GBBO Star Urges Scots to Put the Kettle on and Support People Living with Long-Term Conditions 21 January 2025 • Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland launches Tartan Tea Party Fundraiser with support from Great British Bake Off Star James Morton Leading health charity Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is asking people across Scotland to put the kettle on and get their ‘brew crew’ together to support the 1 in 5 Scots living with chest, heart and stroke conditions and Long Covid. The charity today (Tuesday 21st January) launched its Tartan Tea Party fundraiser, that will see hundreds of tea parties pop up across the country on 21st May – International Tea Day – to raise much needed funds for people living with the conditions it supports. The launch of the event is being supported by Scottish baker, author, GP and Great British Bake Off finalist, Dr James Morton, who has put together a special recipe for the fundraiser, and took time for a cup of tea with stroke survivor Donna Cullinane from Ardrossan in Ayrshire. Commenting on the launch, Dr James said: “I’m delighted to join Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland for the launch of the Tartan Tea Party. This is such a wonderful opportunity to bring people together to support each other and to be there for those who have been through such hardship. “I believe we’ll all know someone who has suffered from one of the many conditions that CHSS can help with, and this is our opportunity to talk about it, spread the word about the great work CHSS is doing and why you should support them.” Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland supports people across the country living with its conditions to live their lives to the full. The charity is on hand to provide advice and support through its free Advice Line service, stroke nurses, online health information, support groups, supported self management courses and much more. CHSS aims to reach 175000 people living with its conditions by 2028 through its Community Healthcare Support Services. Funds raised through activities such as the Tartan Tea Party are essential in supporting this goal. The charity wants to encourage as many people as possible to take part in the Tartan Tea Party, from groups of friends and family, playgroups, nurseries and schools to sports clubs, community groups and businesses. Louise Macleod, Community Fundraiser at CHSS said: “At Chest Heart and Stroke, we say ‘never underestimate the power of a cup of tea’, for sitting down together as friends or families to have fun but also share support when times are tough. We are inviting as many people as possible to get together with a cuppa and make a difference by hosting their own Tartan Tea Party. “The CHSS fundraising team is on hand to support anyone across the country who wants to get involved and make sure there’s no life half lived in Scotland. “We’ve put together lots of resources to help people brew up a storm for their Tartan Tea Party, including a planning booklet, invitations, posters, bunting, cake labels, a quiz, and much more. Get in touch and start planning your Tartan Tea Party today.” Dr James’ Tartan Tea Party Recipe – Little pittas and butterbean dip I love cake, but you can guarantee someone’s going to make a cake and it’s probably going to be awesome. It’s always nice to have a savoury option at any tea party and, even if you’re a total beginner to bread, then this recipe will see you through. It’s brilliant to bake with kids, given you can guarantee these pittas puff up beautifully in the oven. This is also a great introduction to the ‘no knead’ method of making bread – I hope removing any barriers to bread making and showing it’s truly for all! The simple butterbean dip is the sort of thing you can make with a tin of any white beans or chickpeas that have been sat in the cupboard for a while – feel free to spice it up however you fancy. Serve with olives and other salty nibbles. If you don’t have any strong flour handy, you can use all plain flour. Just don’t use self raising! For the pittas: 200g strong white flour 200g plain white flour 7g (1 teaspoon) salt 1 x 7g sachet fast-action yeast (make sure it’s in date!) 270g tepid water More flour, for dusting For the dip: 1 tin of butter beans (or cannellini beans, chickpeas) 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves Juice from half a lemon Some parsley or coriander to sprinkle (optional) Fresh chilli (optional) More oil, for drizzling Salt and pepper, to taste Start by making your pittas. In a large bowl, weigh both flours. With your fingers, rub in the salt at one edge of the bowl, and the sachet of dried yeast on the opposite side. Try to keep the yeast and salt apart, as the salt can stop the yeast working. Add the water to your dry ingredients, and mix everything together until it forms a dough (use your dough to mop up any flour sticking to the side of the bowl). Cover your bowl with a plate or a damp tea towel and rest in a warm place for about 30–40 minutes, or until a bit puffy. Wet the fingertips of one hand, and forcefully grab one side of the dough and fold it in half inside the bowl. Don’t worry about it sticking. Turn the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat until you have removed most of the air. Cover your bowl again, preheat your oven to 220°C/gas 7 and rest the dough for another 40 minutes to an hour. If you want to do this the day before, you can even stick it in the fridge and leave it overnight. Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, using floured hands, roll into a long sausage. Chop the dough into eight equal pieces. Take each piece and, using a rolling pin, roll them out with more flour until they are about half a centimetre thick. You should be able to fit all eight pitas on two large baking trays – no need to grease or line them! Bake the pitas for 5–10 minutes depending on how soft or crisp you like them, or until they have puffed up into balls and are just blushing with a light golden colour. As they cool, you can make your dip. If you want to keep them and warm them up later on, I recommend using the toaster or wrapping all of them, stacked, in some crumpled, damp greaseproof paper and sticking them in a hot oven for 10 minutes. The dip is easy. First, crush or chop your garlic and put it in a frying pan with your oil. Heat over a low heat for about 2-3 minutes until the garlic starts to bubble but doesn’t brown. Turn off the heat. Drain your tin of butter beans and reserve the liquid. Stick the beans in a food processor, along with half the liquid, the oil and garlic and lemon. Blitz until smooth. Be generous with salt to season, and add more of the bean juice if it’s too thick for you. Sprinkle with chopped herbs, chilli and more olive oil to serve. To access free resources to help you organise a Tartan Tea Party to remember, head to chss.org.uk/tartan-tea-party. Our friendly fundraising team is also on hand to help you at every step of the way. You can contact them by emailing fundraising@chss.org.uk or calling 0131 297 2750.