A new delivery service will be serving up traditional afternoon teas with enough of a side serving of 'greens' to take the edge off any guilt complex.
Environmental concerns and healthy extras are all part and parcel of home baking business Sweet & Fair which is to launch its afternoon tea delivery service around Newcastle and Gateshead from this weekend.
On offer is a range of treats - including vegetarian and children's options - which will be accompanied by two of the all-important five-a-day recommended portions fruit and vegetables.
And, with green issues at its heart, the company - which also donates 10% of its profits to charity - will be making use of locally and ethically sourced ingredients and recyclable packaging.
Abby Whitbread, who moved to the region from Loughborough around eight years ago, initially set up Sweet & Fair with a friend and baked for farmers’ markets and food festivals before taking a break to study food and human nutrition in Newcastle; her interest having been sparked at seeing the effects of poverty and malnutrition first-hand during visits to Bangladesh and Madagascar.
Then there followed restaurant work as a pastry chef where she learned how to make stand-out afternoon teas.
Now living in Gateshead, and re-starting her business to include use of local producers, she is focusing upon creating "little boxes of luxury" for people to enjoy at home.
And she said: "As a nutritionist, I’ve even managed to squeeze in two of your five a day to each afternoon tea, to help you enjoy it as part of a healthy balanced diet!"
The £15 afternoon teas, which will be available for delivery from Saturday, July 11, will come in recyclable paper cake boxes and compostable Vegware portion pots, which are made from plants - not plastic - with an emphasis on using renewable, lower carbon, recycled or reclaimed materials.
Abby's tea includes - among the savouries - sandwiches such as harissa chicken and bacon, lettuce and sun-dried tomato with pesto mayo; deep-fried macaroni cheese bites and crudités with red pepper houmous.
Alongside that is a cheese scone with mustard and chive butter as well as a blueberry buttermilk scone with jam and clotted cream plus sweet treats such as a caramel-cream filled éclair; lemon meringue pie and triple chocolate brownie - and a Fairtrade organic English breakfast teabag.
And an accompanying portion of fresh fruit will include the likes of grapes and a selection of berries.
A children's afternoon tea option is also available for £7.50.
Delivery is available, from July 11, to NE1-NE12 postcodes plus - from July 25 - the NE16 postcode too, between 11am and 2pm, and charges range from £2 to £4.
For the full menus and to place an order see here.
