It’s the perfect afternoon tea for those who missed Tate Modern’s Yayoi Kusama exhibition.
Tickets for the newest Tate Modern exhibition showcasing Yayoi Kusama’s sparkling Infinity Rooms sold out in the blink of an eye — even though the installation will be in town until June 2022. Londoners who are eager to experience the mesmerising art exhibit need to wait for more tickets to drop in September, and cross their fingers that they’ll get their hands on some in time. If you’re one of the many unlucky people who did not get a chance to visit during the first half of 2021, don’t fret. The Rosewood London hotel is currently offering a special Art Afternoon Tea inspired by the dashing Yayoi Kusama Infinity Rooms.
Rosewood London’s newest Art Afternoon Tea titled ‘Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms’ is inspired by the Japanese artist’s contemporary designs, and offers a range of pastry delights reflecting Kusama’s artworks. The tasting experience combines unique Japanese flavours with traditional French pastry and patisserie, and conveniently takes place in the hotel’s Mirror Room, alluding to the current Infinity Rooms exhibition happening at Tate Modern.
Guests are invited to enjoy three courses comprising of traditional sandwiches and classic pastries, followed by Kusama-inspired cakes created by Executive Pastry Chef Mark Perkins.
Highlights include the ‘Dots Obsession – Soul of Pumpkin’ cake, made with dark chocolate sable, punchy passion fruit cremeux, rich jivara chocolate mousse, flourless chocolate cake, praline feuilletine, passionfruit ganache, and chocolate decorations. The ‘Flowers That Bloom at Midnight’ pastry is made with tropical coconut mousse, strawberry yuzu jelly for a flash of tartness, matcha green tea sponge, strawberry crisps for added texture, and an earthy sable biscuit.
A third pastry is inspired by the artist’s ‘With all my love for the Tulips, I pray forever’ exhibition, and features a citrusy yuzu mousse, raspberry yuzu jelly, almond pan de gene, green tea sable, raspberry cremeux, and chocolate petals.
“To create this afternoon tea I did a lot of research into Kusama’s works as well as Japanese food culture to help encapsulate her works in edible form. Incorporating Japanese flavours into the cakes allowed me to experiment with different ingredients and influence from Kusama’s installations, which enabled me to play around with fun and unique designs using bold colours”, says Perkins.
Guests will also have the option to add a unique Yayoi Kusama Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2012 limited edition champagne created in partnership with the artist herself, from £125 per person.
Location: The Rosewood, 252 High Holborn, WC1V 7EN. Nearest station is Holborn. See it on Google Maps.
Opening hours: The Yayoi Kusama Art Afternoon Tea is available Thursday to Sunday from 12pm to 6pm.
Entry: from £65 per person.
More information: on their website.