Escher X nendo: Monocromatic High Tea at the Sofitel Melbourne

To celebrate the launch of Escher X nendo exhibition at the NGV, the Sofitel Melbourne has designed a very special Monocromatic High Tea experience.

Update 12 February 2019 – Now available until the 29th of March 2019.

The Sofitel Melbourne’s Pastry Chef David Hann and his team have embraced the technical and inventive genius of 20th century artist Escher and drawn inspiration from one of the 21st century’s most inventive design studio’s, nendo, in their exquisite Monocromatic High Tea offering.

Escher is widely acknowledged as the master of optical illusion – and Chef Hann most certainly had us “oohing” and “aahing” as we discovered our petit fours were not always what we were expecting as the insides were revealed.

Not only was this an intriguing visual experience – our taste buds were equality tantalised… do not be fooled into thinking that this high tea is only about wow factor when it comes to it’s looks; it equally delivers in taste. What is also worth mentioning is that every component of the high tea is made on site by Chef Hann and his team.

Flourless vanilla opera cake with blackened coffee gel

Ash choux lime meringue profiterole

Escher’s Black Rose raspberry sponge with blueberry jelly, rose and white chocolate mousse and hazelnut

Free range crushed egg, mayonnaise, watercress & Tasmanian smoked salmon, lemon, black pepper

Freshly baked charcoal scones

Freshly baked charcoal scones with cream, strawberry preserve

The stand outs for me were the Escher’s Black Rose (inside a raspberry sponge with blueberry jelly, rose & white chocolate mousse and hazelnut) and the charcoal scones with the house blackberry jam.

To round off the experience this high tea is presented on a bespoke stand designed and made by the NGV’s exhibition team – the Sofitel Melbourne has delivered a visually stunning, and fitting, response to the NGV’s Escher X nendo!

“I was inspired by Escher’s work that made people look past what is the norm in terms of visuals and colour. With this high tea, my hope is guests can open their minds to each item’s own individual burst of flavour.” Pastry Chef David Hann

Escher X nendo: Monocromatic High Tea:

Desserts:

• Black sesame waffle cone with salted caramel, passionfruit get and coconut chiboust
• Escher’s Black Rose raspberry sponge with blueberry jelly, rose and white chocolate mousse and hazelnut
• Ash choux lime meringue profiterole
• Flourless vanilla opera cake with blackened coffee gel

Sandwiches:

• Champagne ham, grained mustard
• Cucumber and cream cheese, dill, chives
• Free range crushed egg, mayonnaise, watercress
• Tasmanian smoked salmon, lemon, black pepper

Scones:

• Freshly baked charcoal scones with cream, strawberry preserve and homemade lemon curd

Beverages:

• Unlimited espresso coffee
• Madame Flavour loose leaf tea

Learn more about the Escher X nendo: Monocromatic High Tea.

 

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Over three decades from 1936 M. C. Escher produced over 130 tessellation drawings of extraordinary variety and inventiveness. Escher developed an obsession with the regular division of the plane, describing it as the richest source of inspiration he had ever encountered. View some of these incredible works inside Escher X nendo | Between Two Worlds. Opening Sunday 2 December. #NGVEXN #NGV • • • Image: M. C. Escher Regular division of the plane no. 18 (Two birds) February 1938 pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on graph paper Escher Collection, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, the Netherlands © The M. C. Escher Company, the Netherlands. All rights reserved

A post shared by National Gallery of Victoria (@ngvmelbourne) on Nov 27, 2018 at 6:20pm PST

Escher X nendo – Between Two Worlds is showing at the NGV in Melbourne between 2nd of December 2018 and 7th of April 2019. Tickets can be purchased online or via the Sofitel Melbourne concierge. Sofitel Melbourne is the NGV’s tourism partner.

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