London Hotel Serves Up Afternoon Tea Inspired By David Hockney Paintings

There are times art isn’t just meant to be savored with the eyes but feasted on too. One such instance is Rosewood London’s latest afternoon tea menu, which Executive Chef Mark Perkins designed as an homage to David Hockney’s new exhibition.

The three-course menu, which draws inspiration from David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller and further away), offers guests a bite of traditional sandwiches and vibrant-colored pastries that double up as both snacks and art.

Visitors can tuck into The Arrival of Spring, a cake commemorating the artist’s The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate—a painting portraying the picturesque countryside in East Yorkshire.

Keeping with the theme, the dessert pairs a green pistachio almond sponge cake with a pink griottine cherry insert, a cherry mousse, chocolate embellishments, and decorative flowers to create a seasonal palette that’s as beautiful as appetizing.

Next up, The Splash, which features a chocolate sponge with a tart passionfruit insert encased in Earl Grey chocolate bavarois accented with an icy blue glaze, mimics “a splash in a Californian swimming pool.”

This dish harkens back to several paintings of swimming pools Hockney created between 1946 and 1971, while the third offering points to the painter’s first major exhibition—A Bigger Picture—at New York’s Guggenheim Museum in 2012.

The result? A vanilla cheesecake topped in purple glaze with chocolate vines and edible yuzu leaves. Within are a strawberry insert, vanilla-almond sable, and a lemon sponge that resemble the landscapes featured at the seminal show.

According to Robb Report, to create a fully immersive experience, Rosewood teamed up with set designer Camille Wordie to redesign the hotel’s Mirror Room—complete with bold, bright colors and subtle nods to Hockney’s designs.

Art Afternoon Tea at Rosewood London is available from Monday to Sunday, between 12 pm and 5.45 pm, starting at US$91. Head here for more information on the experience.

[via Robb Report and Haute Living, images via Rosewood London]