue spreading their jam first, then cream. Whilst in Devon would maintain their technique the opposite way. Ultimately, this is totally up to your personal preference and natural instincts. However this debate makes for entertaining conversations across the table.

So now you’ve learned all there is to know about afternoon tea etiquette, all you need to do is find your ideal location to carry these tips and tricks out.

Here at Milly’s Patisserie, our Florist Café is the ideal setting for your next afternoon tea experience. With our packages starting at just £20 per head with a large selection of cakes, pastries, tea and sandwiches, it’s one not to miss. Book your expereince with us here today.

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What are macarons?

Let’s settle the debate: ‘mac-a-rohn’ or ‘mac-a-roon’?

Ah yes, the big debate just about everybody is talking about… is it macaron or macaroon?
Well, put simply, it’s pronounced ‘mac-a-rohn’. In fact a ‘mac-a-roon’ is a completely different sweet treat altogether.

So, what’s the difference? A macaron is almond based and a macaroon is made with shredded coconut. Whilst they’re both cookies, they look completely different and are made differently too. Here’s how they compare:

Macarons or macaroons comparison

What are macarons?

A macaron is an elegant and delicate cookie baked with ingredients including almond flour, egg whites, and sugar which make up its cakey shells. Whilst the filling is either chocolate ganache or cream-based (but we tend to use a chocolate ganache filling around here!).

Two macaron cookies are sandwiched together with its creamy filling in between – and you bet it, they taste amazing.

Pistachio Macarons

Where do they come from?

Macarons were born and raised in Italy! Surprised? We thought you’d be. Although macarons originate from Italy, their recipe was tweaked in France and was crowned the hot spot for tasting macarons, especially in Paris. So much so, there are actually two techniques of making macarons – the Italian method and the French method.

We love making both methods here at Milly’s Patisserie but all of our macarons use a French macaronage technique. Super scrumptious.

4 fun facts about macarons:

  • They’re completely and naturally gluten-free – so if you’re part of the coeliac club or eating with the gluten-free tribe, you can enjoy them too!
    (all of our flavours are 100% gluten-free, apart from our Oreo and Biscoff flavours)
  • National Macaron Day is on 31st May every year
  • Each macaron is usually under 90 calories, compared to a cupcake which averages around 300 calories (it’s a win-win!)
  • It’s not the coloured shell that has the flavour, it’s the filling!

Fancy trying out our Milly’s Patisserie macarons? Click here to shop our macaron gift boxes.