Tea Party in London Inspired by Matilda by Roald Dahl

My daughter just finished the book Matilda, by Roald Dahl.  She received a copy of the book while she was in London during her Happy Meal Chef apprentice experience with McDonald's.  They took her to The Stupendous Afternoon Tea served at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street Hotel in London.

The Matilda musical is currently playing in London (right next door to the hotel) so the hotel created a scrumptious tea service inspired by the story.

Just listen to a portion of the menu:  Ludicrously Lovely Lemon Loaf Cake, Tremendously Terrific Trifle and Fantastic Fondue.

Don't worry, Miss Trunchbull won't make anyone eat an entire chocolate cake like she did in the story.  My daughter had a lovely time at the tea. 

My daughter Elayna and friend Sarah enjoying the tea treats. Both are Happy Meal Chefs for McDonald's.

We've had the Matilda movie on our shelf for years but our daughter started watching it a few years ago and it scared her too much. She is older now (age 9) and really loved the book, especially the surprise ending. Now she is ready to pull the movie out again.

You could try making your own treats at home to go along with this story.  Try making up your own amazing alliteration on the menu to make it even more fun.

What is a Gruffalo?

When we went to London a few weeks ago for the Olympics my daughter found The Gruffalo book and a  stuffed animal to bring back as a souvenir for my son. They saw the puppet show of The Gruffalo story, by Julia Donaldson, at Hamleys toy shop in London.

The Gruffalo looks very silly and almost scary but my son adores it and sleeps with it every night and asks me to read the book over and over.

He giggles at the storyline where a mouse tricks several other animals not to eat him because he is friends with a (mythical) Gruffalo, but then a real Gruffalo shows up and the mouse has to trick him too.  I especially like how it points out all the parts of the Gruffalo (orange eyes, black tongue, green wart on nose, purple spikey back and more) so my son can point to all those spots as we read the story.
Apparently this book is very popular, especially in the U.K. and there is even a DVD of it. You can also find it in American bookstores or online at Amazon.

Happy Meal Chef Headed to London Olympics

My daughter Elayna is a McDonald's Happy Meal Chef for the next few months. Read more about that here. She won a trip to the London Olympics and the chance to participate in a global Champions of Food cooking challenge. She will also go to McDonald's headquarters in October to cook with McDonald's executive chef to help develop new ideas for the Happy Meal.

In preparation for the Olympics we have been watching the news and reading magazines and books from the library.  I have also been busy pinning Olympic craft ideas on Pinterest and have found some excellent ideas. I like the free printables and have printed a few to take with us on our trip.

Below are some of the other finalists for the #happymealchefs experience. Elayna and Sarah R. are the grand prize winners who are official Happy Meal Chefs and will be part of the cooking challenge. You can see their  contest videos by clicking on the image below.

My daughter and husband will take part in the McDonald's Happy Meal Chef Champion's of Food cooking contest in London just before the Olympics start.  They were asked to develop a new recipe they would like to possibly see in a McDonald's Happy Meal. Other contestants are coming from Germany, Japan and Brazil.  They are excited to be involved in the process of helping the Happy Meals become healthier.

This image is the McDonald's Olympic Menu. Notice they have fruit bags and carrot sticks with the happy meals.  I hope they offer those in the states soon.

I thought this infographic was interesting too.

I will be going with them to London and we will be taking turns blogging about their experience.
They will be attending several Olympic events and meeting some of the athletes.
We'll be cheering for Team USA!!!