If you’re visiting New York City this holiday season, there’s one afternoon tea worth building your plans around. The Lily of the Valley Holiday Afternoon Tea at The Lowell Hotel, in collaboration with Maison Dior, blends culinary precision, fashion history, and quiet luxury inside the intimate dining room of The Lowell Hotel.
At the helm is Chef Matthew Lambie, whose take on holiday afternoon tea feels both traditional and thoughtful, from delicately crafted sweets and savory bites to what may be the most perfect scones in New York. I sat down with Chef Lambie to talk tea etiquette, holiday indulgence, and the do’s and don’ts of getting afternoon tea right.
The inspiration begins with Lily of the Valley, Christian Dior’s favorite flower, long associated with luck and refinement. Majorelle’s Executive Pastry Chef Matthew Lambie, whose résumé includes curating celebrated afternoon tea programs at Harrods and The Plaza Hotel, explains, “The perception of having fine china and the opulence of everything, the grandeur, the whole experience, is definitely a whole package of what we do here.”
While afternoon tea often comes with strict rules, Chef Lambie believes sequence matters most. “From a palate point of view, I would recommend the savory first,” he explains. “If you start with sweet first, you’re going to ruin everything, your experience, your mouth, what you taste.” At Majorelle, the preferred order is savory sandwiches, followed by desserts, and finally the scones, which are a deliberate choice to ensure guests enjoy each course without feeling overwhelmed.
That sense of intention extends to every tier of the tea tower. The top level features a holiday crumb caramel baked in glass, layered with lemon, blood orange, warm spices, and whipped cream, finished with a delicate tuile that resembles a snowflake. Nearby sits a gleaming white Christmas ornament pastry filled with pistachio cream and pomegranate jelly. “When you cut into it, you see all the holiday colors,” Chef Lambie says, noting that visual delight is just as important as flavor.
At the base of the tower are the savory tea sandwiches which includes coronation-style curried chicken, cucumber with dill, smoked salmon, egg salad, and banana bread with berry preserve. And yes, the crusts are cut off. “It’s very heavy having the crust on there.” Chef Lambie says. “Crusts are cut off to make it more refined.”
The scones themselves are a highlight: warm, well-risen, and gently moist. “They should be a little bit moist, easy to break into, and they have to be warm,” he says. When it comes to toppings, Chef Lambie weighs in on the age-old debate. His recommendation: jam first, then cream. “If you put the cream first and then the jam, it has a tendency to slide off,” he explains, referencing the Cornish versus Devonshire divide.
Tea and champagne pairings are equally thoughtful. Dark teas are best with savory courses, while herbals shine alongside sweets. Milk, he notes, helps soften the tannins in black tea, while champagne drinkers are encouraged to opt for brut with savory bites and demi-sec with desserts.
Asked what instantly signals a great afternoon tea, Chef Lambie doesn’t hesitate: “The scones — the way they’re presented. The presentation of the whole tier.” And the one unforgivable mistake? “Cold scones.”
Majorelle’s Lily of the Valley Holiday Tea is less about rigid etiquette and more about harmony between flavors, textures, and atmosphere. It’s an experience designed to slow you down, invite conversation, and savor each detail. In a city that rarely pauses, this feels like a small luxury worth lingering over.
