Victorian-era novelist and expatriate Henry James once said, “There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”

On Tuesday, May 22, the Florence Elston Inn and Conference Center at Sweet Briar College will devote not one but two hours to the distinctly British tradition. From 3 to 5 p.m., an authentic English tea party will be held in the Wailes Lounge.

A similar event held last year drew 85 people from the Sweet Briar and surrounding communities. This year, innkeeper Pat Hutto and new executive chef Glenton Goodwill are taking it up a notch, offering a four-course menu chock full of sweet and savory delights and tea, of course.

The cost is $21.95 per person, and a limit has been set at 65.

Hutto and Goodwill know a bit about tea; she hails from England and he from Jamaica, a former British colony. “Think of Jamaica and you think of coffee,” Hutto said. “Jamaica is one of the oldest coffee producers, but it is also British in heritage.

“Glenton and I are familiar with traditional afternoon tea and look forward to sharing this custom with others.”

Following a sherry aperitif, the first course includes freshly baked mini scones with clotted cream and strawberry conserve, chocolate-dipped strawberries and mini fruit skewers.

The next course offers garden herb spread with English cucumber, alfalfa sprout and watercress on white bread; house smoked salmon and Boursin cheese on pumpernickel bread, and beef tenderloin with horseradish cream on garlic crouton.

Petit fours, gingerbread with lemon curd and brandy snaps follow, and the afternoon concludes with a cheese platter consisting of imported Stilton, Double Gloucester and Sage Derby served with Bath Oliver biscuits and port.

Teas on the menu include English Breakfast, Lapsang Souchon, Earl Grey and Blackcurrant, and harpist Virginia Schweninger, who is on the music faculty at Sweet Briar, will provide entertainment.

For reservations or more information, call (434) 381-6266 or e-mail phutto@sbc.edu.

Hutto also provided the following recipe for the gingerbread to be served at the tea party:

Gingerbread

½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1 cup molasses
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cloves
3 tsp. baking soda
1 cup boiling water

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add molasses. Mix flour and spices. Put baking soda in 2-cup measuring cup; add 1 cup boiling water. Add flour mixture and liquid alternately to first mixture. Spread mixture into greased 9-by-13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

– By Suzanne Ramsey, SBC staff writer