Lynn Hazlewood and her husband have run the English Tea Room in the Heusteig district of Stuttgart for twelve years. Before the coronation, they are very busy. We talked to her – about “cream tea” and British “pomp and circumstance”.
Share this article
Scones, biscuits and, of course, tea from Darjeeling to Earl Gray – lovers of British tea culture have been finding what they are looking for at Lynn and Christian Hazelwood’s English café in Stuttgart’s Heusteig district for twelve years. In the shop on Weißenburgstraße, the Brits, who have been at home in the state capital for many years, sell everything for a typical British “afternoon tea”. Before the coronation of King Charles III. On the 6th of May we spoke to British exile Lynn Hazlewood – about the new king, English ‘pomp and circumstance’ and what would be needed to ensure the success of ‘Coronation Quiche’.
Mrs. Hazelwood, we in Germany often think that all Britons are automatically big fans of the royal family. But do you care about being crowned at all?
Lynn Hazlewood: I’ve always been very enthusiastic about the Queen – to be honest, it’s still hard for me to get the same enthusiasm for King Charles. But “he grows on me,” as we say: the more you read and hear about him, the warmer you are to him. I think he did a great job of his speech in the Bundestag in Berlin a few weeks ago. I have loved him more and more since he became king.
As a Brit, how do you view such a major event?
with mixed feelings. There are great political problems in Great Britain. For example, the healthcare system is really broken. Many Britons criticize the fact that so much money is spent on the royal family, especially young people who are not related to Queen Elizabeth II. On the other hand, the royal family also gives a lot of money, participates in social projects and brings attention to important social issues. And of course the British make such large occasions especially grandiose, the whole “pomp and circumstance”.
How will you spend Coronation Day? Are you closing the store?
No, not that. My husband and I will be at our store celebrating a bit with our customers. If it works out, we’ll run the party on TV, side by side. We’ve planned a ‘cream tea on the go’ for our customers on pre-order: a selection of scones with clotted cream and biscuits and a ‘coronation mix’ – the tea blend we’ve put together.
What is it made of?
As more and more clients are asking for it, I started researching it a few weeks ago. I found out that King Charles’ favorite drink is Darjeeling tea. So I mixed three different Darjeeling teas.
We’ll be offering Ready-to-Go Cream Tea on May 5th and 6th for pre-orders and the proceeds will be donated. The money is going to two kids in Darjeeling, and we’ve been enabling them to go to a boarding school in Darjeeling for years. King Charles emphasized how important it was for his coronation to be an opportunity to participate. So on the Monday after the coronation there will be a big volunteer day, “The Big Help Out” in Great Britain. Fundraising is our contribution to this.
The official coronation meal is “coronation quiche” – the recipe for which has been published by Buckingham Palace. It is said that the quiche with spinach, beans and tarragon was created according to the wishes of Charles and Camilla. Would you cook them again?
I will definitely try. Maybe I’ll bake salty scones with tarragon – inspired by the “coronation quiche”.
For the recipe you need “double cream”. This is not found in Gemany. What do you recommend instead?
I use “double cream”, it’s something like that. Or you can use “clotted cream” – this is also useful.
How will your family and friends in the UK celebrate this day?
There will be a street party in my mother-in-law’s neighborhood in London. All the neighbors get together, and everyone brings something to eat – like squatting in Stuttgart.
What’s your impression – are your German customers very interested in the Coronation?
Surprisingly yes. In fact, I just mixed up the Coronation Blend because several customers have asked if we serve a special tea on top of it all. I even had to remix it once because it sold out so quickly.
If you want to make yourself especially comfortable and be a typical British 6th of May in front of the TV – do you have a suggestion?
How about “afternoon tea”? You can arrange sandwiches, mini cakes, cookies and cakes nicely on the cake stand. Of course, the “coronation quiche” can also be baked as a mini quiche. You can snack for hours while watching the coronation.
to a person
tea lovers
Lyn (62) and Christian (60) Hazelwood have run the English Tea Room on Weißenburgstraße for twelve years. They opened their store on April 29, 2011 – the day Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot in London.
“Alcohol buff. Troublemaker. Introvert. Student. Social media lover. Web ninja. Bacon fan. Reader.”