The Bettys Blog

It’s nearly 100 years since the first Bettys opened, and there are things that even the biggest Bettys fan might not know about us. Here are some tales from the archive and recommendations for your next Bettys visit.

After nearly 100 years, Bettys has a great many tales to tell, including the one about the wrong train, the story of the forgotten Tea Rooms, and the time an overheard conversation changed the course of history. Make a cup of tea, slice a piece of cake, and get comfortable as we tell you 10 things you might not know about Bettys.

For many years the Queen’s Awards have been acknowledged as the country’s most prestigious business awards – and we’re thrilled that our family business just been honoured with a 2017 Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development, recognising our work to build a resilient and sustainable tea and coffee supply chain.

As you may have noticed, we love talking about our chocolatiers – they’re a talented bunch and as Easter approaches, there’s no better time to share secrets of how they work their magic.

Meet our chocolatiers Kirsty Mitchison and Josie Raine, stars of this year's Easter film. With more than half a century of Bettys experience between them, there’s no one better to take care of this Easter’s batch of good eggs.

If you’re a fan of Bettys, you’ll know that one of the reasons we adore Easter is that it gives us the chance to bring together the skills of both our chocolatiers and our cake decorating team in the creation of our Spring Flowers Eggs. Each crafted from our delicious Swiss chocolate and hand-iced with an eye-catching burst of delicate primroses, forget-me-nots and more, these eggs have been a favourite among our customers since our earliest days.

The tree planting season is well under way and I have been working in many different schools in North and West Yorkshire and with lots of different year groups to plant native trees in their school grounds.

We’re all about beautiful eggs at Bettys - from our largest and most spectacular creations to delicious treats for little ones. And when it comes to our handmade Trio of Filled Chocolate Eggs, we think we created a gift which wouldn’t look out of place on the catwalk.

As flowers cautiously unfurl and the sun threatens to become more than a half-remembered rumour, our inventive chefs have been busy cooking up new seasonal dishes to add to our Café Tea Rooms menus. Think of it as a kind of spring clean for your tastebuds, a fiesta of fresh ingredients to awaken the senses and drive away the last of the winter cobwebs.

Do any of these take your fancy? They're some of the seasonal treats available on the fancy counter in our six Café Tea Rooms shops. Pocket-sized portions of pure deliciousness to add a little ray of sunshine to your day, whatever the weather.

It’s clear, colourless and all too easily paired off with tonic. But for such an unassuming spirit, gin has a surprisingly murky history.

It’s all about the good eggs here at Bettys this Easter. But it’s about much more than Easter eggs. Puzzled? Let us explain…

As Yorkshire-folk we feel a special affection for rhubarb so we always look forward to the seasonal arrival of Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb. Visit our Café Tea Rooms to try treats which celebrate this winter speciality, such as Rhubarb Frangipane, but should you wish to try cooking it at home, we have some expert advice, courtesy of our Bettys Cookery School Tutors.

If your wedding is the best day of your life, then choosing the cake that will sit proudly at its centre is a daunting task, to say the least. So why not start the process with a sit down and a cup of tea? That’s the welcome you’ll receive when you book a wedding cake consultation with Bettys – not to mention the chance to admire the exquisite handiwork of our cake decorating team, and, naturally, to sample a slice or two.

The tree planting season has now arrived and I have been working with several schools during National Tree Planting Week, 26th November to 3rd December, to create new woodlands and help improve hedgerows.

When people find out that Bettys is my family business, after, “Ooh, do you get to eat as many cakes as you want?!”* they often ask what it was like to grow up with such a 'Yorkshire institution' in the family. Well, the answer is simple – it meant a café full of cakes, a shop full of biscuits and a bakery with a tap that poured chocolate! It was exciting and fun and delicious. Of course, the grown up answer to the question is much more complex, but through a child's eyes that pretty much covers it.

Come closer. We want to tell you a secret. It’s called Bettys Stonegate and it’s our hidden gem. Locals know it well – it’s where they head to skip the queues. Step inside and step back in time – into the shop with its beautifully arrayed treats, then up the winding stairs to roaring fireplaces, window seats and intimate nooks. Romantic, cosy and unmistakably Bettys. Let’s just keep it between us, shall we?

Summer has now finally gone and autumn has come in with the trees showing fantastic colours beneath clear blue skies. Temperatures are dropping and it feels that all creatures are either starting to get ready for winter or preparing to leave.

New Year's Resolutions come in many flavours. One of our very favourites is the kind which involves discovery - the decision to explore something new. From learning Italian to picking up the piano to getting to grips with breadmaking, it's the kindling of a new love which could last a lifetime.

If we may be so bold, we have a suggestion: make 2018 the year in which you truly discover coffee. With a flavour profile more complex than wine and a great wealth of origins, roast styles and brewing methods, it is a topic which becomes more delicious the deeper you explore.

The picturesque Bettys at RHS Gardens Harlow Carr has a touch of magic about it. Why? Because it changes with the seasons. Take a chair in the Café Tea Rooms or on the terrace, and look out over the majestic gardens - lovingly maintained by the RHS - where the rich, abundant flora celebrates the four seasons with stunning displays of colour. It's never more spectacular than during autumn, when a visit to Bettys with a friend is best followed by a stroll amongst the bright, uplifting fall trees.

Jack D March is a Bettys fan and a hugely talented photographer and Instagrammer. In fact, we love his photos so much we wondered what would happen if we sent him some of our Halloween treats with the simple message, ‘Work your magic!’ These are his wonderful creations.

As part of our Trees for Life work, we support the Hagge Woods Trust, which manages the 25-acre Three Hagges Jubilee Wood, and are helping them achieve their aim to develop it into a beautiful and thriving community woodland. Biologist, Lin Hawthorne, is helping to lead this pioneering approach to woodland creation and shares progress from the project through her ‘Nature Notes’ blogs for Bettys. Read her latest words from the wood.

We’re really happy to announce some brand new enhancements to your online shopping experience, making it easier than ever to shop with Bettys for delivery to your door.

Announcing our new and redesigned range of chocolates, presented in luxurious new keepsake boxes with decorative patterns by York artist Emily Sutton. The only thing more perfect than what's on the outside, is what's on the inside.