Coronation Chicken Salad Sandwiches and a Perfect Afternoon Tea Picnic

Classic Coronation Chicken Salad makes lovely little finger sandwiches for a delightful Afternoon Tea Picnic or serve it as a light luncheon salad.

The world is brightly blooming and it's picnic time again!

We teamed up with our blogging friends Nicoletta and Loreto of the 'SugarLoveSpices' blog for our first fun-filled picnic of the year. In honour of the Coronation of King Charles III this spring, we thought it was fitting to celebrate with a full-fledged Afternoon Tea Picnic with all the trimmings. We found a beautiful location by a historic home in Edmonton, packed up some dainty tea sandwiches, scones, and sweet nibbles in a picnic hamper, along with teapots, china, and fancy linens in a few crates, and absolutely reveled in a lovely Sunday afternoon tea on a sunshiny day in spring.

What a glorious day it was!

The Afternoon Tea Tradition

The tradition of Afternoon Tea as a delightful separate event is credited to Anna, the Seventh Duchess of Bedford around 1840. At that time in Britain, two meals a day were more common - a substantial morning meal, and then a later dinner around 8 o'clock (with the arrival of kerosene lanterns). The Duchess found herself feeling 'peckish' during the lengthy afternoons, and started inviting friends around to share a pot of tea and simple bread and butter snacks. This slowly evolved into ladies afternoon tea gatherings among high society, with scones, clotted cream and jam being added to the menu along with other small sweet and savoury snacks.

When Queen Victoria took up the new tradition, it quickly spread throughout the country - a welcome answer to the hunger pangs felt during the long wait between meals. Ladies dressed in comfortable casual 'tea dresses' (corsets were even allowed to be omitted!) and tea was served informally at low tables, although the fine china, linens, and silver were still a prerequisite. Although this type of afternoon tea is sometimes called High Tea, that is not technically correct. High tea is a more substantial meal, eaten by the working class after coming home from work (usually at a high table, hence the name).

What do you Need for Afternoon Tea?

First and foremost, you need a really good tea. It's nice to have two different teas for variety. Earl Grey tea is a favourite for Afternoon Tea. A tisane (herbal tea) is a good option for a second choice. This is the occasion to bring out your prettiest teapots (the one that came with your china set or the one left to you by Aunt Millie). Thrift stores and flea markets will often reveal inexpensive treasures if you're looking for bits and pieces of fancy china.

Serving the courses together on a three-tiered cake stand is the ultimate tea party elegance, but if you don't have one, serving the courses on separate pretty serving dishes is totally acceptable. The cake stand should take pride of place in the center of the table.

How Do You Tea?

Start eating from the bottom of the stand. A selection of sandwiches or other savouries should all be small, two-bite nibbles. Count on 4-6 finger/tea sandwiches per person. Scones belong on the middle tier. They can be medium-sized (offer 1 per person) or small scones (offer 2 per person). Scones are split in the middle by hand, and then a knife is used to spread the topping. Clotted cream is traditional - it's a matter of preference whether it goes over or under the jam or curd. We served Nicoletta's homemade sour cherry jam and my fresh rhubarb curd with our cream and scones.

For the the final course, choose whatever sweet treats you prefer. You can serve homemade treats, or save time with a few purchased items (like we did). It is perfectly acceptable to serve a cake or larger item that is cut and served on a separate plate (a footed cake plate is especially nice). I made two kinds of macarons and Nicoletta made her little jam tarts.

For some other delicious dessert ideas, you might like these Easy Gluten-Lemon Bars, Coconut Raspberry Mochi Bars, or maybe these No-Bake Chewy Chocolate Almond Bars. Or have some fun making Homemade Raspberry Honey Marshmallows, Sicilian Almond Cookies, Chocolate Mendiants, or No-Bake Oreos-Snickers Ganache Tarts. Pick one or more - they'd all make special desserts for an Afternoon Tea Picnic.

Other lovely additions are a beautiful tablecloth and linen napkins, candles, fresh flowers, fresh berries, pretty silverware (a luncheon plate and knife for each person). Sugar and cream must be offered for the tea, with optional honey and lemon slices if desired. An afternoon tea party is the time to bring out all your prettiest things. And of course, each guest will need a tea cup and saucer, either from a matched set or delightfully mismatched. (Note: holding up your pinky while you sip your tea is not cool - don't do it🙂!)

White Chocolate Dipped Goldenberries

I dipped goldenberries (physalis) in melted white chocolate for a delightful little nibble. To make them, just pinch back the outer husk of the berries - they look like little fairy wings. Melt a few tablespoons of white chocolate, either in the microwave or a bowl set over a small saucepan of simmering water. Dip the berries halfway into the chocolate and set them onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Let them set until the chocolate hardens - they'll chill faster in the refrigerator. The dipped goldenberries look charming tucked between treats on a dessert platter, and also make lovely decorations on an iced cake or other dessert.

Our Menu

Turn it into an Afternoon Tea Picnic

Scout out a lovely location for your picnic - one with some shade and a pretty view. We chose the grounds of Edmonton's Government House. It was lovely and private, with the beautiful historic home in the background.

To turn your Afternoon Tea into a picnic event, you'll need to to a little extra packing and have some foldable, transportable chairs and a table. It's harder to have a tea picnic on a blanket, although if you use less fragile, more casual dishes, this is a doable option. Bring a few pillows to sit on if you're using a blanket. A wicker picnic basket and a few extra tablecloths or napkins is a good idea.

You will also need to transport your hot tea or boiling water in thermal containers, and pack all your food items in sealable plastic containers. A cooler with ice packs is a good idea for the refrigerated and perishable foods. To keep your china and crystal safe, wrap the dishes in the tablecoth and napkins, or use a handful of little towels and cloths to wrap them individually and pack them in sturdy totes.

Don't forget to bring along a bag for garbage and a tote or box for dirty dishes (with dishcloths or paper towels to put between the dishes for transport). Leave your location as clean as you found it.

And fresh flowers really do turn an ordinary Afternoon Tea Picnic into a special one - wrap the flower stems in wet paper towels, put them in a plastic bag, and bring water in a bottle. Bring along a favourite vase or pretty teapot for a beautiful look. A few individual flowers tucked into little glass bottles is a sweet variation.

For More Picnic Inspiration

Check out our other picnics if you're looking for ideas to have a lovely meal outdoors. Just gather together some good friends, good food, and a beautiful location. You'll make beautiful memories.

• Gluten-Free Sausage Rolls and a Glorious Autumn Picnic
• Homemade Tomato Soup and a Late Fall Picnic by the Lake

Let Nature set the stage for you, whether it's a glorious wilderness setting, a bucolic meadow or park, or even a beautiful back yard or leafy urban balcony. Just pack a basket, tote, or shoulder bag with a few tasty nibbles and a sip of something to quench your thirst, and invite along a good friend or loved one to share your picnic with you. For fun, you can go all-out like we did, or just keep it sweet and simple. It's the people you share your picnic with that will make it memorable.

Now Let's Make the Finger Sandwiches

Coronation Chicken Salad is a British classic, developed for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. It was originally served as a luncheon salad, but has since become extremely popular in Britain as a sandwich filling. This simplified version has all the elements of the original recipe; it's slightly sweet, slightly tangy, lightly-curried creamy chicken that tickles your taste buds no matter which way you serve it.

For our afternoon tea picnic, we also made cucumber sandwiches with herbed cream cheese, egg salad sandwiches, and tuna salad sandwiches. You can make whatever fillings you like - smoked salmon and cream cheese are nice, or ham and cheese, or even peanut butter and jam.

How to Make Coronation Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This simplified version of the original Coronation Chicken Salad only needs a few ingredients: leftover cooked chicken (or poach some chicken breasts, easy instructions included in the recipe), good quality mayonnaise, mango chutney, a squeeze of lemon juice, mild or medium curry powder, salt, pepper, and a pinch of cinnamon, and then stir in some raisins or diced dried apricots (dried cranberries would be nice, too).

If you choose to make sandwiches (either regular sandwiches or tea/finger sandwiches), you'll need some bread, butter, and baby arugula or other greens of your choice.

Cut the cooked chicken into bite-sized chunks if you're making a luncheon salad, or dice it more finely, like in the photo below, if you're making a sandwich filling.

Then just stir together the salad dressing ingredients, add the chicken and raisins and stir it all together.

To Make Tea Sandwiches or Finger Sandwiches

Pile a generous amount of Coronation Chicken Salad onto lightly buttered bread. Choose brown or white bread, I've used gluten-free whole grain sandwich bread here. Add a handful of pungent greens - they offset the sweet curry flavour beautifully. I've used baby arugula, but watercress is nice, too, or just use your favourite greens. And of course, for fancy tea sandwiches, you'll need to cut off the crusts - save them for nibbling (or treat your dog to afternoon tea crusts!)

Pro-tip - to make beautifully precise & even cut sandwiches, it works best to make the sandwiches the day before, wrap them tightly in plastic food wrap (you can wrap the sandwiches in pairs to save paper), and chill them overnight. The sandwiches set up nicely, making them much easier to cut neatly. Use a large serrated knife, hold the sandwich down with one hand, and then saw gently back and forth with the knife blade to make clean cuts.

Cut the trimmed sandwiches into four triangles or 3 or 4 fingers each. Since your bread will most likely be a rectangle, you'll have two flatter triangles and two taller ones from each sandwich. Stack them with the same triangles together for a neater-looking sandwich plate. Those are some elegant little Coronation Chicken Salad Sandwiches.

Here's another Curried Chicken Salad recipe that's lovely for light lunches or picnics, too.

This picnic was such fun, from the planning stages to the final event. Check out Nicoletta's post on it - she has some great tips for making your Afternoon Tea Picnic perfect!

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Guten Appetit!