Fat Rascals And Christmas Cake

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

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.