Anyone who has ever enjoyed a British cream tea – scones, jam, clotted cream, tea – knows ‘the’ debate.
But for those who don’t let us explain… it’s what to spread first on the scone: the jam or the cream?
Cream teas have been around in Britain since the 11th century and the two versions have come to represent the preference of two counties: Cornwall and Devon.
The Cornish advocate that the best way to serve the afternoon treat is by spreading the jam over the scone first, then adding clotted cream as the crowning glory. By contrast, the Devon tradition is to spread the cream first and top it all off with a dollop of ruby jam.
It’s a debate that has gone on for over a thousand and years and it’s about time it was settled. And really, who better to do so than our beloved Queen?
Tea fans, you may celebrate. Because it has now come to public attention that The Queen apparently does have a preference. Darren McGrady, the former Royal chef between 1982 and 1993, has revealed on Twitter that at Buckingham Palace garden parties the protocol was to put…. drum roll please… the jam on first!
‘Always’, he wrote.
So there you have it. The Cornish way to do afternoon tea appears also to be the Royal way – and therefore, we might conclude, the right way.
Now if only The Queen could kindly settle the small matter of what came first the chicken or the egg, we might all finally get some sleep at night.
Ma’am, over to you..
This article originally appeared on Grazia.
