Afternoon Tea - how can anyone eat it all?

[wasntlikethisinthegoodolddays]

I've been looking at things to do next weekend. Looked on Wowcher, Groupon etc. A regular offer is Afternoon Tea for two. Whilst it looks lovely, they regularly feature about 6 sandwich corners each, a few savoury items and FOUR cakes each. I love my food, and I like cake, but there's no way I could eat all of that in one sitting. Can anyone eat four cakes in a row? Are we meant to take a doggy bag?

Doesn't sound like afternoon tea is really your thing.

I'm pretty sure you can get wowcher deals for health spa type treatments, maybe a colonic irrigation? So cleansing!

@Pawtree give it 10 mins before someone is along to berate those who ‘scoff’ cucumber sandwiches and ‘shovel’ scones and ‘pig out’ on a macron.

The tone deafness is grating at best of times but the threads on food, eating and weight are off the scale right now.
When vast swathes of people are worrying how to feed their families yet another thread where people will revel in how little they can eat as a sign of their moral virtue is going to be very tiresome.

I've never had an afternoon tea, now I want one. I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem with it but in the event I couldn't finish I'd take the leftovers home!

Re-reading you OP, could you confirm this for me?
Afternoon Tea - how can anyone eat it all then 'there's no way I could eat all of that in one sitting
Do you not have any teenagers, brothers, friends, a DH, partner, dad even who could eat this? Can you not imagine anyone eating it all? Even the Rock or Michael Phelps?
I really think people who start these threads need to think about the motivation. It's pretty weird.

Not meant to be an under eating thread. I eat too much and I'm 3 stone overweight. I've never eaten 4 cakes in a row though!

Easily IME

I've only been to two or three afternoon teas in my life, but in my limited experience, you never get enough sandwiches and get far too many cakes and sweet stuff. At one of or two of them I took the cakes home.

Well it's not 4 full sized cakes is it? They're tiny cakes, usually macaron sized.

It's meant to be a treat, so people usually overindulge. You make sure you're hungry when you go and if it's too much you just bring it home!

I once ate a tray of 12 Krispy Kreme donuts so yeah. I’d manage just fine

This is going to shock you OP but most afternoon teas ask you if you another round, either the whole thing or just one section eg another plate of sandwiches or scones or cakes. And people do it. And then take stuff away too

It isn't 4 cakes. Each one will be 1-2 mouthfuls worth of cake.

Makes more sense if the cakes are small! They don't look it in the photo!

At the ones I've been to, the cakes have been pretty big, at least the scones, some of the others have been smaller. I didn't know you could ask for more, if I go again I'll ask for more sandwiches.

The cakes arent full sized slices of cake you realsie that right?

Agreed about the sweet stuff to sandwiche ratio though! My aforementioned 6 foot rugby playing teens always ask if there's anymore and most places are always happy to bring them some more (yes MORE!) finger sandwiches.

We normally go on a weekend for mothers day or a faniky birthday though so they have always literally just come from a football or rugby match and havent had much to eat as Ive forced everyone not to have lunch because we're going for afternoon tea 😁

I reallly dont think it would make any difference though. Theyd happily have porridge, bacon sarnie aftrr the game, 1.5 x afternoon teas and a huge roast that evening. I think you do have to remember that it is not just delictae ladies who go for afternoon tea, as PP have said. I know what you mean personally though, i can only 'trough a whole one' with no other meals in the day.

Any that I have ever had the cakes / scones are tiny, 2 bite sized. Probably not as much as a full slice of eg carrot or chocolate cake equivalent that you would get in a cafe for the 4 cakes.
The sandwiches usually have the crusts off and are literally 2, max 3 small bites each.
The whole thing probably isn't much more than a toastie with some salad followed by some cake.

The cakes are almost certainly tiny. As are the sandwiches. I love a good afternoon tea. One of my favourite things to do.

But as PPs have said, this thread will fill up with horrified reactions that anyone (read: any woman) could possibly eat more than a minute sliver of cake, half a finger sandwich, a quarter of a scone. . .

It's usually 4 finger sandwiches, 2 scones, 2-4 bite size cakes/desserts, sometimes other little savoury bite size treats.
It's usually fine eating it all, sometimes 2 scones is too much, depending on size.
Never, ever 4 full size cakes though.
It's really just a late lunch, so you'd be hungry from not having lunch, then have a late dinner /light dinner if you're not that hungry (if I had afternoon tea around 2pm/3pm, I'd easily have a normal dinner around 7/8pm)

Please may I be your friend? I like you already!

Also if you are truly aghast at the thought of someone eating it all don’t go and ruin it for others in your company.

A group of us went for a spa day with afternoon tea at Easter and one member of the group kept commenting crap like ‘who can eat all this’ ‘they would think we are greedy piggies if we ate all this’ ‘I mean three cakes EACH!’ etc.
It consisted of (per person) 3 finger sandwiches, 2 mini savory canapé sized bites, 1 macron, 1 mini carrot cake and 1 bite sized lemon tart plus a scone and tea.

Most people had came a distance for a 10am start to catch up together and had coffee in the car on the way, they were naturally hungry.

Oh yes. I definitely can eat all of that in one sitting. Easily. I often do... 😭😭😭

Ps: I'm not overweight and quite fit, just a big eater.

An afternoon tea is only good value if you gorge on the sandwiches and snacks. Only ever go to a replenishable tea as well. Don't eat lunch and dinner. Bring a tupperware.
If you only nibble half a sandwich and two tiny cakes that's about a fivers worth!

If I was going to have a food related treat I'd rather have a slap up champagne breakfast or a nice evening meal followed by cocktails. Afternoon tea means you have to skip lunch and don't feel like eating in the evening so it messes up the day (for me anyway). It's a bit of something and nothing really.

You must know you'll get the "I could only manage a sandwich and cake as long as I skipped breakfast and lunch" type of replies, these threads always do.
I wonder how many MNers would faint over the idea of a bottomless brunch?!

Christ this shit is so tedious.

You haven't been going to the right places! I've been to 3 recently and they had 4 large finger sandwiches, 3 miniature savouries eg quiche, tartlet, then scone with cream and jam, then 3 patisserie cakes which weren't that small. I always eat everything apart from one or two cakes and they always give you a box to take the remainders home. If you're there for a few hours it's quite easy to eat it I find.