The AfternoonTea.co.uk team visited InterContinental London – The O2 hotel to catch up with chefs Tanuj Sharma and Narayan Shrestha, winners of this year’s Bake Off: The Professionals, and had the chance to try their brand-new Afternoon Tea concept: Chai by the Shore.

Chai by the Shore is an innovative addition to London’s Afternoon Tea scene, where traditional Western techniques blend together with the rich, aromatic flavours of Indian cuisine to create a truly unique Afternoon Tea offering.

The concept was born out of the chefs’ recent success on Bake Off: The Professionals, where they were able to experiment with unconventional flavour combinations, demonstrating that European and Indian cuisine can marry together perfectly.

Throughout the Bake Off: The Professionals competition, Tanuj and Narayan’s creations were peppered with Indian touches, drawing inspiration from flavours of their childhoods and evoking a real sense of nostalgia. Since being crowned winners of the 2024 show, the chefs have been working hard behind the scenes to perfect the offering,  and fans of the show will be delighted to have the chance to sample some of the delights they saw on their screens.

Chai by the Shore is served in the hotel’s elegantly designed fine-dining Indian restaurant, Kinaara, with breath-taking views of the River Thames and Canary Wharf.

The experience begins with a spectacular array of Indian savouries. We opted for the Vegetarian menu, which featured the likes of a moreish Paneer Puff, a fluffy Bread Pakora and our personal favourite - the delectable Dahi Puri, bursting with spiced chickpea, yoghurt and tamarind sauce.

Afternoon Tea purists may be happy to discover that the menu does include some traditional elements, such as their freshly-baked golden scones. These are served with clotted cream and a sweet rose and strawberry preserve. Not to forget the honey orchid tea jelly, which we could have eaten by the spoonful. Divine!

Served alongside the scones is a Rusk, and Tanuj tells us enthusiastically that this is his favourite element of the Afternoon Tea. The Rusk is infused with the flavours of fennel, and after Tanuj’s recommendation we ate it slathered with a generous helping of butter milk namelaka and dipped in the hotel’s very own Masala Chai tea blend - a flavour combination we were thinking about for days on end.

Next up: the desserts. Watching the chefs put the finishing touches on the Afternoon Tea pastries, it’s clear to see that above all else, they value delivering the finest quality to their guests. They are meticulous in their craft, and it’s evident that the highest levels of organisation and expertise are required to produce such intricate creations.

We began with the Pistachio & Rose sharing cake, followed by the soft, pillowy Choux, filled with the Asian flavours of black sesame and kinnow which were truly a delight to the tastebuds.

The menu also features a spiced chocolate cake filled with fresh banana and a deliciously gooey caramel, and an Alphonso mango tart with green cardamom and zingy passion fruit which breaks through the sweetness perfectly.

Our standout pastry, however, was the Potli yoghurt cheesecake with raspberry and carrom biscuit – a slightly spiced and almost savoury base which complements the tartness of the raspberry and the soothing silkiness of the yoghurt.

The Afternoon Tea stand is adorned with an edible chocolate painting, a stunning design featuring an Indian sari which encompasses the essence of the Afternoon Tea.

Chefs Tanuj and Narayan wanted to think outside the box to give guests an entirely new experience, something that couldn’t be achieved without taking risks and continually challenging themselves. The end result is a stunning, memorable and truly unique offering, served in an equally beautiful setting.

To see behind the scenes in the kitchens and our catch up with chef Tanuf and chef Narayan over on Instagram visit here

Chai by the Shore is served daily, from 12pm until 4pm. You can find further details and book the experience here.