When the first Bettys Tea Room opened in Harrogate in 1919, the amount of deliciousness in Britain must have gone up ten-fold. Bettys now has locations all over Yorkshire- Harrogate, Ilkley, York, Northallerton. And it all started fairly by accident when Frederick Belmont, a Swiss immigrant accidentally ended up in Bradford instead of Eastbourne. It looks like the combination of Swiss and Yorkshire was a match made in heaven because the gloriousness of Bettys was born of it.
Sam being a Yorkshireman, I had heard a lot about Bettys. He has Northern friends that get Bettys shipped to them for special occasions. And being a blogger, I had seen a lot of afternoon tea photos taken at various locations – the presentation is beautiful so it’s a blogger Mecca. So when Bettys announced that they were doing a one-off #bettysteaparty for bloggers in London I was ecstatic (and so honoured to be invited along).
We were greeted with a glass of pink champagne and had time to mingle before the lovely Danni, from the Cake Decorating team taught us all how to decorate their famous Fondant Fancies. It was then a competition to see who could decorate the best Fondant Fancies, and needless to say, mine did not win any prizes! We then got to tuck into the afternoon tea. Each table’s was packed in a box, just like it would be if you ordered a tea delivery (since Bettys now delivers their sweets across England!)
I had my first experience with a “Fat Rascal”, the baked good that Bettys is credited for inventing. It’s basically a giant, fruit scone and Bettys sells more than 375,000 of them a year. They were delicious and I was even able to take one home to enjoy the next day! I also enjoyed all their delicate chocolate creations – the chocolate mice were a particular favourite of mine.
If you’d like to read Bettys’ post on the event you can find it here. You might see a picture of my glorious tulle skirt in their post. Since I’ll be having a North Yorkshire wedding in 10 months, I’ve been brainstorming on how I can incorporate Bettys into the big day!
Bettys also offers classes, which the previous winner of Bake Off, Nancy, attended. If that’s the secret to winning GBBO, then sign me up for the next class.
Have you ever enjoyed Bettys?
