As the days grow longer and the first signs of spring begin to emerge, the InterContinental Dublin is marking the season with a refreshed afternoon tea offering led by executive pastry chef Orna Larkin.
The hotel’s Easter Afternoon Tea will run until April 12, before the Spring Afternoon Tea returns from April 12-30. Served in the Lobby Lounge and Reading Room, the experience looks out over the hotel’s garden terrace, where early seasonal growth reflects the menu’s focus on fresh, bright flavours.
The offering combines classic elements with contemporary touches, from savouries such as smoked salmon on soda bread and spring leek quiche, to pastries including rhubarb tart, pistachio financier and banana and Baileys choux. Alongside this, guests can choose from a selection of loose-leaf teas, coffee, or champagne options.
In this interview, Larkin discusses the inspiration behind the menu, what she loves most about her job, and her own unique journey to becoming a pastry chef.
What can guests expect from the Easter afternoon tea?
We take classic seasonal flavours and put a bit of a spin on them. For Easter, instead of hot cross buns, we’re doing hot cross cinnamon rolls, something a little more elevated but still familiar.
We’re also doing a carrot and vanilla entre, inspired by the tradtional carrot cake, and a milk chocolate and cornflake tart, so there’s that nostalgic Easter element, but with a bit more flavour and fun.
What excites you most about the menu this year?
One of the most exciting things was working with rhubarb grown in our own garden. A few years ago, I asked our gardener, Nick, if we could plant and force rhubarb, and this year it finally came through.
We used it for the Mother’s Day afternoon tea in a rhubarb, vanilla tonka bean entremet. It was amazing to work with something grown just 20 feet away. I love that process from idea to final product.
Can you tell us about your background?
I’m from Bray, and I always knew I wanted to be a chef. After school, though, I ended up studying Commerce in UCD, which, in hindsight, wasn’t for me. It was during that time that I really realised I wanted to pursue cooking.
I did panic a bit, as I felt like I’d spent years on something that wasn’t leading me where I wanted to go, while my friends were moving into careers. My sister and I looked at the best options, and that’s when I decided to move to London to study at Le Cordon Bleu.
It’s a very intensive course. You can complete it in a year instead of four. You’re working Monday to Saturday, about 14 hours a day, which suited me much more than a traditional college setting. I lived in Camden and would have loved to stay, but London is very expensive when you’re starting out as a commis chef.
So I moved back to Dublin and decided to apply to places I really wanted to work, whether they were hiring or not. One of those was the Four Seasons, and I’ve been here ever since.
Where do you think your desire to bake came from?
I’ve always loved cooking and baking. My whole family is very into food, even though they all work in finance. It’s something we’ve always shared, and it’s been that way since I was a child.
It was how we spent time together, so I always knew it was something I really enjoyed. I also think I need a creative outlet, and this job gives me that. It’s the perfect fit.
What surprised you the most when you entered the industry?
How different this kitchen is from how kitchens are often portrayed in the media. This environment is much kinder and more understanding than what you would expect. I know a lot of people are speaking out now and saying that, unfortunately, many of those negative depictions are accurate, but that hasn’t been my experience here.
If it were like that, I wouldn’t still be here 13 years later. What really surprised me is that it’s possible to have a life outside of work. Going into hospitality, my biggest fear was that I’d be working every night and weekend, and essentially saying goodbye to friends. But that hasn’t been the case.
We make a real effort, especially in pastry, to ensure everyone has a fair schedule. We rotate shifts and make sure people get every third or fourth weekend off, so they can maintain a sense of normal life. I don’t believe that passion for your work should come at the expense of having a personal life.
What do you love most about your job?
Definitely the creativity. For example, yesterday we launched our Easter display, and I’m given full creative control, no one really questions what I’m doing or how I approach it. So I’ve been designing chocolate chickens all week, which is really fun to bring to life.
Things like building the gingerbread house at Christmas are is a big part of it. It’s that constant creative outlet that I love. The fact that we change our menus so often is what keeps me going.
I don’t really have a kind of typical day which is really nice for me. If there were typical days, this would not be a job for me. I like that it’s different every week.
I’m really lucky with the team that I have. We are all genuinely really good friends.
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?
We are actually opening a new restaurant in the hotel. Up until this year, Seasons Restaurant has mainly been used for big events, like rugby days and similar occasions. Outside of that, it’s mostly just been a breakfast service for the past few years.
Now, though, they’re completely stripping it back and doing a full refurbishment. It’s going to be an entirely new concept, which is really exciting. It should be opening within the next 10 to 12 weeks.
At the moment, the restaurant is completely sealed off as it’s still a building site, so we haven’t been able to see the progress up close. I think we’re all just really looking forward to getting in there, seeing the finished space, and starting the process of designing the menus.
What do you like to do when you are not working?
I’m a big reader, so I’m usually reading something.
Between that and having two dogs, I’m either out walking them or, honestly, cooking at home. I still spend a lot of time doing that.
Where is your favourite holiday destination?
My husband and I went on a driving honeymoon through Texas a few years ago. Last year, we did something similar in the US, travelling through Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans, and this year we’re planning Boston, Cape Cod and Maine.
We really enjoy driving holidays, the control of moving from place to place at your own pace and having that sense of freedom. I especially love American driving holidays. What stands out is how different each place can be. New Orleans, for example, feels completely different to Nashville, even though they’re relatively close. The variety, particularly when it comes to food, is incredible.
It’s something I’d love to do in Europe as well. It would be great to drive through different European countries on a food-focused trip over a couple of weeks.