Bettys Easter egg is a familiar sight in Harrogate each year but questions have been raised about what happens to the egg after the festivities.

Speculation has been circulating on social media this week as to what happens to the famous egg after the display.

Some Facebook users said the egg is disposed of once the festivities are over, which caused debate as to what should happen to it. Some people argued it should be sold or donated.

The tradition of the Bettys display is more than a century old. The company’s founder Frederick Belmont designed eggs ornately crafted like the ones on display and a tradition was born.

It features hand piped icing designs and contains over 5kg of Swiss chocolate.

The Stray Ferret spoke to Bettys and a spokesperson said:

“We have seen rumors on social media and can confirm the egg wouldn’t be safe to eat, it has been lacquered to prevent it melting and by the end of the display it is all covered in dust. It used to be donated to charity years ago.”

A spokesperson involved in the creation of the Bettys window displays said:

“The eggs and cakes for windows are produced as normal but with artificial colours used for the icing so they don’t fade as quickly as the natural colours we normally. This new lacquer clear spray is relatively new. We have only done a couple of displays with it, but it stops the products degrading in the window but it’s not edible. Some of the cakes are not sprayed and are made out of royal icing or marzipan and sugar paste so they don’t melt. I do vaguely remember the eggs being donated away when I first started but now with health and safety and the new lacquer process sprayed on at the end it’s not possible.”

Bettys Easter window display 2024

Disappointed Bettys fans can still purchase a ‘grande’ egg of their own for £375.

The eggs are made to order and are only available for collection from a Bettys store. Smaller eggs in the display are also available to purchase here.

Read more:

• 5 alternative Easter activities in and around Harrogate
• Bettys extends opening hours in Harrogate and York 
• Rail disruption expected over Easter weekend 

A chocolate and coffee cafe has opened in Harrogate town centre.

The Chocolate Works is situated on Station Parade between the Everyman cinema and restaurant Farmhouse.

It is the third venture of its kind launched by owner Guy Middleton.

Mr Middleton opened his first Chocolate Works cafe in Clitheroe in 2017 followed by a second in Skipton in 2020.

The cafes serve predominantly Belgian chocolate dishes, including hot chocolate, as well as loose chocolate that can be taken away.

They also stock a wide range of coffees and speciality teas plus waffles, ice cream and milkshakes.

The premises was intended to house the vegan restaurant Vertigo, which went out of business a year ago before its Harrogate eatery opened.

Read more:

• ‘The council have destroyed 99 years of model boats in Harrogate’
• Renewed call to move Harrogate ‘little temple’ to Starbeck

A new chocolate and coffee cafe is to open in Harrogate town centre next month.

The Chocolate Works, which already has cafes in Clitheroe and Skipton, will open on Station Parade.

It will be situated in the vacant unit that was intended to house the ill-fated vegan restaurant Vertigo, which went out of business a year ago before its Harrogate eatery opened.

Signs advertising the new venture on Station Parade have gone up.

Owner Guy Middleton, who opened the Clitheroe store in 2017 followed by Skipton three years later, said the Harrogate cafe will employ about 10 staff and open on March 25.

Mr Middleton, who entered the chocolate business about a decade ago after a career in marketing and communications that included a spell in California, promised the cafe would be “delicious, fresh and fun” in a “space to come and enjoy yourself”.

The Chocolate Works cafes serve predominantly Belgian chocolate dishes, including hot chocolate, as well as loose chocolate that can be taken away.

They also stock a wide range of coffees and speciality teas plus waffles, ice cream and milkshakes.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s new vegan restaurant venture collapses
• Graveleys fish and chip shop serves first customers after 1,000 days away

This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Today, Vicky finds out what its team and supporters have been doing to ensure its customers can have a happy Christmas, even in difficult circumstances.

Our appeal runs for two more days. Please give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas. They need your help. 

The festive season may be upon us, but demand for help from Resurrected Bites has never been higher.

Sophia Clark, who runs the organisation’s community grocery in New Park, said:

“We’ve had a really busy two weeks. It’s going to be busy up to Christmas.

“We’re getting a lot of new people in – two just this morning.

“On Tuesday, I had a woman in pieces. She had three children on her own and had gone to do her food shopping. Her direct debit had changed for her gas and electric and they’d left her overdrawn.”

Along with the volunteers at New Park, Sophia was able to fill the woman’s freezer to see her through the festive period and ensure her children wouldn’t go hungry.

She later received a message thanking her for what she had done, concluding: “God bless you, you are a diamond and a special one at that.”

Sadly, the woman was just one of many who have been forced to call on Resurrected Bites for the first time this month alone.

Sophia said:

“We’re seeing lots of things like that at the moment – people in absolute dire straits.

“We’ve had a lot of pensioners in. One lady had gone to deliver a Christmas card to a friend and found her shaking and freezing. She couldn’t afford the heating.”

Read more:

• Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: ‘I shouldn’t need this- but it’s a lifesaver’
• Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: ‘We had good jobs but we were still struggling’

Sophia said some of the stories she hears are heart-breaking. Along with volunteer Karen Martin, who also speaks to people arriving at the community grocery to ensure it can meet their needs, Sophia said she often cries in the office behind closed doors once the visitor has left, before getting back to work.

But the very tough side of the job is balanced by the heart-warming elements.

Sophia knows she is making a difference at a time of crisis for many people – messages like the one from the mum whose bill had left her overdrawn provide some comfort amid all the challenges.

There is also fantastic generosity towards Resurrected Bites and its customers, especially at this time of year.

When I visited the New Park community grocery last week, there was a small Santa’s grotto in the corner, with a volunteer ensuring children could meet Father Christmas even if their parents couldn’t afford to buy tickets for a commercial event.

The shelves had been stacked that morning with toys and chocolates for those who wouldn’t be able to afford treats. Although they had been snapped up quickly, more were still coming in and being laid out for other customers.

Resurrected Bites founder Michelle Hayes said:

“A few people have expressed concern about not being able to buy presents for their families this year.

“The last thing we want is people taking out loans. So we’ve been able to give out presents to make sure they have something to unwrap on Christmas Day.”

Businesses and individuals have been generous with selection boxes, tubs of sweets and other small luxuries for Resurrected Bites to distribute to its customers.

There have also been deliveries of blankets, warm jumpers and festive decorations.

The Christmas tree in Santa’s grotto at New Park came from the festival at St Thomas the Apostle Church in Killinghall, donated by Mole Country Stores near Ripley. After being on display at the community grocery, the firm asked that it be given to a family who wouldn’t otherwise have a Christmas tree.

The amount of food and other treats available is a dramatic improvement from earlier this year, when demand was outstripping the volume of waste food arriving from supermarkets.

Sophia said the kind of generosity in evidence in the run-up to Christmas – and knowing how much difference she and the volunteers could make to people – is what has kept her going in challenging times.

“I look at those people and the feedback I get. That’s what I do this for: I get to help people and make a change.

“I had message after message last night from people asking if they could come down [to shop]. I’m just so grateful we’ve got the food to give them.

“A couple of months ago, it was so low, but now at least I know nobody has to go without for Christmas.”

Nobody in the Harrogate district should go hungry this Christmas. 

It costs £300 to run the community grocery for one day. Please help to keep it open for everyone who relies on it. 

Click here to contribute now.