The Langham: Inside London’s birthplace of Afternoon Tea

The Langham hotel is now 160 years out, after opening in 1865.

Transcript

00:00This year marks our 160th anniversary and in 1865 we opened our doors here in central London.

00:07We were the first hotel of its kind in Europe. We were the first Grand Hotel.

00:11And we are celebrating it now for the full year, this anniversary, and we've tried to do our best to relive the great things of the past.

00:21Since the Langham Hotel was the first hotel which commercially served afternoon tea,

00:26we revamped our afternoon tea and we brought back some old classics and modernized them, gave a contemporary touch to that.

00:35And our afternoon tea is one of the best and most famous afternoon teas in London.

00:41So we really put a focus on that.

00:43So 106 years is obviously a big anniversary, a big birthday, and we've wanted to do a mix of classic cakes that we've done obviously in the past

00:55and we've added some extra new ones, but always with a hint of, or with a nod to the Langham.

01:03So the cakes that we have are nostalgic.

01:09Personally, I like to do things that remind me a lot about childhood and that obviously takes us back in history.

01:15So we've got, I think one of our famous ones is the custard cream.

01:20So our version of the custard cream, it's something that guests have loved over the years.

01:25And so we've put it back onto this menu because it's something that we know our guests like.

01:30We've done a trifle, we've done a charlotte and obviously the Battenberg that you've seen produce,

01:35and then the ice cream.

01:36It's all very nostalgic flavours, very nostalgic desserts that we like and we hope our guests will like.

01:43Yeah, we are the birthplace of afternoon tea.

01:46It was where it was first served.

01:49And so we've, throughout the years, we've managed to continue, you know, we've continued.

01:54We innovate.

01:55It's almost what we say goes in regards to afternoon tea.

01:58And it enables us to innovate, to create new things, and also to use old classics and old things that we've, you know,

02:05things that we've done in the past.

02:07So that historical fact of we are the hotel that first did afternoon tea is a big part of London's history.

02:14That's absolutely amazing.

02:16Every day on earth, new secrets.

02:20This building was actually just after the war in 1945.

02:24The BBC was based in here.

02:25During the war, it was bombed by the Germans.

02:29And coming from me now, talking about it's quite funny, actually.

02:32But it's quite sad.

02:33But there was a tunnel in between the Langham Hotel and the BBC, they say.

02:38The Langham is, it was the first hotel for many things, for lifts, for hot water, for all sorts of stuff.

02:44So we are a big part of history.

02:46And there is a team of 400 or so staff who make up that history.

02:51So, yeah, it's a big thing.

02:53And the Langham is a big thing.

02:54It's a big hotel and a well-known hotel in London.

02:57It's exciting to be here.