Start your own Tea Shop with Darina Allen and Pamela Black

If you are looking for an exciting food-related business to start then consider the advantages of opening a teashop. A teashop? Well, yes. Over the last few years, teashops have been enjoying something of a renaissance. The best and most successful offer simple, light, all-day dining and impeccable service in an elegant, stylish space. Their customers drop in for breakfast, mid-morning coffee, lunch and, of course, afternoon tea. Many of these teashops also sell cakes, scones, breads, pastries and other comestibles to take away. Some undertake outside catering and publish their own books. Best of all, a teashop’s owner, unlike a restaurateur, does not have to work unsociable hours.

This course is designed for anyone with teashop opening dreams. There is a talk by Blathnaid Bergin on setting up and running the business which covers such topics as premises, costs, food hygiene, staff, marketing and – of course – optimising profitability. Darina and Pamela Black will provide lots of practical tips and advice on everything from choosing your menu to choosing your tablecloths and will include some real-life case histories of popular teashops from around the world. There will be two demonstrations by Darina and Pamela (covering cakes, biscuits, scones, slices, sandwiches, salads, jams, preserves, light meals...basically, everything you are likely to want to put on your menu) and two "hands-on" practical sessions for you to work with the school’s top chefs to make whichever recipes you choose. And if there are techniques you’d like to master – such as icing a cake – then there will be plenty of opportunities to learn. Finally, there will be a short talk on specialist teas and brewing the perfect cuppa.

Lunch is included on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Accommodation:
Accommodation is available in our self catering cottages for the duration of this course if required. We offer a delicious continental breakfast as standard for all students staying with us and attending any of our short courses. We serve freshly made breads, warm porridge with our own Jersey cream and soft brown sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, raspberry museli and more to get you set up for the day. Accommodation is subject to availability and we will contact you after booking to confirm accommodation.