From 2004- 2006 you would find me in the kitchens of Thomas Danby College (now part of the Leeds’ City College) every Saturday as part of the Junior Chef’s Academy. I worked my way through stages 1,2,3 and eventually achieved my NVQ Level 1 Food Preparation and Cooking ; all thanks to the guiding hand of Tim Bilton a.k.a Chef.
After my time at the college I heard in passing that Tim had left to pursue his career and opened The Butchers’ Arms in Hepworth as well as appearing on The Great British Menu much to my excitement and tumultuous screaming of “OMG I know that guy!”
As part of my ’21 Things To Do Before I’m 21’ blog I was lucky enough to visit The Butcher’s Arms where I was fortunate enough to see Tim (or should I say Chef) again. You can read that blog here if you wanted to.
I heard through the grapevine the Tim had moved on and was now working at the vintage tea rooms and bar; The Spiced Pear also in Hepworth. You can imagine therefore that it has always been a wish of mine to go there but until recently this wish was more like a dream your heart makes.
Yesterday, my birthday, I woke to bunny snuggles, presents and the news that I was going for a surprise afternoon tea. All I was told was that I should put on my vintage dress. Suitably intrigued I put on my glad-rags (The dress is from Lindy Bop in case you were wondering and set off on a magical mystery ride….
My sense of direction and all geographical knowledge is so appalling that even after looking at road signs I still had absolutely no idea where I was. After many winding roads we finally pulled up to the drive and the sign looked just a bit familiar. I had finally made it to The Spiced Pear!
I may have shed a tear at this point.
With a warm and friendly welcome, glass of champagne and wishes of Happy Birthday my mother and I were led though to the vintage tea room complete with tea cup lights, magazine trimmings on the walls, retro style decor and oodles and oodles of gorgeous chins tea sets.
The ‘invention’ of Afternoon Tea can be credited to the Duchess of Bedford in the 19th century. After complaining of ‘a sinking feeling’ during the afternoon the Duchess was brought a selection of sandwiches and cakes for her to enjoy privately in her boudoir. Soon the Duchess of Bedford was inviting some of her closest friends for tea and this tradition escalated.
For this reason I believe that Afternoon Tea has remained a largely female pastime and I often notice that tea rooms are often mostly filled with women whenever I go for Afternoon Tea. With this in mind I was delighted to see that The Spiced Pear offered a ‘Gentlemen’s Afternoon Tea’ which besides being ‘very Yorkshire’ offered a variety of savoury items which could be considered ‘more substantial’ than the traditional finger sandwiches and I was particularly taken with the Yorkshire Pudding with Butter Roast Turkey, Pork Pie with Balsamic Onion and Homemade Scotch Egg.
As well as ordering a Gentlemen’s Afternoon Tea we also went for the Festive Afternoon Tea which included the delightful Christmas Scone with a delicious hint of cardamon, mini since pies with melt-in-the-mouth pastry and a sumptuous collection of mini cakes including carrot, chocolate and fruit cake.
We washed all of this down with Earl Grey tea and experienced a truly wonderful afternoon. I was particularly taken with the fact that we were given Pear Drops with our bill……because its The Spiced Pear.
Whilst sipping on our tea and discussing whether it was better to hold your tea cup with 2, 3 or four fingers or thoughts turned to Tim. ‘I wonder if he’s in today?’ I thought.
Upon googling him to see whether or Tim was still working there our if he had moved on I was shocked to read this article from The Huddersfield Examiner. After an ongoing battle with cancer Tim has lost his taste buds and has been forced to resign as a chef.
This truly heart breaking story was later clarified by the staff who told us that Tim is spending time at home with his family whilst continuing on with his battle.
The Cancer Unit at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield have been invaluable in their care for Tim and his family throughout his battle and Tim and Adele hope to offer their gratitude by raising money for the unit. A charity ball was held at Rudding Park in September and you can donate to their Just Giving page here , II know that I will.
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