Clootie dumplings are coming to Westminster - thanks to the efforts of an Abernethy business after its sweet treats sold out at a school Christmas fete.
Parliament’s official shop is to stock clootie dumplings following a partnership with Clootie McToot, a small family business based in the Ochil and South Perthshire constituency.
The disabled-friendly family employer is run by Michelle Maddox, who had an idea to make and sell traditional clootie dumplings (a traditional Scottish fruit pudding) in 2015 when her son Jacob asked if she would bake something to sell at his Christmas school fete.
Michelle made a selection of traditional clootie dumplings, which turned out to be so popular that they sold out almost immediately.
Jacob was back with an even larger selection of dumplings the following year and soon after, the Clootie McToot business was born.
At the start, Michelle ran the business from a small room at home but eventually needed a bigger space to meet demand and moved into a converted horse barn and hayloft in Abernethy.
Since then the business has continued to grow.
Michelle and her team now supply traditional clootie dumplings to retailers up and down the UK, run a shop and café in the village, and have won many industry awards.
As well as her son, Michelle owes a lot to her extended family, including her mum, who joined the team in 2019, for the success of Clootie McToot.
Her dumplings are based on a recipe handed down through generations of her family.
In fact, the technique to make clootie dumplings has been used for centuries and the earliest known recipe for them dates back to 1747.
Clootie McToot is a disability positive employer with a 70 per cent disabled workforce, something that Michelle takes immense pride in.
She said: “This is very important to me.
“The business came about thanks to my son Jacob, who has complex disabilities. I love giving people opportunities and watching them thrive and grow within our business.”
