Sweet Tooth Tours, Belgravia, London


Question: What’s the best way to explore an area of London and satisfy your sweet tooth? 

Answer: Sign up for a tour with Lynne Staartjes of Sweet Tooth Tours! 

Lynne is a Cordon Bleu-trained baker who loves interacting with people, so she decided to establish Sweet Tooth Tours in July of last year to share some of her favorite food businesses in her home neighbourhood of Belgravia, London. The tour groups are always small, but I was extremely fortunate to receive a personal tour as the other participants had had to cancel due to illness.


Belgravia is a pretty neighbourhood with tall white stucco townhouses mingling with a variety of small, independent stores and restaurants. We started our tour at R Chocolates, founded by Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, a self-confessed chocoholic, in 1931. A quiet, elegant store, this would be a great place for afternoon tea or a box of chocolates.


The hot chocolate is absolutely delicious – chocolate flakes and roasted and ground Italian hazelnuts are blended with milk for a very rich, addictive drink.


A portion of the proceeds from the Sea Salt Caramel elephants supports Asian elephant conservation – hence the lovely door knob.


I wasn’t too sure what to make of Peggy Porschen Cupcakes – it was almost too pink, pretty, and “Instagrammable”! The store was crowded so I took my cupcake home and revised my opinion. I enjoyed every bite of my chocolate cupcake with a gooey salted caramel centre topped with rich, creamy icing. If you’re a banana fan, Lynne recommends the Banoffee cupcake, but I’ll stick with the Chocolate Salted Caramel if I’m ever back in Belgravia.


Our third stop was at Olivogelo, selling a range of gelato, sorbet, and ice cream. The owner is from Sardinia and has established a small group of restaurants specializing in Sardinian cuisine. The staff demonstrated how the gelato is made and I was then able to sample as many of their products as I desired. After quite a few samples, including some Sardinian specialties such as Sardinian Nougat and Date and Grappa, I settled down with scoops of two of my favorites – Bitter Honey with a tangy lemony flavour and Orange with Chocolate Flakes (made with real orange juice).


A visit to Pierre Hermé Macarons & Chocolats was a happy reminder of France. I was told that Hermé specializes in unusual flavour combinations and that certainly seemed to be the case judging by some of the macarons on display: White Truffle & Hazelnut (an unusual but memorable combination of the delicate aroma of truffle and the sweetness of hazelnuts), Chocolate & Foie Gras, Caviar, and Citron Noir. I’m fussy about macarons as they don’t always measure up to those from Wild Serendipity Foods in Saskatoon. Not too surprisingly, these were excellent.


Our final stop at The Fine Cheese Co. was probably my favorite stop on the tour. I’m deeply interested in cheese and Jake, who introduced me to the store and provided me with samples of a variety of different cheeses, was friendly, fun, and knowledgeable.


The store sells a variety of British and international cheeses, often with a very specific provenance (all the Swiss cheese is from one particular farmer). They also sell a variety of products that go well with cheese, for example, crackers and cakes of dried fruit.


I highly recommend Sweet Tooth Tours. Lynne is knowledgeable and goes out of her way to ensure you enjoy yourself. She has a really solid relationship with the stores we visited and the staff were all delighted to welcome tour participants.

There are opportunities to learn something new, watch products being made, and enjoy plenty of samples. (I took several of my samples home with me so I could enjoy them at my leisure rather than stuffing myself with one big sugar rush.) As part of a tour, I also benefitted from a 10% discount on the cheese and chocolates that I purchased.


Lynne says that she likes to under-promise and over-deliver, and she certainly did just that. With 5 stops and a tour lasting over 2 ½ hours, I was able to enjoy the neighbourhood and sample a great deal of its delicious food without feeling rushed.

Comments

Joanne and Pat Halter said…
The tour looks amazing. Thanks for sharing.
January 14, 2018 at 8:48 AM
Penny McKinlay said…
Thank you, Joanne and Pat!
January 14, 2018 at 9:40 AM
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