Mad Hatter's Tea Party with a twist

High tea two weekends in a row? It must be Wellington on a Plate. The Mad Hatter's Tea Party with a twist was held at the festival hub behind Prefab Cafe.

This dapper couple were suitably dressed for the occasion.

Thomas the Tank Engine meets the Mad Hatter

We entered through the magical festival hub, where candy floss clouds were there for the taking.

Candy floss clouds

Walk past the popcorn wall and entice your palette. Which will you choose: sweet, sour, bitter salty or umami?

A wall of popcorn

Alice invites you ...

Welcome!

  ... to follow her down down the rabbit hole ...

Don't get lost!

... and take your seat.

Table setting

The flowers look so pretty ...

Pretty flower bowl

... but they're actually a resting place for this little blue penguin!

A penguin ice sculpture

Ooh, a game of chess! Who is brave enough to play?

Giant chess board

Time for tea. Teapot cocktails were served. There were no non-alcoholic or coffee substitutions included (apart from some available for purchase) so we stuck with water.

Tea is served

While waiting for our food to arrive, we visited the vending machine in the Visa Festival Hub and munched on another pottle of popcorn along the way.

Treat yourself for just $1!

Here's how the menu transformed:

Mad Hatter's high tea

Where to start? At the bottom, of course! Rabbit pies, chicken liver and plum jelly brioche doughnuts, and cucumber, cream cheese and cricket (yes, cricket) sandwiches. The brioche and bread were amazing. The fillings ... well, I need a bit more getting used to chicken liver and crickets. Surprisingly, the chili and black ant candy floss was actually quite delicious.

Savoury style

These champagne jelly tarts were set on shortbread and dusted with freeze dried raspberries.

Champagne jellies

And no Mad Hatter's tea party would be complete without jam tarts. We finished off high tea with a mini chocolate (mousse) garden.

The Queen of Heart's tarts

This Mad Hatter's tea party was a magical way to wile away an hour on a Saturday afternoon.