Fran's World…and Welcome to It!

A few months ago my good friend, author, speaker, tea expert and consultant Ellen Easton tried to teach me some etiquette with an afternoon tea on my online TV show, Fran’s World. (You can see the episode at www.rockmetv.com).

Apparently, she felt I hadn’t gotten it right, and she graciously invited me to the newly renovated, Plaza Hotel located on Fifth Avenue and 59th street in New York City.

The Plaza, which has been around for over 101 years…got a nice billion dollar facelift in 2005, which included new ownership and a lobby to roof renovation bringing the epitome of luxury to those who visit…and speaking of those who have graced the premises, the sex goddess herself, Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, Jacqueline Onassis and Truman Capote plus a slew of royalty from all over the world have made it their destination at one time or another.

Now I could be added to that list. And it just so happened, that the day I went to meet Ellen for afternoon tea, the morning news shows had sent camera crews to the Plaza to talk with, Shane Krige, the general manager about the upcoming movie on Eloise.

Eloise, whose portrait had been taken down from the lobby during the renovation, was hung back on the wall that very day. Who is Eloise you may ask? Eloise is the name of a fictional six-year-old girl who was the main character in a series of children’s books written by Kay Thompson. Eloise supposedly lived in the room on the “tippy-top floor” of the Plaza hotel with her British Nanny, her pug dog, Weenie and her turtle. As an interesting side note, they say, Liza Minnelli, the author’s goddaughter, has been cited as the possible model for the character Eloise. After the books, a few Disney movies, and animated TV series brought Eloise even more fame.

So there I am at the Plaza in the Palm Court, sitting across from the portrait of the mischievous child, sitting in a gorgeous high back chair, with a five hundred dollar tea set setting in front of me, fresh flowers filling the air with their aroma, harp music playing in the background, and the light of day dancing in from the beautiful 1,800 square foot stained glass ceiling. Ah life is good.

Ellen of course looked spectacular in her designer suit. (Sorry folks I can’t show you a picture, Ellen hates to be photographed.)…but she did allow me to use her spectacular pictures of the Plaza that you see above. (Thanks Ellen!)

Anyway, this time around Ellen really wasn’t testing my table manners…she was inviting me to sample the menu that she and the Executive Chef Virot, Chef Kaplan and herself created for the palates of the “tea time traditions and their international clientele.” She had spent months working with the staff on the rules and protocols of a proper tea presentation and preparation which incorporates three styles of service; Russian, French and English…all I know is it looked great and made me feel like a Queen, and any place that can make me feel like that in my book is fabulous.

(Personally I would have been fired from there a long time ago…I’d be like…”Hey folks how are you today? Great, we have a fantastic menu, can’t tell you what it is…but you are going to love it, bunch of little sandwiches, lots of teas, delicious deserts, but hey just read the menu, don’t ask so many questions, …bon a petit…then I’d hand them the teapot and be out of there…thus why I was never a waitress.)

Luckily our waiter, Luigi did not have my lack of patience. He had a warm personality and a heavy Italian accent! (With a name like Luigi what did you expect!) I loved it. He explained that we had a choice of twenty-two types of white, green, oolong and black teas, and herbal, fruit and Rooibus infusions. We choose, (Okay, who am I kidding, Ellen chose) a Madam Butterfly jasmine tea (a hand tied green tea infused with Jasmine…. and when I say hand tied I mean it. They actually sit there and hand tie these seed like looking things into butterfly shapes. During the brewing process the tea unfolds and shapes into a small butterfly…it’s a rarity about $300 per pound. (So savor the taste when you drink it!). After our meal, she chose a
Fruity infusion, Tuscan Pear Rooibus that is from the South African red bush plant. (It was fantastic.)

The waiter, also told us we had a choice of two menus; The Palm Court (at $60) per person which includes, classic tea sandwiches (you know the fancy little kinds without the crusts) and the Plaza (at $100) per person which adds a things like a black truffle, caviar on scrambled eggs, and lobster salad, just to name a few. (He explained it a lot better that’s my condensed version.) There was also an Eloise afternoon tea menu for the kiddy palettes as well.

The bottom line for the atmosphere, the type of service etc…it was a great deal…Ellen of course said it best, "Afternoon tea in The Plaza's Palm Court is an attainable luxury. It has been a remarkable journey of collaboration to bring a new standard of excellence to the afternoon tea program. Afternoon tea is an occasion to celebrate the timeless tradition of civility, good manners and community. One would be pleased to discover the commonality we share with our international neighbors through our mutual love for the rituals that tea has to offer. As tea has been a welcome sign of hospitality, The Plaza, a landmark NY institution, welcomes all to the Palm Court."

And on that eloquent note I part…till next time on Fran’s world...bottoms up and pinky’s down.

………Oh wait, one more thing…after we had our glamorous tea I did have a gym bag with me, in which I had a collection of teacups that my mom had in her house. There on the table at the Plaza, amongst all the high class patrons, I unwrapped each teacup from it’s newspaper and laid them out on the table for Ellen to see, after all if I’m going to know what I have…who better than a tea expert to tell me. Turns out my mom had good stuff...I put them back in the bag, making sure the staff didn’t think I was trying to swipe their teaset, and I was good to go. Of course, as I was wrapping the last teacup up, I laughed at myself, “Real class Capo”. Then I happened to look to my left and spotted Eloise out of the corner of my eye. I smiled, “I guess we all have a little Eloise in us!” Here’s to endless adventures at the Plaza.”

Note: To learn more about the world of tea pick up a copy of Ellen’s book: Afternoon Tea…Tips, Terms and Traditions…or contact her direct at teatravels@aol.com If you’re going to learn from anyone she’s the lady, after all, Ellen’s European ancestors in the early 1800s introduced tea to the Colony of Celyon. (Don’t ask me where that is…go look it up!). 

Eloise, Ellen and Fran at the Plaza

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