It is not every day when we have the privilege of crossing paths with a true master pâtissier and esteemed baker who has regaled both stars and royalty with his delectable creations. Such was the captivating encounter we experienced when we had the pleasure of meeting Eric Lanlard.
Our introduction to this extraordinary talent took place during Mum’s friend Margaret’s captivating podcast, “Kitchen Chat,” where she was interviewing Mr.Lanlard.
Mr. Lanlard had written a book about Afternoon Tea – a book that celebrates the quintessential British tradition. So we had to ask him the much debated question about scones – does he do it the Cornish or Devon way?
Guess what he told us …
May’s comment: Our friend, Margaret from Kitchen Chat interviewed highly acclaimed pastry chef Eric Lanlard, owner of Cakeboy Cookery School in London. As Chef for the Royal Ascot Afternoon Tea, Chef Lanlard prepared around 6,500 Afternoon Tea servings this season including 20,000 scones.
Queen Anne founded Ascot Racecourse in 1711 and even stopped there often on her ride from Windsor for an Afternoon Tea before there was a racecourse.
According to Chef Lanlard, a royal approach to prepare your scones is the Cornish way with jam first and then clotted cream on top. However, this remains a constant cuisine debate with Cornwall vs Devon. The Devon way is to put the clotted cream on first and then the jam. Either way, an Afternoon Tea is always a scrumptious treat.
After studying in France, Chef Lanlard moved to London to work with Albert and Michel Roux at age 22 and became Head Pastry Chef in two years. Check out his fantastic cookbooks, including Afternoon Tea
You can listen to Kitchen Chat’s podcast with Chef Eric Lanlard’s here.
