Reviewed by Raff – Aged 13
The incredible food at Mode Kitchen & Bar played a huge part in our family stay at Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, and it would be easy to assume that after an incredible a la carte dinner, multiple movie snacks, and a multi course breakfast and a huge lunch, I’d be done eating. But you clearly don’t understand the workings of my appetite.
If eating were an Olympic sport, I’d win gold for Australia. So, I was more than ready to raise my pinkies and work my way through a tower of decadent high tea treats. And I’m so glad I did, because I can honestly say the high tea at Four Seasons Sydney, created by the genius’ at Mode Kitchen & Bar, is the best I’ve ever had.
And you know you can trust me on that, because after a ten-minute training with Alain Ducasse-trained French Pastry Chef, Elliott Roussel, in Mode Kitchen & Bar the night before, I’m totes an expert now. Like, I’m so proficient now that I could even open my own patisserie next week! I’m kidding, of course, though I do like to think I’m an expert at tasting, because eating is what I do best. And I do believe the insight that Chef Elliot gave us taught me just how much skill and work goes into creating perfect pastries and it takes years, and a special kind of genius to learn to create sublime seasonal delights like these.
What’s best is that afternoon tea at the Four Seasons Sydney, which is available from Wednesday through Sunday from 2 to 5pm, is for everyone! I know this because mum is a little restricted on what she can eat right now and was pretty miffed, thinking she’d have to sit back and watch on as we devoured our high tea like ravenous wolves (though well mannered ones) but along with the traditional high tea, Mode Kitchen & Bar create gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan high teas as well as other dietary options. There’s even a kids’ high tea, which we totally nixed because my sister and I have adult-sized appetites when it comes to a good afternoon tea.
I’m so glad we made that choice too, because every mouthful was magic, cleverly pairing French technique and some of my fave Australian flavours. Of course there was a selection of fine teas. We chose blossoming flower teas.
For me, the savoury highlights of high tea at Four Seasons Hotel Sydney were a melt in the mouth leek, gruyere and salt bush tart, because I love seeing native ingredients used, and a dainty little egg and truffle finger sandwich, because truffle. Oh, and I have to mention this incredible pastry thingy stuffed with lemon and asparagus because there were like a million tiny layers in the pastry and it was spectacular.
As for the sweets they were devoured in record time.
Standouts were the amazing scones, each served in individual glass cloches with clotted cream and orange marmalade made with Elliott’s grandma’s recipe. And who can ever go past a good macaron, right? But even more delectable was the tiny perfect pear that was made from crisp white chocolate filled with a creamy inside sitting on a brownie base and Mode’s signature coconut and passion fruit pavlova, which was a mini version of last night’s pavtravaganza. Yes, that’s totally a word now.
Mode Kitchen & Bar
Four Seasons Hotel Sydney
199 George St,
Sydney
Tel: (02) 9250 3160
Disclosure: The BoyEatsWorld family were guests of Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, but all lip smacking, scone scoffing and opinions are our own.
The boy in BoyEatsWorld, Raff is an experienced travel television presenter, published travel writer, and an award winning public speaker who is as obsessed with eating as he is with travel. 