Afternoon Tea at The John Smith’s Stadium

Where does afternoon tea come from?

Afternoon tea was first introduced in the early 1800s by the Duchess of Bedford. It came at a time when people would only eat two meals a day – one in a morning and the other in an evening, leaving a long break in between. Eventually, the afternoon cup of tea, which was served to the upper classes, became a light afternoon meal.

Traditional afternoon tea would include light cakes, scones, and sandwiches. Typical sandwich fillings were often cucumber, smoked salmon, coronation chicken or egg mayonnaise. Still to this day, a lot of the components which make up an afternoon tea are fairly rich, with portions tending to be slightly smaller than what we’re typically used to.

Afternoon tea is the perfect treat to share with family and friends or celebrate a special occasion such as a baby shower, birthday celebration, wedding anniversary, etc.

So, what makes the perfect afternoon tea? 

Afternoon tea is traditionally served on a tiered cake stand with the cakes and sandwiches beautifully presented on different tiers. The service would customarily arrive on small china plates while tea would always be ‘brewed’ in a teapot.

Set in the heart of Huddersfield, The John Smith’s Stadium provides a fantastic traditional afternoon tea experience for your guests to enjoy in a choice of two settings.

For a less formal get-together, why not spend the afternoon in our Stadium’s Legends Café Bar. Your table will be reserved for you and your guests and our team will be on hand to serve you.

Want to treat someone special? At no extra cost, enjoy the experience pitch side in one of our newly refurbished Riverside hospitality boxes. With a minimum of two guests up to a maximum of ten, it really is the perfect space to indulge in a delicious range of homemade treats.

This summer, our afternoon tea will feature a range of delicious freshly made finger sandwiches and savoury pastries. Not forgetting our tasty cakes, mini trifle, and freshly baked scone.

Our homemade menu consists of:

Finger sandwiches – Filled with Honey roast ham, tomato and mustard, Mature cheddar, red pepper and spring onion, and Egg mayonnaise and cress. These are served on a combination of fresh white and brown bread.

Scone – A delicious homemade fruit scone served with clotted cream and strawberry jam. But the question is, what goes on first, jam or cream?

Cakes – Homemade bite-size cakes are the perfect addition to any afternoon tea, and if that’s not enough, there’s our famous miniature trifle (not one to be missed)!

Tea – Always a good quality tea served in a teapot. For those wanting to indulge further, upgrade it to a glass of prosecco.

Please note – in addition to the above, we can also provide gluten-free, vegetarian/vegan, nut-free and halal options on request (24 hours’ notice required). If you’re interested, please get in touch with a member of our Events Team on 01484 484116.