Meet the man behind Afternoon Tea Week

Keith Newton has always been fascinated by afternoon tea – unusual for a man who is a real techie at heart.

“I’ve always been fascinated by hotels and luxury and the fact that anyone can have a taste of luxury through ‘afternoon tea’. You don’t have to pay £500 or £1,000 a night to stay at a luxury hotel, you can enjoy and embrace that ‘treat’ for much less. Many of these venues rely on the income from afternoon teas just as much as those people who stay overnight. It’s an essential part of their revenue.”

Even though Keith, who lives in Crosby and used to work for HM Customs & Revenue was a regular amateur ‘critic’ of afternoon teas just for fun. So much so that in 2002 he decided to create a website to share details of where to get a good afternoon tea experience in the UK.

“I’m a techie at heart and thought it would be fun to create a hub where someone could browse the opportunities for afternoon tea in their own community or where they were going on holiday or simply visiting for a weekend,” he said.

Keith’s website - https://afternoontea.co.uk – was originally founded as a hobby purely for information and to use his techie knowledge. However after it was mentioned on BBC Radio 2 its popularity rose dramatically. Keith then realised the demand was there and turned it into a business – in 2018 generating around £9million of business for those listed on the site.

This increasing popularity led to Keith founding Afternoon Tea Week (this week!) to provide a ‘moment’ for venues nationwide to celebrate their afternoon tea offerings and for consumers to share their experiences, tips and recommendations across social media.

The success Keith’s afternoon tea vision also encouraged him to set up the annual awards which return this year on Tuesday September 3. Aimed to celebrate the best the UK has to offer, more than 60 of the finest hotels and restaurants are taking part. Many are based in London and Keith is appealing for other venues across the UK to enter.

This year’s event takes place at Rosewood London, a venue which was the winner of last year’s Best Contemporary Afternoon Tea category. Other categories are Best Traditional Afternoon Tea, Best Themed Afternoon Tea, Best Children’s Afternoon Tea and Best Tea Service. 2019 will also see a new award for Best Vegan Afternoon Tea in response to the increase in the demand for alternatives to traditional menus.

“Afternoon tea is available in wonderful venues nationwide. We want to see more of those regional hotels and restaurants entering the Awards. Owners and managers shouldn’t worry about who else has won or price point of their offering – that’s not what these awards are about. I wish to showcase the best from across the UK based around many criteria including quality of food, quality of drinks, customer service and value for money,” Keith said.

Once a venue has entered for the awards they will be visited by judges on ‘blind’ visits on two separate occasions. Judges include pastry chefs, food critics and other professionals within the hospitality industry. They will book and pay as any other customers and venues will be judged from booking through to the moment the judges leave.

Keith said: "These are the only Afternoon Tea Awards to judge the entire customer experience, from arrival to departure, with a strong emphasis on food, tea, and service."

As well as the chance of winning a Best of Category, all entrants will have the opportunity to receive a commended or highly commended certificate, in recognition of outstanding service. Although entry to the 2019 awards is now closed, the opportunity to enter for 2020 will open up in October this year. Visit the website from October to register your interest.