Welcome to Dotty's Blog!
Find out what's happening at the Teahouse and around Carshalton. Lots of lovely posts from our creative team too. Go make a cuppa and stay a while...
Altered Landscapes Jane Davis
Last week a reader asked me the question, ‘If you could have a relationship with any one of your characters, who would it be?’ It seemed as if there should be a simple answer, but it set me thinking. St Mary’s Church in Beddington is normally locked on a...
Interview An Unknown Woman
We are very thankful to Jane, author of An Unknown Woman, for being part of our growing book club. Her book is featured in November's Club (Thursday 7th November). To find out a bit more about this talented local author please read the following interview. For those...
5 Star Food Hygiene All the Way!
As anyone who owns or works in a food business knows, it really is such hard work! Long hours, weekends, paperwork, stock management, planning labour, relentless cleaning and that’s before you have even thought about serving any customers. So, when the food hygiene...
Our Top 5 Tips for organising the Perfect Event
Planning a special event or party can seem like a daunting task. So whether it’s a big wedding for 300 or a small gathering for 30 we have put together our top 5 tips for organising the perfect event and making sure it is a great success! Numbers Have a clear...
Top Three for Tea – Surrey Life Awards
We narrowly missed out on being named Tea Shop of the Year at an esteemed Surrey awards ceremony – but making the top three was amazing. Only in our second year, our much-loved tearoom faced stiff competition from around the county just to be nominated for the...
Tea History – Back in time for Tea
Legend has it that the first cup of tea was brewed in 2737 B.C. when dried leaves landed in a boiling cup of water served to the Chinese Emperor however tea wasn’t popularised in England until the mid 17th Century when King Charles II and his wife Catherine de...
Ultimate Victoria sponge – A Date with Cake
One of the most Popular Cakes At Dotty's is a Victoria Sponge cake! Here we have a Q&A with Dotty Royalty, my amazingly fantastic Mum Jenny. Thanks Mum. What are the origins of a Victoria Sponge? Well it is so called because Queen Victoria had a slice with her...
Using our loaf!
Making fresh bread…
I don’t knead (groan) to tell you that bread is one of the oldest prepared foods of all time, it sounds simple that bread is usually made from a wheat-flour dough that is cultured with yeast, allowed to rise, and then finally baked in an oven. Simple to make? Really?...
Scouting for Vintage, you’ll be hooked!
My love of vintage has grown gradually from an initial few pieces to a full blown obsession! I think that as a teenager I just wanted to look different from all the other girls! So I started going to jumble sales (much to my mothers horror!) I would be the first in...
Dottys 1st Birthday Goes With a Swing
Dotty’s Teahouse turned back time in Carshalton on Saturday 20th May with a 1940s-themed party to celebrate its successful first year. Landgirl dungarees and knotted head scarves, military uniforms, rolled hair and wartime music were the order of the day as we shared...
We won Best Newcomer Award!
Having opened in May 2016 we were thrilled to learn just a few months in that we had made the shortlist in the ‘Best Newcomer’ category in the Surrey Life Magazine Food and Drink Awards. We had absolutely no idea who we were up against until we received the all...
Carshalton – A Great Spot for Tea & Cake
Carshalton has always been a friendly village, full of community spirt and history, beautiful parks and historic buildings. When you come to Dotty’s you get the full experience, tea, friendly service wonderful food, in the beautiful surroundings of Carshalton. Our...
Where it all began…Vintage Dotty
A lot of people always ask me “am I Dotty”? I normally say yes as I suppose I am in a way….even though my name is Rebecca, ‘Dotty’ is my brand, my business, my passion and ultimately my little vintage caravan which is where my story begins. Having left the corporate...