Fat Rascals And Christmas Cake
The Field|December 2019
For a century, Bettys Tea Rooms in Yorkshire has sustained locals with its baking and brews. Today, the firm’s sweet offerings travel the globe
Sarah Pratley
Fat Rascals And Christmas Cake

Christmas at Bettys is both homegrown and distinctly continental. Stollen and shortbread tempt alongside fondant fancies, fruitcake and Fat Rascals. Tea-room blend is to be taken with lebkuchen, while hand-foiled milk chocolate guineas can be exchanged for a white chocolate franc. Enjoy Florentines from the Ilkley Hamper, Yorkshire gingerbread and the Swiss Grand Cru Bettys Express with a slice of chocolate sachertorte or soft iced Christmas cake. Celebrating its centenary this year, Bettys offers a masterclass in festive feasting.

Founded in 1919, there are six Bettys Café Tea Rooms across Yorkshire today, as well as a craft bakery, cookery school and thriving online service. The unusual Swiss-Yorkshire heritage is rooted in legend. Fritz Bützer, a Swiss baker and confectioner who later changed his name to Frederick Belmont, travelled to England in 1907 but lost his destination address en route. Unable to speak a word of English, a kindly local translated ‘bratwurst’ (German for sausage) for Bradford and put him on a train. “In 1907, he came to Yorkshire. After falling in love and marrying, and a short stint as a chocolate consultant, he finally opened his beloved Bettys,” explains Bettys’ archivist, Mardi Jacobs. “The rest, as they say, is history.”

“Our Swiss-Yorkshire heritage is in our blood and influences a lot of what we do, from Swiss-inspired dishes on our menus to our warm Yorkshire welcome,” explains managing director Simon Eyles. Welcoming more than two million visitors a year, Bettys’ most popular offerings are afternoon tea and Swiss rösti, and they sell 8,500 of their world-famous Fat Rascals a week. It is demand that only a bespoke machine can satiate, making 480 Fat Rascals every 10 minutes before they are hand finished.

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