The Story of Bettys Chocolates
For over 90 years our family business has been hand-crafting some of the country’s finest chocolate. We’ve been preserving our traditional skills and artistry through three generations of craft chocolatiers.
It all began with our founder Frederick Belmont who, at a young age, left his Swiss home to train in the art of chocolate making, first in Switzerland and then in Marseille and Paris. With creative flair, an eye for detail and a genuine passion for his craft, Frederick could easily have become one of the continent’s leading chocolatiers.
But as an ambitious young man, who’d spent his early life as a penniless orphan and farmhand, Frederick was determined to open his own business. In 1907, he continued on to England in search of fame and fortune. After boarding the wrong train in London, Frederick found himself in Yorkshire, quite by accident.
Styling himself as ‘Frederick Belmont, Chocolate Specialist’, he first worked for a Swiss Confectionery business in Bradford. His reputation spread and later he was invited to Harrogate by Farrah’s – of Harrogate Toffee fame – as their continental chocolate advisor.
By 1919, Frederick had opened his first Bettys Café Tea Rooms and shop. Soon, he was able to boast that his tea room – and with it his chocolates and confectionery – were ‘under royal and distinguished patronage’.
Demand soon outstripped supply and so Frederick opened a Bakery just outside Harrogate with its own Chocolate and Confectionery Room. Here, his small team of personally trained and highly skilled chocolatiers, crafted a range of the finest truffles, creams and liqueurs using techniques and artistry rarely found outside the continent.
With the finesse and passion that our founder instilled, over 90 years on and three generations later, we remain as committed as ever to hand-crafting the very finest chocolates.
Read more about:
About Bettys Chocolates
Behind the Scenes
The World's Finest Chocolate
How We Trade Ethically
Original 'Lady Betty' chocolate boxes from the 1930s.