A SLICE of quintessentially British life was provided to appreciative Japanese customers by a Grasmere cafe.

Alison Walker from Baldry's Grasmere was invited to open up a pop-up replica of her much-loved Lake District establishment as part of a British themed week in Tokyo.

After being sent an email by the editor-in-chief of Japan's RSVP magazine, Alison and daughter Harriet set up shop in the Mitsukoshi department store.

"It was just very very surreal," Alison said. "To be out there and have people coming in that had bought tickets to come and eat our cakes. We felt like Mary Berry for a week."

The duo started off by making 200 scones every day and 100 slices of lemon meringue pie, to be served alongside Farrer's Tea.

However, with customers coming in their droves and the sweet treats selling out by lunchtime, the pair found that they had to make double the amount in order to satisfy demand.

"It was just amazing," Alison said. "The whole thing was just fantastic.

"We recreated the whole tea room and used tea strainers just the way we do it in Baldry's."

And despite increasing their output, the women were still selling out every day. In total, the pair dished out 2,168 scones and 1,110 pieces of lemon meringue pie.

She said that the 'big novelty' for customers was the use of clotted cream and buttermilk, which they sourced from dairy manufacturer Nakazawa.

The use of dairy is not as prevalent in Japanese culture as it is in the UK but Alison said customers appreciated both products.

Although the pop-up was only open for a week, the couple enjoyed regular customers as well as visits from those who had visited the Grasmere shop.

It was Alison's first visit to the country and, despite the long working days, she thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

"It was the most beautiful country," she said. "And the way of life, they are just such lovely and respectful people."