How Bettys came to York

Sipping tea from china cups while nibbling cakes delivered on delicate silver stands has become something of a tradition in York and, 70 years on, customers are still queuing down the street for a seat in the famous tearooms.

Bettys York was the brainchild of Swiss confectioner Frederick Belmont and the café was modelled on the finery of the ocean liner the Queen Mary.

Frederick loved the ship's stylish, elegant décor and hired London's finest shop fitters to recreate its magnificent panelling and pillars.

On June 1, 1937, exactly one year after Frederick disembarked from the ship, Bettys opened in St Helen's Square.

Frederick's nephew, Victor Wild, was 14 at the time.

"It was a very grand occasion, everyone in formal dress, the Lord Mayor and civic dignitaries in their gold chains," he remembers.

"The reception was in the ballroom and although it was in the middle of the day, the Venetian blinds had been lowered so that we could fully appreciate the crystal chandeliers, the softly-lit ceiling domes and the gold satin curtains. There was champagne and speeches and applause and lively chatter and the ballroom seemed crowded with bright elegant people."

Back in the 1930s, the menu was simpler, but the attention to detail was just the same.

Brenda Lancaster, 71, has worked in the York tearooms since leaving school in 1951.

"My first job was doing the ice creams and sweets," she said. "I had to serve the ice creams, trifles and strawberry melbas so they were just right on their plates; we couldn't just slap them on."

Silver cake trays would be loaded with cakes in the middle of the table and customers would be charged for what they had eaten at the end, she said.

Brenda then progressed to the hors d'oeuvres and salads, serving spaghetti, beans and sardines.

Finally, she became a waitress, which was her favourite job until she left to have children in 1956.

When she returned in 1979, she would cater for coach parties and dinner dances in the ballroom.

In the 1950s, the meals were silver service, she remembers.

The staff would work every day except Sunday and get half a day off during the week. Work would start at 8.30am and there was plenty of cleaning up to do with the tearooms closed at 6pm.

"We had one customer who won the Pools and he used to leave us half a crown tip," she remembers. "That was a lot back then."

Brenda's colleague, Ivy Attmere, joined Bettys in 1980.

She initially worked on the buffet in the bar serving hot meals, pickled walnuts and French sticks.

The uniform was hideous, she said, a brown crimpoline pinafore dress and an apricot nylon blouse underneath. She was much happier when it changed to black and white.

When the buffet closed, she applied for a job as a waitress and although she was initially nervous, she soon grew to love it.

There is a lot to learn as a Bettys waitress, she said, and there is a manual to help you serve everything "just so".

Silver tea pots and milk jugs always have to face the same way on the trays, the tea spoons should always be positioned at 10.20 and the napkins placed properly. But that is one of the reasons Bettys is so popular, she says.

"I think it makes customers feel special," she said.

"They the staff always used to say to me If you can smile at 9am you can smile at 6pm because although you've been smiling all day, it's the first time the customer has seen it'."

Ivy remembers an old menu listing haddock and chips, egg and cress sandwiches, rarebit and cream tea with whipped cream and jam.

Personally, she used to love the chocolate and nut sundaes and the swan meringues with necks and wings sculpted from meringue.

"The décor hasn't changed much over the years, although we've moved with the time and put in disabled loos," she said.

"One of the things that is so good about Bettys is that it is a family business. It's a very good place to work."

Bettys trivia...

When Frederick Belmont arrived in London, he decided to head for the south coast. However, his lack of English meant he boarded the wrong train and found himself in Yorkshire. Luckily for us, the beautiful countryside and clear air reminded him of Switzerland and he decided to stay.

During the 1940s, Bettys became one of the few cafes in York to have a liquor licence and with the outbreak of war, the bar became one of the airmen's favourite haunts; it even featured in a cartoon in Tatler magazine.

During wartime rationing, Bettys delights included fish cakes, spam fritters and corned beef hash.

In the 1940s, 500 servicemen etched their names into a mirror in Bettys.

The mirror was damaged during an air raid, but several sections still hang downstairs in the Oak Room.

Bettys memories...

• On a visit to Bettys in 2003, Graeme Robertson, who writes The Press Quick Eats column, wrote that it was a "sheer indulgence" and comparable to strawberries at Wimbledon or tea in St Mark's Square in Venice.

Many visits on, it has continued to impress. "We've never been disappointed," he said.

"It takes you back a few years and the quality of staff and food is very good."

• John Redpath, former York town crier, often visited Bettys in the 1960s.

"I used to go to the bar with my friends and drink Jubilee, a kind of stout. "There were some rough places to drink, but Bettys was always decent, the kind of place you could take your relatives and I used to love it.

"I used to walk past it a lot as a child and think how grand it was, but never went in then. Bettys has always been the place to be in York."

• Malaysian chef Jennie Cook has loved Bettys since her first afternoon tea 33 years ago.

"All my Malaysian friends and family love it too. It's so typically English and I love it how they serve things; it's worth paying a little bit extra.

"When I was at school in Malaysia and doing a cookery class I had to make a dish that was typically English. I made afternoon tea so I wanted to try the real thing for myself.

"When I did, in Bettys, I fell in love with it straight away."