Tea inspired Breakfast with t-series tea croissants egg berries flowers and newspaper
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Ten Guitars kicks off the Art Deco weekend

Three guys from Flaxmere with white tee-shirts and their name printed on the back stole the show in an all-to-brief Art Deco debut as Napier's 29th flamboyant annual celebration of it's 1930s architectural heritage kicked-in last night. The trio from Project Prima Volta needed just three numbers to transform their stardom from festival opera Carmen to the smaller stage of the Art Deco Festival's Sileni Estate Opening Soiree - a wee set opened in the MTG foyer with Engelbert Humperdinck's 1960s-era Ten Guitars. There was no sign of any garters being flung, but L.J.Crichton, Emmanuel Fuimaono and Jordan Fuimaono were still taken aback to near speechlessness by the spontaneous applause, and the approach of a newfound fan moments later with the modern-day Bravo. "It was awesome," she said. About 150 had gathered in the foyer for the weekend opening by Mayor of Napier Bill Dalton, as the crowd grew outside in the streets closed to vehicular traffic, apart from the steam traction engine, and the growing fleet of vintage cars, pride of place to a 1948 Pontiac Toledo bought from the US by new owner Bert Dove, from Bay of Plenty.
Other | Pressroom

Teddy Bear's Picnic sure of big surprise at Gatsby event

Tents filled with teddy bears, fairies and butterflies lined Emerson St and the lawn yesterday as the 2017 Gatsby Picnic lived up to expectations. Despite rain affecting numbers, people from around the North Island still flocked to Napier to set up their picnic spots in hope of having the most elegant gazebo. Napier pair Sarah de Vos and Cate Alizzi were one of those vying for the title and just hours later were crowned the winners for their Teddy Bear's Picnic themed tent. Ms de Vos said they came up with the theme when they found out the lyrics for the Teddy Bear's Picnic were created in 1932. "We already had lots of teddy bears scattered around our houses with eight children between us and I have been collecting vintage items for about 20 years so it seemed like it would work well."
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Tea Lounge at the Edge-Reviewed

A take on tea we've never seen! Rating ???? Opening Times 8am - 8pm everyday Cuisine Tea specialties and snacks Food ???? Drinks ???? Halal No BYOB No Where Water's Edge Tea is an integral part of Sri Lankan tradition, heritage and pride and Dilmah has sought time and time again to innovate and reposition the true meaning of tea within the borders of Sri Lanka. Tea Lounge at the Edge is Dilmah's latest venture, joining hands with Water's Edge to bring us a line of specialty teas and goodies that are simply put, irresistible. Tea Lounge at the Edge is the only outlet serving Dilmah's "Exceptional Tea" range and the only place that serves up tea cocktails by Dilmah, so we were pretty pumped. Their menus come displayed on Samsung tabs (which is so high-tech) and their food descriptions are so particular that they'll tell you the number of ice cubes going into your drink! Another great thing is that when you choose your food items, the staff recommends a tea pairing that will go well with the dish - just like a great wine pairing! Drinks: Gentle Minty Green Iced Tea- Rs. 550, Rose with French Vanilla Syrup- Rs. 550, Queen of T cocktail- Rs. 1,250, Earl Meets Jack cocktail- Rs. 1,000, Earl Grey Tea Shake- Rs. 390, Cardamom KITSCH- Rs. 550 There was such a large variety of drinks to choose from - iced teas, shakes, hot teas, and cocktails! the options were endless! So we decided to dip our hands into each category. We kicked off our culinary adventure with the iced teas, both of which were very subtle but thoroughly enjoyable. The Mint iced tea was a mixture of Mint Green tea, green tea syrup, sugar syrup and lime. This one was really light on the palette and reminded us a little of Nelli drinks. It was a large glass though and it was very refreshing on a regular Lankan day. Rose with French Vanilla Syrup was a pleasing combination of tea, vanilla syrup, and sugar syrup. It came garnished with strawberries and was presented quite beautifully. The vanilla syrup really comes through in the drink with the rose flavors being much more subtle. The great thing though, was that you could still distinctly taste the tea flavor in both iced teas and we loved that. We were really excited about the tea cocktails on the menu and couldn't wait to get our hands on some. Upon recommendation, we tried the Queen of T which was a blend of cognac, baileys, Italian almond tea and sugar syrup. It looked beautiful and creamy and came garnished with nutmeg. The drink itself was very smooth, and though you could taste the almond tea in the concoction. There was also the undertone of alcohol that you could still taste. The flavors blended quite well together and this was a definite favorite from the whole day.
Pressroom | The Sunday Times

Empower Culinary & Hospitality School receives prestigious WorldChefs Certification

The Empower Culinary & Hospitality School, Sri Lanka's premier culinary and hospitality facility was recently granted World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) recognition. WACS is a World Chefs body consisting of 10 million chefs and the Empower Culinary & Hospitality School is the only culinary training institute in Sri Lanka to hold this prestigious title. This facility provides new avenues for underprivileged and marginalised youth with empowerment through education in the gastronomy and hospitality industry of Sri Lanka. The school is an outcome of the philosophy of MJF Foundation Settlor Merrill J. Fernando that, business is a matter of human service. Founded on the principle that every individual has the ability to succeed and the right to that opportunity, the Empower Culinary & Hospitality School was established by Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando to offer the underprivileged an opportunity to rise above their circumstances, the Dilmah Group said in a media release. The WACS recognition comes in the wake of the graduation of its inaugural batch. The announcement was made by WACS Education Director, John Clancy during the gala graduation night, held on February 7 at the Empower Culinary & Hospitality School in the presence of 140 School Of Tea participants who have flown down to Sri Lanka from different parts of the world. During the event, Mr. Clancy acknowledged that the school is an institute having a high standard of training and skills development to continue professional development. The citation recognises the development and delivery of the culinary training programme, to be on par with global standards. "When WorldChefs were invited to assess the programme, we were absolutely delighted and honoured to do so and we spent some time going through the programme. The learning material that is there is just absolutely top class. The facilities are just exceptional; right down to the whole learning environment, the facilities upstairs for students where they can study on computers. There's an array of cookery books. It's still building and I really do believe that it is going to be an amazing success story. The word, 'empower' says so much," he emphasised.
DailyFT | Pressroom

President inaugurates Dilmah Conservation One Earth, Sri Lanka's first urban arboretum

President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday inaugurated Dilmah Conservation's One Earth Arboretum. In the capacity of Minister for the Environment, President Sirisena has been a strong advocate of environmental protection. He was joined by Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando, who shares the same commitment to environmental stewardship, in declaring open the unique and far reaching project.
Other | Pressroom

Dilmah dazzles in third year at Art Deco Festival

Under a picturesque marquee, people sipped on tea cocktails, and indulged in macaroons to celebrate the third year of Dilmah tea at the Tremains Art Deco Festival. Since 2015 Dilmah founder Merrill J. Fernando has been returning to Napier for the festival, to engage with the public and share the ethical mission of his product. The festival's international ambassador said while he had never heard of Art Deco before initially being invited, Mr Fernando said he now "enjoyed this event very much". "They are getting more and more people here. I'm amazed at the way people treat me and talk to me, they treat me as a long-lost friend," the Sri Lankan native said. In previous years, Mr Fernando has been joined in Napier by his son Dilhan and Malik - the renowned tea brand was named using the first syllables of their names.