Witches Brew and Zombies too!

Yesterday three friends and I went to O'Mara's Avalon Tea Garden to attend their October Afternoon Tea.   As you can see from the title of this post, October's theme was Witches Brew and Zombies too.  Guests were invited to come in costume if they desired, but only one in our group did.

The restaurant has started requiring tickets, pictured below.  It seems like a lot of extra work to have tickets printed and mailed out compared to using a credit card to hold a reservation, but whatever works for them is fine with me.

The tables were festively decorated for Halloween.

Chef Anita adding water to her smoking cauldron.  At this month's tea she demonstrated scone making.

Pictured below is Diana, one of the servers, and Linda, a friend.

I began my meal with Harney's Hot Cinnamon Spice tea, and switched to Chocolate Mint for dessert.  The soup I chose was Witches Brew Roasted Squash, topped with sautéed Bacon Crumble and a dollop of Sour Cream.   It was made with curry, and perfect for fall.

The savories on the tiered tray were Deviled Ham Salad on Wheat Bread [in the shape of a Witch's Hat]; Spooky Sausage and Ricotta on a Baguette; Undead Bread Sandwich - Sweet Onion and Potato de Pan; Toadstool Treat - Cream Cheese and homemade Pepper Jelly on Melba Toast.

The main course was L-EEK and Gruyere Quiche with fresh fruit.   Delicious! 

Baked Brie with Pumpkin Butter wrapped in Filo Dough, and Crackers accompanied it.

Dessert was a Vampire's Fang Scone [Red Velvet], Meringue Ghosts, Puff Pastry Maple Leaf, and Candy Corn Pudding.  

A few words about Candy Corn... Did you know it's been around for over a century?  It was invented in the 1880's by George Renninger, who worked at the Wunderlee Candy Company in Philadelphia.  It's original name was "chicken feed" because corn was closely associated with feeding chickens.  In the beginning the candy had no association with Halloween or autumn. It was only after WWII that the candy was advertised as a Halloween candy, and the tradition has remained unchanged.  35 million pounds of candy corn are produced each year.  It even has its own holiday - "National Candy Corn Day" on October 30th.  There are roughly 140 calories [and no fat] in 22 pieces of this classic treat, so enjoy!

It was an enjoyable afternoon at O'Mara's, and we've already paid our money for November's Tea.