Creating the Perfect Cricket Tea – Ideas and recipes for creating the perfect cricket tea on a limited budget, and with just two people
Image: A village cricket match in progress on the Suffolk/Essex border by artist Steven Binks stevenbinks.co.uk
With Tips from Cricketers and Cricket Tea Helpers and Bakers
I come from a family who either love to watch cricket, or who used to play cricket. And, one of my oldest and closest friends was a regular “Cricket Mum Cricket Tea Helper and Baker”.
When my daughter was at school, she often went away with her school cricket team and was in charge of putting the scores up on the scoreboard, with the rules of cricket that she had to learn quite quickly, as well as not falling asleep on a warm, summer’s day!
Although international and county cricket is always in the sports news, and on the TV, it’s village cricket that is my favourite to watch….the sound of willow on leather, sunny days on a green pitch, deck chairs with spectators, and the anticiptation of the cricket tea.
However, to get back to the main reason I am writing this post today, ideas how to create the perfect cricket tea. In the first instance I turned to my friend Sarah, who hosted many a cricket tea, and with just one helper alongside her.
Although I had a good idea what would be be served on a cricket tea, it was good to chat through it with her. It seemed that sandwiches, cakes, fresh fruit, crisps, tea and sqaush were top of the list for what to make and serve, with additional savouries such as sausage rolls.
I also had some excellent suggestions from my daughter’s brother-in-law who plays cricket – with a couple of amusing commets, “NO ready-salted crisps” and “make sure there is a good ratio of squash to water”! He also said that it was important to offer fresh fruit.
Image: Room Forty
I hope that my tips and recipe ideas below will provide some inspiration, if you are in the village cricket catering rota, or you are catering for a large family celebration. The budget that most people seem to be working with, given that most things are home-made, is between £40 and £50.
Sarah used to have a £20 budget, and the other helper was given £20 too, for a total budget of £40; she said this more or less covered everything, but as she insisted on using butter, and not vegetable spread, she sometimes went over budget.
I will be sharing Cricket Pavilion Tea Recipes over the next few weeks too, so do keep popping back to see what’s new. First up on my Cricket Pavilion Tea Recipes, will be Sarah’s Cricket Tea BLT Sandwiches, which she always made, as per her son Tom’s request!
Tips, Ideas and Recipes to Create the Perfect Cricket Tea
Planning
- Contact the other helpers and bakers beforehand, and decide what each of you will make and bring.
- Make sure one of you buys the milk!
- Try to bake ahead of time – fruit cakes in particular can be made several days in advance, and sponge cakes can be made the day before, or two days before and kept in the fridge, then filled and iced on the morning of the match.
- Scones freeze well, so can be made ahead of time too. Defrost them on the morning of the match.
- Make sure you have plenty of time to set up – it ALWAYS takes longer than you think.
- Make sure the urn is filled and turned on as soon as you arrive.
- Take all the implements you need with you, such as knives, cutting boards and takeaway containers.
- Don’t forget to check there are enough teabags, coffee, sugar and sqaush in the pavilion.
Sandwich Ideas
- Cheese and Onion
- Cheese and Pickle
- Egg Mayonnaise (Egg & Cress)
- Ham and Tomato
- Ham and Cheese
- BLT
- Coronation Chicken
- Club
Suggested Basics Shopping List (Not for Home Baking)
- 4 loaves of bread, 2 x white and 2 x Wholmeal or Granary
- 1 tub of margarine or spreadable butter
- 4 pints semi-skimmed milk
- 2 sharing bags of crisps
- Fresh fruit such as bananas, grapes, melon and strawberries (when in season)
- 2 to 3 packs of ham (about 20 to 30 slices)
- Large packet of cheese
- 6 tomatoes
- Half a dozen eggs
- 1 jar of mayonnaise OR salad cream
- 2 packs of ready-made Coronation chicken (if not making it at home)
- 1 jar of Branston pickle or other similar pickle
- Savouries, such as cocktail sausage rolls, mini scotch eggs (allow 2 per person) and mini pork pies (allow 1 per person, cut in half)
- Ready made sweet baked goods, such as jam tarts (24), chocolate rolls (24) and jaffa cakes (2 x boxes)
Popular Homemade Cakes, Bakes and Savouries
- Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Coffee Walnut Cake
- Victoria Sponge Cake
- Fruit Cake
- School Cake Tray Bake
- Chocolate Cake
- Rocky Road
- Chocolate Biscuit Cake
- Jam Tarts
- Scones
- Sausage Rolls
- Quiche
Cricket Tea Recipes
- 1960’s Evaporated Milk Chocolate Cake
- The Queen’s Chocolate Biscuit Cake
- Caramel Popcorn and Malteser Rocky Road
- Easy Three Ingredient Sausage Rolls
- Cheese & Potato Pie Sausage Rolls
- Cheesy Ploughman’s Sausage Rolls
Reel of a Cricket Tea on Instagram from Newenden CC
Delivering the Cricket Tea – Car or Van Essential!
AliceK says
This looks divine! I don’t follow cricket, but this looks like a wonderful spread for any picnic occasion. How many people would you estimate this would serve? £50 seems like a lot.
Karen Burns-Booth says
It’s between £40 and £50 – some clubs have a smaller budget and some have more.
A normal cricket tea will serve 22 players, 2 umpires, 2 scorers and some visitors, so approximately 30 to 35, but each club will know how many they usually cater for.