EE056 – Jane Malyon

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Tony Winyard 0:00
Exceeding Expectations Episode 56 Hi, my name is Tony Winyard. And welcome to another edition of exceeding expectations, the podcast that aims to give you ideas on how to give your customers better experiences. My guest today is Jane Malyon. She’s the founder of the English Cream Tea Company. And she’s eccentric? I don’t know if that’s the right word; Auntie Jane she’s known as, there’s a few other names and it’s quite an interesting episode today. If you do like this podcast, why not share it with someone; this particular episode, you think someone might get value out of this? Why not share it with them on one of the social media platforms. And it will be great if you’re able to leave a review for us on iTunes or one of the other podcast platforms because that really helps get the word out to more people. So if you would do that, that would be fantastic. not asking you for five stars, just be completely honest with how you find the the show. So right now it is time for this week’s episode with Jane Malyon.

So another edition of exceeding expectations and today I’m with Jane Malyon. How are you doing Jane?

Jane Malyon 1:24
Marvellously, Thank you, Tony.

Tony Winyard 1:27
And we’re in a beautiful cottage in Essex in Upper Roding?

Jane Malyon 1:31
Nearly, it’s White Roding. Yeah.

Tony Winyard 1:34
How long have you been here?

Jane Malyon 1:36
35 years

Tony Winyard 1:37
Wow.

Jane Malyon 1:38
And right now we’re sitting in the “Secret Sconery”!

Tony Winyard 1:41
Secret Sconery?

Jane Malyon 1:43
Yes, the house is behind this. And we built this on and so of course some people have to call it the secret sconery. That’s the dilemma. And so this is where we open up for a tea room sometimes.

Tony Winyard 1:57
For anyone now wondering Sconnery, Sconery, What’s that all about? So you’re you’ve got the English Cream Tea Company. And so do you want to tell us about that?

Jane Malyon 2:07
So it’s my favourite thing in the world. Those who can’t see me, well, I represent an English cream tea just by looking at me, I can tell you. So, afternoon tea is a very special British indulgence, but it’s beloved the world over and I’ve always loved it from tiny tot right through. And I met an elderly lady from Chelmsford, Essex about seven years ago. And we got talking about The Savoy and The Ritz and all those famous places, and she said it was her favourite thing, but she had her last afternoon tea ever, because she couldn’t travel anymore. And I thought no, surely not. And she said, No, that’s it. I’ve accepted that that’s my lot. And it set the lightbulb moment off in my head. It truly did. I felt the light bulb go on. And it was if she couldn’t get to the Savoy Is there a way that The experience could go to her. And in two weeks flat, I’d set up the English Cream Tea Company to deliver afternoon tea hampers all over the UK.

Tony Winyard 3:10
Wow! two weeks!

Jane Malyon 3:11
Two weeks… that’s how I tend to work; a flurry.

Tony Winyard 3:16
And so when you… so obviously you’ve all these ideas going through your mind. Yes. So what was your initial intention? And has that changed? Well, I imagine it must have changed?…

Jane Malyon 3:25
Yes. So initially, I assumed that I would only be able to deliver locally. And I needed to find a way of packaging afternoon tea because it’s got to be an experience. We’re not talking a bag of Scones or Scons from Greg’s we’re talking, you know, the sumptuous lavish indulgence.

Tony Winyard 3:42
And were you making these?

Jane Malyon 3:44
Yes… very clever of me. I married a chef 41 years ago, my best decision. And so I needed to work out how these things could transport because I didn’t want to go to people’s houses and you know, make the cups of tea. And put out the food on their plates. I wanted to deliver it as far afield as I could. And so I called up the companies that move human organs for operations. And I said, Now you’re the only people I can think of that have to send things chilled and perfect. They’ve got to arrive right way up, not frozen, not, you know, damaged in any way, because this is important stuff. Would you share your protocol with me? And they did. And so I copied that.

Tony Winyard 4:31
And so, you say you started the company in two weeks and when was the first delivery after you started it?

Jane Malyon 4:37
We had to prove to the environmental health that everything was arriving perfectly, because we send out clotted cream and smoke salmon sandwiches and you know, everything you get at afternoon tea, meringues and so on. Obviously, you can’t have blue furry sandwiches arriving. Nobody wants that. Nobody wants cream that’s gone off. So we had to prove that these boxes arrived at about five degrees. were kept chilled on the way. So we had to start off by sending to ourselves via the couriers they had to go right around, you know, the hub system and back to us. And then we had to record with special digital thermometers, what temperature they arrived at and prove it to the environmental health. So we were the first people to get them. But after that the next person was the elderly lady from Chelmsford.

Tony Winyard 5:26
And was that… did she know she was gonna get it…

Jane Malyon 5:29
She knew, but she didn’t pay. And so and I hand delivered that one, right, and she invited friends round. It was only a tea for two I delivered, but she’d invited four very elderly ladies, and they still couldn’t eat it all between them. So that’s very sweet.

Tony Winyard 5:45
And so how did word spread from there?

Jane Malyon 5:47
I started a Facebook page. Okay. So I started this on zero budget. I’ve talked to my poor long suffering husband Roger about my new bright idea. And he’s had a long history of my bright ideas so you have to contextualise this. And so he agreed I could do it if I spent zero. So I gave away shares to the branding designer and gave away shares to the website company and so on. That’s how I did it. And so where we’re going with this,

Tony Winyard 6:21
so how did it develop

Jane Malyon 6:23
I put it on Facebook because that’s free. And on the first day of business, I got inquiries from a whole load of different countries, literally countries. And I hadn’t thought about that at all; America, Australia, South Africa, Spain, expats

Tony Winyard 6:41
And how were they hearing about it?

Jane Malyon 6:42
Facebook?

Tony Winyard 6:43
So people had been sharing it…

Jane Malyon 6:45
Honestly, I have no idea. So that’s the power of such things. I hadn’t even started on twitter at that point hadn’t done Instagram. We do them all now, but Facebook and literally first day of business, plus i got inquiries from Scotland and Cornwall. So my idea of delivering locally, was right out of the window. And But no, we can’t deliver fresh sandwiches to Australia. That isn’t yet possible.

Tony Winyard 7:12
So when you’re sending things abroad what that so you have a smaller range, I presume then when you’re

Jane Malyon 7:18
Yes. So because of that response, we also started to develop ambient gifts. So that would be shelf stable things, things that you could put into a shop and it wouldn’t go off. So we have things like a home bake scone kit. Of course for those that say, Scon, just swap the word round in your mind, it’s fine. Her majesty says scone by the way.

Tony Winyard 7:43
And so why would someone in Australia or America be ordering from you. What was it that you do? They couldn’t just buy there?

Jane Malyon 7:52
The taste of home, so people missing the quintessential British treat, you can get what they call High Tea, wrong, but we will forgive them. You can get High Tea in America and Australia and everywhere in fact, it’s worldwide. Did you know Nelson Mandela said it was Britain’s greatest export?

Tony Winyard 8:12
I’m probably a little Philistine here because I know very little about tea, I don’t even drink tea!

Jane Malyon 8:17
Oh my gosh! So do you even know what English Cream tea is?

Tony Winyard 8:20
So when you just said High Tea, that doesn’t mean anything to me So, so for there may be one other listener that doesn’t know what it means. So what does it mean?

Jane Malyon 8:28
So afternoon tea goes back to Victorian times and it was because they had early lunch and they had late dinner and they got growly tummies inbetween. And it used to be bread and butter and cakes as a sort of stop gap. And the ladies used to do this up in the bed chambers, they all believed to be round and then they’d sip on tea and talk and chat and gossip. And it spread as a custom to break up between lunch and a late dinner. And then it turned into this theme and it’s become a true thing. afternoon tea. If you’ve ever been to the great hotels, they are seething with people having afternoon tea. The Ritz starts afternoon tea at 11am because they can’t fit enough people in. So what usually comes out is a three tiered, they called walk knots but cake stands. And you’ll have savouries like might be cheese on toast, little tiny ones or some saucy global thing or canopies or Quiches and so on. And then you’ll have sandwiches, almost always with cucumber sandwiches being amongst them and then there’s reasons for that but it goes back to Victorian times. And then you move on to warm scones or scons. Do you know what they are? They’re like sort of little dryish buns but you split them open, they’re often warm, and you slather them with jam and cream. Clotted cream which is a thick Cornish or Devonshire cream. And so it’s a tradition and then you drink that with copious cups of tea and people who used to live here now live in Spain and so on, they crave this tradition, they have a taste of home. And it’s a real Keep calm and carry on sort of thing. And it’s come to represent all that’s good because at afternoon tea, it’s a pause. And you usually share this with other people. And it’s quality time in rapport, sharing, and listening and passing and nodding and eye contact and the good children turn their phones off. You’re allowed to take a photo of it, because it’s usually a spectacle with gorgeous little patisseries. But you’ve turned the phone off, and you just have this pause, where it’s very civilised. Hence my TED talk was called: How afternoon tea could save the world.

Tony Winyard 10:49
You told me about the TED talk, and it sounded fascinating. I’m going to put a link to that Ted Talk. So anyone listening now you’ll be able to go and watch the TED talk. So what was it about? And how did that come about?

Jane Malyon 11:02
Yes, well, TEDs and TEDx’s are about original ideas and you have to get them across in less than about 20 minutes. And I’ve always felt very strongly about this thing about the manners that accompany afternoon tea, the etiquette. And I should point out a lot of people think etiquette means snobbery and poshness, and we’re back to what’s going on in the political climate right now. And I say no, it doesn’t and don’t be fooled by my posh sounding voice, either. Etiquette is consideration. And that’s a good thing in the world to care about other people. And afternoon tea has its little quirks because it’s all about “after you” and passing and “no after you”, and sharing and you know, the last strawberry tart it gets cut in half and everybody’s very kind to each other. But if we transferred these niceties, the way you pour a cup of tea for someone, if you did drink tea, Some people like it milky, some people like it black, some people like it… and you know, so it wouldn’t be for me just to pour one and pass it, it will be for me to find out. How do you like yours, Tony? and can I offer you this? It’s about making everybody feel special. And that’s my favourite aspect, even though the afternoon tea is delicious. The favourite bit is the way we behave. And so I’m saying if we transfer that into business and into politics, pleasurable conversations that involve properly listening to people, and taking time out with them, that would solve things. And at the time of the TED Talk, TEDx talk; I looked at there’s a world peace index. And it’s getting worse every year. There are very few I mean, it’s something like 11 countries that are deemed to be at peace in The world and the rest are deemed to be in conflict at some level; might be minor, but they might still be involved. So we’ve definitely tried war overall, we’ve tried sanctions, we’ve tried most things, and I’m saying “Hang on, give afternoon tea a chance”, because it’s the perfect vehicle for being in rapport.

Tony Winyard 13:24
Okay, did you just do the one talk and how did it go down?

Jane Malyon 13:29
Yes, it went down very well. One person put “This is the most British talk in history!”

Tony Winyard 13:37
And so as a result of that, where did it go from there?

Jane Malyon 13:44
So I’ve kind of taken this on as my mission. And I haven’t pursued it particularly as a “Peace One Day” concept. I’m doing it I’m starting with businesses because somebody said to me, literally said, “It’s a dog eat dog world sweetheart’, you know straight out of a movie. No, it isn’t!!

Tony Winyard 14:08
Doesn’t have to be!

Jane Malyon 14:09
No, it doesn’t have to be. And I used to be a coach before I was doing this and I would go into offices. And I help people to communicate nicely and get on well, and I deal with bullying and so on. And I’m that bit older now that I feel I can deal with these things. I’m not afraid of a, you know, an executive who’s earning quarter of a million, but being rude to everyone around him. You know, I’m Auntie Janie under these circumstances and be afraid because I’m a mommy and I’m an auntie and I’m a godmother. I’ve got 10 God children, and I wouldn’t let them be mean and vicious to other people. Their parents wouldn’t you know, if you’re a parent, you wouldn’t let your children do that. And then to see it in coming out of grown-ups. So it’s been a call to action for me. And what’s even more ironic is that I have videos on YouTube about the manners of afternoon tea. Some people are just intrigued. You know, how you are meant to eat this thing and how you’re meant to stir your tea and there’s some protocol, ignore it if you don’t want to do it. But if you want to know how, I’m on there, I can’t tell you the number of trolls I get telling me where to shove my scons, and what I can do with them, in no uncertain terms!

Tony Winyard 15:37
And so they need the tea more than anyone!

Jane Malyon 15:39
Well, it is and in fairness, this is just afternoon tea. We’re not talking about the Holocaust; this isn’t a controversial thing.

Tony Winyard 15:48
I don’t imagine you’ve got a gun to their head forcing them to watch it!

Jane Malyon 15:51
No, absolutely. but it’s partly my voice. People just assume that I’m about privilege and so, no, no, listen to what I’m saying, don’t assume. So it’s partly about that. But no, I honestly I get really vicious trolls. And that sums up what I think is missing, that somehow we’ve unleashed the ability in people to let rip without regard to the consequences to say anything to anyone. And I’m like, “No, I don’t think so!” And I’m prepared to try and make a difference.

Tony Winyard 16:27
So in the marketing for the business, what do you focus on?

Jane Malyon 16:35
Well, that’s a very interesting question. And my blogs tend to be about the the niceties and the niceness of this, but in fairness, the straightforward marketing tends to be based on delicious. And also the gift of giving. Almost all of our hampers and gifts are bought for other people, which is quite interesting. I think I’d pre suppose people would order them for themselves. But mostly people say, “Oh, my auntie would love this”, or, you know, “my sister’s just had breast cancer. And I want to send her a hug in a box”. And that’s how we say it. And so, because we put in a personalised message from the giver, we’re able to get a flavour of what the occasion is. One interesting one was: “Sorry about the carpet.”

We don’t know what happened to the carpet and we never will… so using these gifts to reach out to other people and with a bit of charm and love, and that’s fine by us. And so we do talk about that as well.

Tony Winyard 17:44
And so you’re giving people an opportunity to, give really different types of gifts. Traditionally people just give gifts like donuts or flowers or whatever. So it’s something with much more thought behind it.

Jane Malyon 17:57
Well, the uniqueness is lovely. I mean, nobody else does this. And for somebody to receive proper afternoon tea, let’s say they’re at the office and it goes there. Can you imagine the jealousy you know, “What have you got there?” And they unpack and reveal all the goodies and it’s lots of layers in it and different cakes and cookies and short breads and meringues and sandwiches and actual tea and napkins and knives and you know, you’re ready to go. And invariably, they’re shared as well. But now we want that, Wow, you’re so treasured. Somebody sent this to you. Sometimes it’s somebody very elderly and they are absolutely thrilled because they can’t get out to afternoon tea, and disabled people. One thing we sent a couple of years ago. Four friends sent one to a fifth friend, and every year they met at one of the London hotels for afternoon tea. This year she’d had a brain tumour, the 5th friend So they sent it to her and said “Please enjoy this at four o’clock, as we have ours and we’ll be thinking of you with every bite”. And it’s like, ahhh, flowers aren’t the same, champagne doesn’t do the same, you know, and I really feel this is something, I’ve said unique, but I think of them as hugs in a box. And we always put in a little note saying “With hugs from the “Scone Gnomes”” that’s us who work here we’re the Scone Gnomes, but we actually truly mean it. Often we throw a kiss into the box, you know, because we feel it’s off to do its job of making someone feel treasured.

Tony Winyard 19:40
So I imagine there must be a few people who use them as Christmas presents and so on and gifts to maybe their staff employees or anything like that?

Jane Malyon 19:49
For sure all of that. Do you know we do a giant, I do mean giant chocolate brownie. It’s huge. It would feed probably 40 people That’s very popular at Christmas, it’s the most popular thing we send out. But people send it to a team or an office and causes you know, great delight and fighting

Tony Winyard 20:12
Apart from the fact that, they want to eat it but just from a visual point and everything it’s going to be so different to anything else.

Jane Malyon 20:19
So the outer boxes, you can’t put something gorgeous like this into a brown cardboard box. Yeah, the outer box has to Herald what’s coming and that’s an interesting thing in itself. So we’ve had it designed, we’ve got a wonderful designer: Carol French, and so we made the outer something that you would like: “Wow, whats this!!!” and you’d know, there’s something delicious inside just by looking on the outside. But the benefit of that is that marketing companies use our hampers to open doors that are hitherto closed to them. So one company sent out 17 bespoke hampers. We made a special content, And it included the USB sticks and their brochures and so on. And they had tried for two years to get in with this range of 17 companies and had failed. And out of 17 hampers that went out, they got 12 new clients. It’s just something you would open, you would definitely not leave this box unopened in the corner. And then once it’s opened your charmed.

Tony Winyard 21:26
And so I presume when people go onto your website there’s all different options, packages, whatever they can choose from?

Jane Malyon 21:33
Yes, that’s right. So we try and make it clear to people that the hampers, these beautiful, fresh chilled hampers need someone to take them in. This is not a doorstep and leave situation. And if they go, Oh, I don’t know if they’re going to be at home. That’s where we say right? Well, shall we send them a voucher for it instead? And then the recipient can order it at another time or shall we send them an Ambient Hamper, which could have jams and teas and things that are much longer lasting, or even savoury cheese scones, and then they don’t need the cream in the hamper so we can adapt. We’re very happy to listen to people’s requests and my god we get them!

Tony Winyard 22:20
There’s a couple of things I’m thinking of from there. So you send the hamper that someone has ordered, do you try and subtly somehow put across the message that you’re trying to give out to the world as well, in there?

Jane Malyon 22:36
I think we could do better. And we do put in a little booklet and it talks a little bit about that. But whether anybody reads the booklet, I don’t know. I think we should proclaim a few things better than we do. One is how afternoon tea could save the world. And also though we’ve got quite a good pedigree of how we choose our items and how kindly our teas are grown. And how well the people who grow the teas are treated. Certainly in comparison to some situations you hear about and how biodegradable x and y is, and we don’t shout very much from that. I put the odd post out. But if you don’t see it, you’ve missed it. So I think going forward we really should do better. So tea bags have a scandal going around them. Do you know about that? You don’t drink tea at all?

Tony Winyard 23:32
No, so I don’t know anything about scandals with teabags!

Jane Malyon 23:36
So it came out last January. And somebody was stoking their compost heap where they used to throw their tea bags. And noticed there was a sort of slime on there and queried this and contacted the makers and it was one of the famous makers of tea bags. That you know, thousands and thousands of us drink and they confessed when they were caught by this information that their tea bags involve plastic, and then it turns out it’s not just that one company lots of people use plastics in their tea bags which means that you’re pouring boiling water onto plastic and then drinking the content.

Tony Winyard 24:18
Wow!

Jane Malyon 24:19
I know, and so they’ve made a promise for some time in the future to wean off the plastic

Tony Winyard 24:25
So there’s still plastic in there now?

Jane Malyon 24:27
I fear there might be because this is relatively recently

Tony Winyard 24:30
And so what your tea bags don’t have plastic?

Jane Malyon 24:32
No, they do not but I should shout that shouldn’t I?

Tony Winyard 24:34
Absolutely.

Jane Malyon 24:36
Ours are made of cornstarch

Tony Winyard 24:37
Well I was just about to say so how is it that you’re able to and they’re not, so why don’t they use that?.

Jane Malyon 24:41
Ours cost more. So they’ve gone for for cheap cheap cheap. And our teabag probably costs twice the price. Let’s say six pence to 12 pence, 8 pence to 16 pence, depending on the thing. But there amazing quality tea and it turns out the tea bag is not likely to put a bit of plastic in your tummy!

Tony Winyard 25:02
Well and and harm the world ecology as well as someone’s interior. Okay, Wow, that’s amazing. And something you touched upon a few minutes ago. You said something along the lines of you’ve had some extraordinary requests. Are there any that come to mind?

Jane Malyon 25:19
Well, now we offer vegan hampers. Which is quite something for afternoon tea because it’s all about dairy and carbs, you know?

Tony Winyard 25:28
So you have to keep up with the trends, I guess.

Jane Malyon 25:31
Yes I know. So you’ll find me whizzing up chilled coconut cream with vanilla and icing sugar to make a sort of fake clotted cream and substituting X & Y you know, but really trying to, again, delight the people receiving it. So it’s not just perfunctory, even at this tea room that we’ve opened. On the very first event we had, of course, gluten frees. We’re used to this and of course vegetarians, but we had a vegan gluten free. And that was like a stretch in our mind it was like wow. Anyway, we were able to pull out all the stops, I was determined that this should also be an indulgence for them. And it turned out to be a young man in his 20s and his mother and father had come and they were so pleased that their son was being pampered in that way because I found a way to do vegan donuts and, of course, I substituted maple syrup because they won’t eat honey and so I just figured this all out. And they were absolutely chuffed to pieces. And so that was the reward to see him. And it’s your thing of exceeding expectations. So yes, that’s our drive.

Tony Winyard 26:51
And so are you making more of that sort of thing now? Because there’s a lot of people now who are vegan and gluten free and probably would like that combination.

Jane Malyon 27:01
Well, now that’s going to be the third thing I improve on. It’s the website. But I don’t think I shout about these things.

Tony Winyard 27:10
Clearly not enough.

Jane Malyon 27:11
Clearly not enough. I feel every company should go the extra mile for their customers. And so maybe part of me is thinking “Well surely everybody does this?”, but no maybe they don’t.

Tony Winyard 27:25
Well, and it is all about the mindset and wanting to. For some companies it’s purely about making money and it’s a business. And for other people. It’s about trying to give people a great experience, and then making some money from that as well. Right. And there’s a difference in approach there isn’t there?

Jane Malyon 27:44
Yes there is. Well, when I was a little girl, I swear this is true. We were asked at school, I was about six or seven. What we wanted to do when we grew up, and I remember writing down that I wanted to be a fairy godmother because You know, I used to spend my pocket money on my brothers and cousins. And that was my pleasure. It was always about trying to make other people very happy and smiley, I love to be treated as well. But my driver was about that. And so I kind of think I’ve become a fairy godmother. This job might be it.

Tony Winyard 28:20
So your aim is to… it seems the first thing that you always think about is how can you make this a great experience for whoever it is that it is being ordered for. Even if you have to do things in a very different way from how you’ve done them recently.

Jane Malyon 28:38
Yes. So we had a time and motion lady come here, a wonderful lady who advises businesses. And she came and she had a long time talking with me and she spoke to all the other people, anyway, her conclusion was that I should never be allowed to answer the phone because I say yes to everything. So obviously, there’s got to be a balance between being able to be a feasible business. So my hubby is of a different mindset to me. So we cancel each other out sometimes. But I have a sixth sense when we really should pull out every stop and make this super special. And we all care very much when the Scone Gnomes and husband and I, when we have, you know, company meetings, and we talk about our values, top of the list is, do as you say you will, because we’re always so disappointed when other people let us down. That we just can’t understand the attitude. And so yes, it’s a big thing for us.

Tony Winyard 29:44
And where do you… do you have plans to expand it, or to do anything different? How do you see things going in the next few years?

Jane Malyon 29:51
Well, we need to do better. We need to have more more orders. We need to do more Tea Room days and so on all of those need to expand. We have started exporting to Japan, we export to America as well. And really, I think that might be a focus. There’s a strange thing that other people treasure our Britishness more than we do. Does that make any sense?

Tony Winyard 30:21
Well yeah, I worked in Japan as a DJ. And in the club that I worked in, on all the marketing they used had Union Jacks everywhere, talking about a DJ from London, and it was just because of the way they marketed like that, people will come to the club just because the DJ was from London and so yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Yes.

Jane Malyon 30:41
So I think that will be more of a focus. And also, we love to work with corporate. So we want to do more of that and acting as their gifting arm in a way and making sure that their clients know how valued they are. But also if there has been a glitch I mean, mistakes do happen. And we have a range of sorry gifts, or any of ours would do. But we actually have a range of sorry ones, because I think it’s important to put your hand up and go: “That’s not how we meant to treat you. So sorry, this is more how we wanted you to feel. And we’re on it will deal with that, and it won’t happen again”. I would love that. And I’d love the company even more. If there’s been a mistake, and they owned it. So again, that’s what it’s about consideration and courtesy, it’s back to old fashioned manners, I think.

Tony Winyard 31:35
So, what are your general thoughts on exceeding expectations?

Jane Malyon 31:40
Ah, well, I can remember the times it’s happened to me, and the fact that I can remember it. I mean, one time was over 40 years ago in a business context. And so if that can happen, and it sticks in the mind, and it doesn’t have to be an expense, a big expense We’re missing such a trick if we’re not doing that to everyone that we come across. So my husband runs a wedding venue. And we always have a wrapped gift present for the brides and grooms which we give them at the meeting before the wedding. And it’s not it’s not a £5,000 present, of course, but they’re charmed and it’s wrapped up. It’s got a bow and it’s silken and it’s you know, it’s special and it’s got a message to show that you matter to us.

Tony Winyard 32:28
A lot of wedding venues don’t give that; It’s just a numbers game to many wedding venues.

Jane Malyon 32:35
We go to great lengths to try and make each bridal couple feel super special. It’s quite hard because so many people treat it as a transaction. And for them, it’s all about the price. And we wish they would give us a chance to show that not only are we reasonable, but we’ll knock your socks off. And the plates will be hot, the little details will be dealt with, small children will be made a fuss of, the guests who can’t eat that menu will have something to delight them. We will do all that you want, but they want right at the beginning,;it’s all about the price, and it’s all about this and they just are doing the bargain basement thing. And that’s a shame. Because we’re all about the service.

Tony Winyard 33:29
And it’s having a very different mindset with a different intention. I think, not only does it give them a better experience, but usually more enjoyable for yourself as well, isn’t it?

Jane Malyon 33:42
Yes, I would love to put that stamp on everything we do and be known for it. As I mentioned, I’m sort of known as Auntie Jannie. It’s a strange thing. But really everybody wants to be auntied once in a while. And a friend of mine works in a casino. And she comes home at four in the morning and she’s exhausted. And she put on Facebook just before she went to bed. She went, Oh, you know, I’m home at last. I’m absolutely shattered and ready for bed. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep. And I happened to be up because I write books and I do it at four in the morning. I’d been to bed and then I get up. And so I just said, “Oh, you poor thing. Should I pop round and bring you hot chocolate and read you a storey while you go to sleep?” And she went? Yes, please. But about 30 other people went “yes please” “and me” “and me”.. it turns out we’d like a little bit of that

Tony Winyard 34:42
So you’ve got a new job now?

Jane Malyon 34:46
Auntie Jane tucks you into bed, reads you a storey, takes away the worries.

Tony Winyard 34:51
So Jane, if people want to find out more about you where should they go to?

Jane Malyon 34:55
well, the websites a great place to start. www.EnglishCreamTea.com. And then there’s all sorts of things on there including the secret sconery for events. The next one is gin blending afternoon tea, dare I say?

Okay, yes, I don’t drink, Jim. But I know everybody else does

Tony Winyard 35:21
and you’re on all older social media outlets as well I guess?

Jane Malyon 35:24
that’s true. So we’re mostly @EnglishCreamTea. So you’ll find us on Facebook and Pinterest and Twitter. And I’m probably on LinkedIn more as my name which is Jane Malyon. Not that anybody can spell Malyon.

Tony Winyard 35:39
So it will be in the show notes.

Jane Malyon 35:42
Okay, so it’s plain Jane Malyon. It’s a funny looking word. But yes, you’ll find me and I’m there to respond with hugs.

Tony Winyard 35:57
And Christmas is not that far off. Especially by the time this episode goes out so for people who are may be you know it’s always difficult trying to find a different Christmas gift. So for anyone who’s stumped with what to get someone else for Christmas Are there any things that you have that maybe would quite surprise them and would make a really nice gift for someone?

Jane Malyon 36:22
For sure and we range in price from just over £10 pounds right up to £200 so we’ve got the the works. So one of our unusual ones is the “scone of the month” subscription and we send out throughout the year little deliveries to whoever it is, so it’s not just a one off they’ll get different ones, so it might be savoury scones one time, might be sweet ones, might be spicy one served with Apple mincemeat. So somebody could have the treat that keeps on giving, of course a giant chocolate brownie and we do it as a Christmas tree. We do shortbread penguins, Christmasy penguins wearing a red silk bow tie that we tie on each one. So again, little gifts, but tea is quite a thing, the actual drink of tea we’ve got about 26 teas. And so you could put together a medley of different ones in a hamper. And send it out to someone. You know grandpa’s; we’ve got smoky teas and deeply rich ones, we’ve got fruity teas and spicy ones and apple pie tea. So there’s a never ending range, depending on what people like.

Tony Winyard 37:29
Well Jane just before we finish, I believe you have a quotation that you quite like

Jane Malyon 37:35
I do. So it’s the secret of happiness, lies not in mourning the past, nor in anticipating troubles in the future, but in living in the present moment, earnestly and wisely. And that’s what afternoon tea is about, living in the present moment, in the company of others, and really enjoying them and the moment.

Tony Winyard 38:01
And who was that quotation by?

Jane Malyon 38:03
Well, it’s attributed to Buddha.

Tony Winyard 38:05
Okay?

Jane Malyon 38:06
And I think it’s absolutely right, because anxiety is all about future worry. And anger and grief are about past. And sometimes when we’re messing up right now, and so if we can living in the present moment, earnestly and wisely in a positive way and I absolutely love that.

Tony Winyard 38:27
Jane it’s been a pleasure speaking with you.

next week, Episode 57 is with Heather Breedlove. She’s the author of Shine Your Bright, and she’s the Chief Financial Officer of Keystone Brothers and co founder of choose goodness. She’s known as the Catalyst of Goodness, and she’s going to talk to us about many different areas where she’s been able to help people improve what it is that they’re looking for and the results they’ve been able to get. So that’s next week with Heather Breedlove. Hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s episode with Joan Malyon. please do leave a review for us on iTunes. Maybe share the episode with people who you think may get value from it. And why not join the Facebook group which is called exceeding expectations. I hope you have a fantastic week.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai