Founder of Cakery Wonderland met up with Awards to Tia Hong one of London’s leading cake designers for the past 10 years at the West London Business Awards

Tia: Firstly, congratulations on your 3 wins well deserved and some tuff competition this year. I just finished reading you new book, your prologue tells a moving story of a childhood spent in the Palm Court of the Waldorf. How does that "sense of occasion" translate into your new book, The Afternoon Tea Chronicles?

Greg: Thank, yeah bit of shock to hear you name called as I arrived late had run on the stage bag and jacket in hand. The Waldorf palm court afternoon tea experience as a ten year old boy, it was my first lesson in culinary theatre and overeating. It wasn't just about the food; it was the tails, the white gloves, and the grand piano the staff seemed to just glide around the room. Then 9 years later I went back but went in the staff entrance as pastry chef. The Afternoon Tea Chronicles, I delve into how we take those 385-year-old traditions and reimagine them for the modern world—moving from gilded hotels to immersive experiences like our Alice in Wonderland Afternoon Tea. The book is a 30-year journey that shows readers how to create that same "awe" at home. It’s a collection of the some of the best afternoon teas I have enjoyed in some of the most stunning locations around the world.

Tia: Speaking of "reimagining," your Easter 2026 menus look spectacular. Tell me about the Vintage Easter Afternoon Tea" service?

Greg: It’s about effortless luxury. We provide everything: vintage crockery, menu cards, and even the linens. The menu features lavish savouries like whiskey-smoked salmon—cured in-house—and Smoked Duck with Brie. But it’s the scones that people wait for; we’re doing Lemonade scones with black cherry curd and Apple & Cider scones with apple conserve. Every guest even gets a hand-decorated dark chocolate egg tucked into a mini handbag gift box, the service is delivered by our afternoon tea butlers.

Tia: How did you come up the Bunny Garden" dessert experience. It looks more like a film set than a dessert course.

Greg: That’s the Disney Imagineering influence coming through! The Bunny Garden is a visually stunning landscape, a picket fence garden full of bunnies having fun the idea is you explore there eater eggs filled with strawberry and mango mousse to my scotch eggs, they look like a savoury egg but they are crème eggs with a layer of carrot cake wrapped around a crème egg, panko crumb and deep fried but when you cut it open a googey melting crème egg with mango yolk dip. The showstopper is one of my dessert towers and a towering Easter Macaron display. We even bring in mini "Mr. Whippy" machines to serve  mini egg brownie sundae with raspberry and banana ice cream It’s designed to be the ultimate " easter memorable event".

Tia: Your company, Cakery Wonderland donates 15% of revenue to fight hunger. How does that mission tie into your famous Easter Egg Hunts?

Greg: Every private hunt we run funds a charity hunt for disadvantaged children. Last year, we supported 250 kids with the Pimlico Angels and this year we are going to attempt at the world’s tallest donut tower with over 2,000, 3m tall and will serve 500 people.   We offer three levels of "Imagineered" hunts, from the "Garden Hunt" to the full "Wonderland" experience. We transform the garden with 4.5-foot bunnies and photo backdrops. It’s about using our revenue to help rebuild a more equitable food system

Tia: Your Alice in Wonderland whimsical easter eggs how did the idea come about?

Greg: We wanted to make something fun and truly Alice and it was the curiosity box that it all off we thought if what would Alice say is get got given a box with a window that showed sprinkles as that’s all you see, Curiouser and curiouser cried Alice, so the idea was a sprinkles egg and inside the egg are two more eggs filled with banoffee caramel and a vanilla and white chocolate crème in a handmade curiosity  box you get to keep. We created 4 eggs the big one comes with a barque gold sprayed picture frame and you send us the picture and we print it and add to the frame so it’s a highly personalised easter egg and it’s filled with 3 curiosity eggs and 3 crispy shell truffle eggs and the look stunning,

Tia: just before we wrap up, one last questions on you new book. What makes it a must have cookbook?

• The 250-Recipe Vault: it will be the biggest collection of Afternoon Tea recipes for all types of cooks and bakers from kids to professionals. A massive collection of menus and recipes from around the world, simplified.
• The Global Afternoon Tea Map: A curated journey through 15 stops, from the Burj Al Arab in Dubai to the Raffles in Singapore all the best afternoon teas I have tried and didn’t get caught stealing the menu!
• Etiquette Unfiltered: A witty guide to debunking stuffy myths—learn the real rules of the scone and why pinkies should stay down.
• Teas of the world: with over 40 teas to explore and how to pair them to your afternoon tea menu
• My food journey: it’s packed with all the tricks of the trade I have picked up over the years. Behind-the-scenes stories from early years as chef to running my own business at 23, to the years spent at Disney to my covid baking start up from selling 20,000 lockdown baking kits a month to launching the UK’s first purpose-driven catering group.

Greg’s Top 10 Tips for the Ultimate Kids' Easter Egg Hunt

Planning a hunt that keeps the kids engaged without the chaos requires its own kind of "Imagineering." Here are Greg's pro-tips:

1. Age-Based Head Starts: Give the "little ones" (under 5s) a 5-minute head start before the older kids join in.
2. Personalised Gear: Use baskets with the children's names on them—it prevents "basket envy" and serves as a great keepsake.
3. The "Golden Egg" Finale: Hide one special Golden Egg; the winner gets a premium prize, like a hand-decorated dark chocolate egg.
4. Themed Signage: Use colourful directional signs to guide the flow of the hunt and keep kids in the right areas.
5. Interactive Backdrops: Create a photo station with props or inflatable bunnies so parents can capture the "Wonderland" moment.
6. Diversify the Bounty: Don't just hide chocolate; mix in Easter fudge, macarons, or orange and caramel shortbreads.
7. Incentivize the Count: Have a "counting station" where eggs are tallied at the end to add excitement and a moment of calm.
8. Dietary Inclusion: Ensure you have high-quality vegan options available, like the treats from our "Sugar Daddy London" range.
9. The Master of Ceremonies: Have a dedicated team member run the hunt to keep the energy high and manage the "Golden Egg" announcements.
10. The "Take-Home" Treat: Ensure every participant leaves with a "Treat Box" so no one goes home empty-handed