The Pig launches first afternoon tea offer

The Pig hotel group has launched its first afternoon tea to meet demand for more daytime experiences for guests.

The Buttered and Baked menu is priced at £35 per person and is available at the Pig in Hampshire, the Pig near Bath and the Pig at Combe from December.

It begins with garden herb salted popcorn and features a range of sweet and savoury bakes such as cheddar scones and bacon jam; gardener’s sausage roll and Colman’s mustard; lemon meringue tartlet; and mini mince pies.

Unlimited tea, coffee and hot chocolate are included in the price.

The Pig group said the launch was due to ongoing demand from guests for more daytime experiences in its hotels.

It comes after the group’s chief executive Kevin Styles, who took over the role in July, told The Caterer he wanted to evolve the Pig’s F&B offering with new events and activities to keep guests on-site for longer.

Andy Wright, group head chef across the Pig hotels, said: “This is not a dainty, white-gloved affair; it’s generous, rustic and full of flavour. We’re excited to introduce something our guests have been asking for, but with our own homegrown twist.”

The Pig’s first site opened in the New Forest in 2011, and it has grown to nine boutique hotels and a pub across the south of England.

Home Grown Hotels, the parent company of the Pig, saw turnover hit £50m last year for the first time since 2022.

However, it swung to a pre-tax loss of £8.5m in 2024, down from a £2.2m profit in 2023, blaming a “softening” of the UK hospitality market amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

The group is planning to open the Pig at Groombridge Place in Kent and the Pig on the Farm in Stratford-Upon-Avon, but both hotels have been held up by planning delays.

Image credit: John Carey