Royal Wedding Sapphire Afternoon Tea: Podium, The London Hilton on Park Lane

Despite the fact that Kate and Wills are totally stealing our wedding limelight this year, I have to admit I'm a liiii-iitttle bit excited about the Royal Wedding. I won't be out on the streets waving a Union Jack (over to you, Sarah) but I will be *dying* to immerse myself in the endless highlight shows and Grazia's fashion analysis. The outfits, the jewels, the drama, the romance - aaaah....

So it was with a skip in my step that I eagerly accepted an invitation to dine with my fabulous friend, Rachel, at the somewhat-gimmicky-but-that's-why-we-love-it Limited Edition Royal Wedding Sapphire Afternoon Tea at Podium restaurant at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Yes, you heard me right. Inspired by the sapphire engagement rock, the tea includes daintily decorated blue cakes and even a Blue Curacao and berry based "Loveberry" cocktail on arrival (and perhaps even a second one if you happen to spill yours in a moment of enthusiasm - ahem).

Since my last sampling of Podium's afternoon tea, they have been accepted into the Tea Guild in recognition of their high standard. The setting may not be glamorama, but the food and service are sparkling.

We started with a glass of champagne and delicate open sandwiches - the egg and cress and the cucumber with cream cheese and chives being my favourites among the selection, along with Foreman's smoked salmon and horseradish, honey roast ham and Pommery mustard, and prawn mayo with baby gem lettuce. I prefer proper closed sandwiches, but points for originality and they're good.

A Harney & Sons loose leaf black tea and peppermint blend has been specially created to match the afternoon tea and provided the perfect transition from cocktails to cake.

We high-fived ourselves in agreement when given the choice to ditch the fruit scones (dried fruit - way to ruin a good scone), opting for a selection of scrumptious freshly baked plain scones with clotted cream and blueberry jam, and chocolate chip scones with a delicious chocolate praline spread.

Moist blueberry jam cupcakes with K and W iced decorations and chocolate cupcakes with bouquet icing contained a lovely oozy buttermilk goo on the inside, while the top layer of gorgeous miniature fancies was spread out across an EDIBLE white chocolate plate. My favourites were the sweet, white chocolate hearts with tart passionfruit ooziness on the inside and the cheesecake and coconut parcel. Also included were a dainty shortbread wedding cake with gold leaf, biscuit tuile with blueberries and rich green tea truffles in white and milk chocolate.

Unlike the royal wedding, the tea at Podium is indulgent but not extravagant, fun but not pompous. Available from 26 April - 1 May 2011, the Sapphire Afternoon Tea is fairly priced at £32 per person including the cocktail on arrival (or £40 with a glass of champagne). At this price point, it's getting up there with Claridges without the art deco splendour to match - but it does have a cocktail, cakes and fancies that you don't get at Claridges and the like (the standard afternoon tea at Podium is only £25.50 per person). Perhaps to make a fairer comparison, special/seasonal afternoon teas at Claridges cost £50. And, crucially, it's only a short stroll from a commemorative lap of Buckingham Palace.

Podium at the London Hilton on Park Lane, 22 Park Lane, Mayfair, London W1K 1BE (Tel: 020 7208 4022)

Greedy Diva Gets Her Noggin on a Cereal Box - Jordans Country Crisp Appreciation Society

If you've been paying attention, you will have noticed this is largely a blog about restaurants.

However, I reserve the right to muse whimsically about any food related moment that comes my way. That includes my recently attempted one night stand with a dim sim.

And now it shall also include the fact that I recently had my grinning mug put on on a box of cereal. (A lovely Christmas present for the The Peanut Gallery, without the need to hit the shops - things were looking up.) Unfortunately, the folks at Jordans did not see fit to put said box in wider circulation than my own kitchen. What a kick in the guts. (Although, "understandable", The Peanut Gallery tells me consolingly as he stares at the box with a slightly freaked out expression.)

I never ate breakfast at all until I started working in an office, and now it has simply faded into the first part of my standard "cannot think, type or make any kind of decision unless chewing" routine. There's a breakfast window - don't put anything near me before 9am (unless I'm still on my way home, in which case make it a souva), and anything after 12pm becomes lunch.

However, during the breakfast window, I'll eat like a lion with a hangover. Give me pizza, burger or last night leftovers - I'll take them. Even cold. I just stop short of mouldy. As a standard/lazy position at home, it's hard to beat warm toast or crumpets with loads of melting butter and a smattering of Vegemite, but I might branch out wildly and mix things up a bit with some avocado on toast, or (on health kick days) granola and muesli. Or porridge (plain, with yoghurt) or mushy Vita Brits (baby food consistency is best). Anything that's not too sweet - unless it involves pancakes or I am in France, in which case I'm sure to have a craving for pain au chocolat or an almond croissant. And I haven't even started on my favourite breakfasts around town.

So, when at home, I like a nutty, crunchy, not too sweet cereal that's got a bit of a granola character about it. Which brings me to my point. Before Christmas (yes, I've been a little tardy), I was invited along with some other fine food bloggers to attend Leith's School of Food and Wine for a Jordans Country Crisp Appreciation Society food fest. There, Jordans and the lovely gang from the Wild Card PR company fed me up with coffee (very wise at such an early hour - someone must have warned them), juice, cereal and fresh fruits, and entrusted me use the rather professional looking utensils to bake a pear and cereal cake (not an innate GD skill - they make nice cakes at Princi, afterall. Think the Swedish chef on the Muppets let loose in a professional kitchen, and you'll have caught my drift.)

To my intense shock, I found the whole baking saga surprisingly therapeutic, and managed not to fling too many bits of stray pear onto the winty woolies of my accomplices, Ginger Gourmand, Kavey Eats and Food Urchin. I became at one with that mixer, as I chopped, mixed and whirled like a Japanese iron chef. So inspired was I, that I even bought myself a new pair of beaters leading up to Christmas - although it may be telling that they have since been used only to make alcoholic beverages (a lovely Christmas eggnog).

I enjoyed an enlightening speech by Bill Jordan on the ethos and family history of the company. Jordans is committed to producing its products without added salt, unseemly amounts of sugar and in a conservation friendly manner. Its oats are grown by British farmers who subscribe to a Conservation Grade scheme. (See more on Jordan's mission here in this week's article in The Telegraph).

An educative session from Kirsten (Head of Taste - love the title) on the complex making of cereal followed (seriously - who would have guessed there was so much to it? I've been taking my cereal makers for granted), before we rolled up the sleeves and dug in to create our own cereal blends. And I must say (ahem) I believe I may have uncovered a new GD talent. The mix of 9 parts nuts to 1 part cereal (no dried berry bits or chocolate flakes), was an award winning combo.

For more on the day, you can check out some other posts here (by Kavey Eats), here (by The Muesli Lover) and here (by Apple and Spice).

Thanks to Jordans and Wild Card for your hospitality, a great day and a lovely stash of cereal which I've been munching on since, as a fine accompaniment to my daily Vegemite fix.

So. What do you like for breakfast? Is my leftovers habit really that disgusting (I already know what you think, TPG). C'mon admit it - you sneak in a bit of cold curry in the mornings, don't you? Don't you?