September 2023

44
Wanstead Village Directory
Wanstead’s loss
Following the recent death of Jean Maestri – the proprietor of the
Wanstead Park Tea Hut for over 30 years – the Maestri family reflect on
the life of the Queen of Wanstead Park
Jean was born on 22 September 1944
in Dagenham. She was the youngest
of three children. Her childhood
memories were playing on the bomb sites
and having games of rounders with her
friends between four trees in the street.
She went to school with Terry Venables
(the famous footballer), who was a year
above her. She left school at the age of 15
and surprised everyone by getting a job as
a medical receptionist at the Royal London
Hospital, where she worked for eight years
until she had her first baby.
She met her husband Giovanni in a crowded
Trafalgar Square on Bonfire Night back in
1960. He asked her if she had seen his cat. It
was a chat-up line and she fell for it (and him).
Jean and Giovanni were together for the rest
of her life. They got married in 1965, and a
year later bought the house they lived in ever
since. Jean and Giovanni went on to have five
children and fostered 60 others.
As her husband was Italian and worked in
the ice cream trade, this inspired Jean to
get an ice cream van with her friend and
go back to work. In 1986, after many years
of working in the ice cream van, Jean came
across the old wooden boat house cafe in
Wanstead Park. It was in a right old state and
the cafe needed a lot of love and TLC, which
is where Jean came in. She applied to the
Corporation of London to get it rebuilt and
their architect designed the building to match
the Temple nearby.
Jean continued to run the Wanstead Park
Tea Hut for 37 years. She loved this cafe and
dedicated her life to it, working seven days
a week. She became the life and soul of
Wanstead Park and would have her regulars,
who loved coming over to see her daily for
Jean Maestri at the
Wanstead Park Tea Hut
a cup of tea and a chat. Jean loved baking
and all her cakes were homemade. She was
especially known for her homemade bread
pudding, an old recipe handed down from
her mum. People would get very upset if they
turned up and it was sold out!
When the pandemic hit, Jean took a back
seat, retired at home and bought herself a
Pomeranian dog to keep her and her husband
company. She loved her little dog, Fluffy,
so very much and she became the apple of
her eye. Jean was also very lucky to have 10
grandchildren, who all absolutely loved and
adored her.
We would like to thank all of the customers,
the people of Wanstead and the Corporation
of London for all of the kind messages, love
and support we have received. Jean died on
30 June 2023. She was a wonderful, kind and
caring lady who will be sadly missed by all.
The Wanstead Park Tea Hut overlooks
the Heronry Pond, near the park’s
Wanstead Park Avenue entrance. For more
information, visit wnstd.com/teahut
© Mike Edwards
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com