So this Fat Rascal is a bugger of an idea. It is neither a scone nor a scone, depending upon where you are from. It is also not a Rock Cake. But Betty's is an institution for locals and yank's alike. You get a very traditional Yorkshire exterior, amazing coffees ranging from the house blend to a Jamaican Blue Mountain at a tenner for a cafetière (to you and I one and a half cups). That said it is perfectly balanced…?? And of course Yorkshire Tea.
On my first day I step over my brother who is asleep in the doorway from last night.
As the Yanks wait in the queue gazing at vanilla slices and smelling cinnamon toast I make my way back of house. I'm 16 and this is work experience. I get told to put on my whites and enter Top Kitchen. There are quite a few frightful characters, none the less that Kath Boydell, she was super strict and completely unapproachable. I learnt in later life that women really only soften once they have children. I doubt that happened to her.
Anyway it was alright up there, I squeezed oranges for an eternity, I made soup and a girl colleague and I would eat Engadine torte before snogging when no one could see. We would come in directly from nights out at Bliss ‘92 or the Hacienda, we would do a few rhubarb & custards and New Yorkers. God only knows how we kept our jobs.
Okay, so I've been offered a full-time job and I'm off downstairs. This is such a quintessential environment but it is full of Pilar's and Pepita's, grabbing every bit of money they can. Then there is ‘are you bothered?' Richard.
I ran the pass for a bit - pretty good for a 19 year old? Then I move on to the STILLS. This is essentially the heartbeat of Betty's because it is where all the tea and coffee is dispensed from. It was fast and furious and I had these bloody nagging waitresses in front of me not understanding the pressure (I was under). We were serving in beautiful stainless steel and I would heat the handles so intensely that the waitresses got burnt. In particular one old bag called Sheila.
Then there was Mr.Carroll and what an inspiration he was that set my career alight. He interviewed me for a Team Leaders job and I'd been late a few times which he questioned me about. I told him I would improve and he said something about ‘putting the coach before the horses' but then offered me the job. To be honest looking back I couldn't care less - this was to leapfrog my career. We both benefitted from this as I started my legacy at Betty's.
