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Bringing British afternoon tea culture to Vietnamese people

At the UK Festival in downtown Hà Nội last weekend, a highlight during the two-day event was British ambassador Iain Frew making scones with Vietnamese chef Phan Anh. The cake is often served with tea as part of the British afternoon tea custom.

Lê Hương had a quick chat with him on the custom and about the event.

British ambassador Iain Frew makes scones with Vietnamese chef Phan Anh at the UK Festival in downtown Hà Nội on September 9. VNS Photo Lê Hương

Why is afternoon tea so important in British culture?

Here in this UK festival celebrating 50 years of UK-Việt Nam relations, we are enjoying afternoon tea and making scones. Afternoon tea is an important part of British traditions. And it is a meal that we have on special occasions enjoying scones and cakes and tea together with friends and family.

So even now today, it is something that is treated as special, a special occasion.

In your opinion, what makes the afternoon tea of Britain outstanding?

So what makes afternoon tea outstanding is excellent scones and excellent cakes which have been freshly made, as we have done today with Chef Phan Anh. Freshly made scones which smell delicious and to which would you add cream and jam are just delicious.

So the first thing is the quality of the products that you're having. The second thing is the quality of the tea, you need to have good delicious tea at just the right temperature. And the third thing is of course the company enjoying an afternoon tea with your friends with your family and in a special place.

So about the quality of tea. What is your favourite tea?

What is my favourite tea? So I actually really like green tea. I love green tea, but very popular teas to have with your afternoon tea would be a Darjeeling tea, or an Earl Grey. Very popular, very traditional in the UK.

Is afternoon tea different in different regions in the UK?

So in addition to scones, in different parts of the UK, you will have different cakes, and you'll have different savoury items like sandwiches, and sausage rolls and Scotch eggs, all of which are delicious and depend on where you are in the country.

But the biggest difference is in eating scones, whether you put jam on first or cream on first.

And the Queen always put jam on our scones first. So that is the tradition I like to follow.

The British Military Band performs by Hoàn Kiếm Lake last weekend. VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Đức

Why do you choose sweet food served with cream while drinking tea, for example, scones?

Well, that is the tradition. And it comes from the 19th century when the Duchess of Bedford wanted something nice to have in the afternoon around three or four o'clock. So she had some tea.

And her chef prepared her some scones, and that's where we bring the tradition.

It is said that drinking tea is something Britain learned from Asian countries because tea is not originally from Britain, do you agree with that?

I do agree with that, tea culture is something that the UK has learned from other parts of the world, particularly Asia, and is now a fundamental part of how UK and England see themselves.

Everyone enjoys a cup of tea. And England is one of the countries that consumes the most tea in the world.

Can you say something about this event? And how would it strengthen relations between Việt Nam and the UK?

Sure. So today we're celebrating 50 years of the relationship between the UK and Việt Nam.

And this weekend, we're celebrating with a festival that has at its heart food, drink, culture, and the connections that we make through areas like education, and health care. And I think it's really important that we celebrate the things that we've achieved together in these areas.

For example, we have 13,000 Vietnamese students studying in the UK. But at the same time, we're looking at the future and how we will work together for the next 50 years. So for example, the way that the UK and Việt Nam are working together on sustainability and developing our economies in a green and sustainable way.

So these are really important things to work on together. And I think what this weekend and what this festival symbolises is our countries coming ever closer together and cooperating and being partners in a deeper and more meaningful way. VNS