QM Catering

QM Catering and Hospitality

November brought a wonderful scone surprise, when I visited Centre of the Cell to attend “Was the First World War good for medicine?” by Professor Tilli Tansey, the latest lecture in their wonderful The Big Question series. The lecture itself was fascinating but at the end of they had a special buffet serving sandwiches and scones provided by QM Catering. In this scone extravaganza I was joined by friends Katie, Head of Learning at Centre of the Cell (huge thank you to for organising the catering), Rebecca, Ros and Amardeep.

The large, sultana scones were nicely presented, decorated with pieces of fruit and served on trays. The scones had been freshly baked but were not served warm. They tasted delicious, with the right texture being firm on the outside with a soft interior.

Accompanying the scones were humongous dishes of clotted cream, topped with strawberries.

There were also individual pots of Wilkin and Sons Tiptree conserves. There was a choice of flavours including strawberry and apricot.

So purely in the name of research for my blog I tired out both the strawberry and then the apricot conserves. Both scones were equally delicious. The event took place in the foyer of the Perrin Lecture Theatre at the Blizard Institute and the post lecture atmosphere was relaxed.

Ratings:  Scones: 2,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: NA as self service, Ambience: 3, Overall:  7/9

(BTW if you’re interested in science it’s worth checking out Centre of the Cell’s events page although I do need to warn you that refreshment are not usually  provided).

Bettys

I also made another visit to Bettys in St Helen’s Square, York. This time I visited for a late lunch and finished my meal with one of their iconic Fat Rascals and a cup of hot chocolate made with Bettys Swiss chocolate sauce with hot milk and topped with whipped fresh cream and chocolate flakes. Yes it is as yummy as it sounds. For those unfamiliar with Betty’s legendary Fat Rascals they are extremely large and fruity scones with cherries for eyes and almonds for teeth to make a cute face.

The scone was served warm with two portions of butter. As usual it tasted utterly delicious and very filing, in a nice way. As always the service was friendly and very efficient. The Fat Rascal cost £4.10 and the large cup of hot chocolate £3.70.

Regular reader(s) will know I’m a big fan of Bettys and when I go I prefer to sit in the downstairs area as I think it has a lot of character. If you visit their main York branch don’t forget to look out for Bettys mirror by the toilets, which has been signed by nearly six hundred airmen during World War II.

On the stairs on my way out I noticed the board with lights, picture above. I asked a member of staff what it was and I was told it was to enable the staff managing the queue (and there are always queues for Bettys) when tables become available.

Ratings:  Scones: 3,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: 2, Ambience: 3, Overall:  10/11

Until next time…