Our Story
OUR STORY
CLOOTIE MCTOOT DUMPLINGS
I have gained several catering qualifications over the years and achieved a degree with distinction in Food, Health and Welfare. My inspiration for cooking started with my first work placement on the BBC Food and Drink Show in 2001.
Moving from a small village in Scotland to Central London and working with celebrities was an experience I will never forget. Eventually my career took off in a different direction and my joy for traditional Scottish cooking became a hobby.
In 2015 my son asked me if I would bake and have a stall at his local school fete. He was keen to be behind a market stall selling goods. I agreed, and we decided to make Clootie Dumplings with our family’s traditional recipe. The aroma of sugar and spice and the laughter from my children brought back many fond memories of my own childhood.
From that moment on, my inspiration, desire and passion for traditional Scottish cooking was ignited and a business was born.
You can read more about my Clootie Dumplings journey below. If you’d like to book me for live demonstrations on ‘ Mastering the Art of Clootie Making’ or for public speaking at your event, you can email me here.
2017
We developed our logo and brand with help from my children. With their love for rhyming we wanted a name that could become alive. We chose the word clootie and we came up with the word McTootie, but that name would have been rather a mouthful so we dropped the ‘ie’ and Clootie McToot was born.
We created the Clootie McToot character by wrapping an old potato head in Tartan. The logo was designed by Barry Scott based on this character with Clootie McToot prominent and surrounded by oak trees for growth, a little red breast robin sitting on a branch for spiritual growth and the 900yr old Abernethy round tower that sits next to our property.
Our first farmers market was in Kinross and with Jacob loving blue and Eve liking pink you couldn’t miss us! It was a fabulous introduction to what lay ahead for us all. The purchase of our premises followed shortly after and my first Clootie McToot children’s book was published. Illustrated by Jimmy Glen who has illustrated for DC Thomson on title such as The Dandy and Oor Wullie, I am very proud of it.
2018
In May 2018 we were pleased to open the doors of our converted horse barn and hayloft Clootie McToot Dumpling Shop. In Abernethy, Perthshire became an emporium of the finest quality local products, Scottish artisan goods and the best of British. It goes without saying that our wee shop was also packed with our scrumptious Clootie Dumplings for our customers to try and buy.
We were the smallest business in Perth & Kinross to secure a stall at the music festival ‘The Biggest Weekend in Scotland’, which was a big weekend for us too! We did live, on stage demonstrations at the County Living Show and The Edinburgh Food Festival and received an ‘Excellence in Food and Drink Produce’ in the Business Star Awards.
What a year!
2019
2019 saw a rebrand based on our traditional building, shop and beautiful sliding barn doors. My Mum joined our team and began work on creating our Evermore Range and our first Make Your Own Clootie Dumpling kits were designed and printed. This was lovely and allowed our ever growing Clootie Clan to experience making their very own Clootie Dumplings in their own homes.
We built and opened our on-site, viewing production kitchens and café for our customers to get a real feel for what we do.
At the Isle of Skye Food Festival, we were on stage again for live demonstrations and our dumplings won Gold and Silver in Oban. We were finalists in the Scottish Rural Awards and Scotland’s Business Awards, we started to sell wholesale and even sent a Dumpling to Everest basecamp!
Another amazing year!
2020
As for many companies, 2020 was a challenging year. With the arrival of COVID-19 and everything that came with it, we concentrated on the future. Earlier in the year though, we were pleased to start offering hands on workshops at Clootie McToot HQ allowing people to master the art of Clootie Dumpling making, something we are very proud of and look forward to offering again very soon!
We also added our Doddie Weir Cloots to the Evermore range with 30% of all sales from these going directly to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. All our fresh Clootie Dumplings were treated to a little update for all their labelling and we were proud to appear on the BBC’s Country Christmas with Angelica Bell.
2021
We kicked off the year by announcing that our Make Your Own Clootie Dumpling Kits were available in John Lewis. We also worked hard on our new website and launched our new Junior Kits in Traditional and Apple, Pear & Cinnamon flavours.
In October we proudly launched our Gluten Free Junior Kit – now everyone can experience the delicious aromas and flavours of Scotland. Just add soya milk or apple juice, plant-based butter or unsalted gluten free butter and an apple!
We were delighted to be a part of Downing Street’s Christmas Market as part of Small Business Saturday in December. Alongside other small businesses from across the country we celebrated local produce and championed our favourite Scottish pud – the Clootie Dumpling! It was a wonderful way to round off a whirlwind year. In December we were snowed under with festive orders thanks to the support of our wonderful Clootie Clan!
Looking ahead to 2022 we’re excited for our plans to attend more in-person events, showcase new Clootie Dumpling flavours, make Clootie HQ bigger and better than ever and the revelation of a big secret!
In October we proudly launched our Gluten Free Junior Kit – now everyone can experience the delicious aromas and flavours of Scotland. Just add soya milk or apple juice, plant-based butter or unsalted gluten free butter and an apple!
We were delighted to be a part of Downing Street’s Christmas Market as part of Small Business Saturday in December. Alongside other small businesses from across the country we celebrated local produce and championed our favourite Scottish pud – the Clootie Dumpling! It was a wonderful way to round off a whirlwind year. In December we were snowed under with festive orders thanks to the support of our wonderful Clootie Clan!
Looking ahead to 2022 we’re excited for our plans to attend more in-person events, showcase new Clootie Dumpling flavours, make Clootie HQ bigger and better than ever and the revelation of a big secret!
I have gained several catering qualifications over the years and achieved a degree with distinction in Food, Health and Welfare. My inspiration for cooking started with my first work placement on the BBC Food and Drink Show in 2001.
Moving from a small village in Scotland to Central London and working with celebrities was an experience I will never forget. Eventually my career took off in a different direction and my joy for traditional Scottish cooking became a hobby.
In 2015 my son asked me if I would bake and have a stall at his local school fete. He was keen to be behind a market stall selling goods. I agreed, and we decided to make Clootie Dumplings with our family’s traditional recipe. The aroma of sugar and spice and the laughter from my children brought back many fond memories of my own childhood.
From that moment on, my inspiration, desire and passion for traditional Scottish cooking was ignited and a business was born.
2017
We developed our logo and brand with help from my children. With their love for rhyming we wanted a name that could become alive. We chose the word clootie and we came up with the word McTootie, but that name would have been rather a mouthful so we dropped the ‘ie’ and Clootie McToot was born.
We created the Clootie McToot character by wrapping an old potato head in Tartan. The logo was designed by Barry Scott based on this character with Clootie McToot prominent and surrounded by oak trees for growth, a little red breast robin sitting on a branch for spiritual growth and the 900yr old Abernethy round tower that sits next to our property.
Our first farmers market was in Kinross and with Jacob loving blue and Eve liking pink you couldn’t miss us! It was a fabulous introduction to what lay ahead for us all. The purchase of our premises followed shortly after and my first Clootie McToot children’s book was published. Illustrated by Jimmy Glen who has illustrated for DC Thomson on title such as The Dandy and Oor Wullie, I am very proud of it.
2018
In May 2018 we were pleased to open the doors of our converted horse barn and hayloft Clootie McToot Dumpling Shop. In Abernethy, Perthshire became an emporium of the finest quality local products, Scottish artisan goods and the best of British. It goes without saying that our wee shop was also packed with our scrumptious Clootie Dumplings for our customers to try and buy.
We were the smallest business in Perth & Kinross to secure a stall at the music festival ‘The Biggest Weekend in Scotland’, which was a big weekend for us too! We did live, on stage demonstrations at the County Living Show and The Edinburgh Food Festival and received an ‘Excellence in Food and Drink Produce’ in the Business Star Awards.
What a year!
2019
2019 saw a rebrand based on our traditional building, shop and beautiful sliding barn doors. My Mum joined our team and began work on creating our Evermore Range and our first Make Your Own Clootie Dumpling kits were designed and printed. This was lovely and allowed our ever growing Clootie Clan to experience making their very own Clootie Dumplings in their own homes.
We built and opened our on-site, viewing production kitchens and café for our customers to get a real feel for what we do.
At the Isle of Skye Food Festival, we were on stage again for live demonstrations and our dumplings won Gold and Silver in Oban. We were finalists in the Scottish Rural Awards and Scotland’s Business Awards, we started to sell wholesale and even sent a Dumpling to Everest basecamp!
Another amazing year!
2020
As for many companies, 2020 was a challenging year. With the arrival of COVID-19 and everything that came with it, we concentrated on the future. Earlier in the year though, we were pleased to start offering hands on workshops at Clootie McToot HQ allowing people to master the art of Clootie Dumpling making, something we are very proud of and look forward to offering again very soon!
We also added our Doddie Weir Cloots to the Evermore range with 30% of all sales from these going directly to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. All our fresh Clootie Dumplings were treated to a little update for all their labelling and we were proud to appear on the BBC’s Country Christmas with Angelica Bell.
2021
We kicked off the year by announcing that our Make Your Own Clootie Dumpling Kits were available in John Lewis. We also worked hard on our new website and launched our new Junior Kits in Traditional and Apple, Pear & Cinnamon flavours.
In October we proudly launched our Gluten Free Junior Kit – now everyone can experience the delicious aromas and flavours of Scotland. Just add soya milk or apple juice, plant-based butter or unsalted gluten free butter and an apple!
We were delighted to be a part of Downing Street’s Christmas Market as part of Small Business Saturday in December. Alongside other small businesses from across the country we celebrated local produce and championed our favourite Scottish pud – the Clootie Dumpling! It was a wonderful way to round off a whirlwind year. In December we were snowed under with festive orders thanks to the support of our wonderful Clootie Clan!
Looking ahead to 2022 we’re excited for our plans to attend more in-person events, showcase new Clootie Dumpling flavours, make Clootie HQ bigger and better than ever and the revelation of a big secret!
In October we proudly launched our Gluten Free Junior Kit – now everyone can experience the delicious aromas and flavours of Scotland. Just add soya milk or apple juice, plant-based butter or unsalted gluten free butter and an apple!
We were delighted to be a part of Downing Street’s Christmas Market as part of Small Business Saturday in December. Alongside other small businesses from across the country we celebrated local produce and championed our favourite Scottish pud – the Clootie Dumpling! It was a wonderful way to round off a whirlwind year. In December we were snowed under with festive orders thanks to the support of our wonderful Clootie Clan!
Looking ahead to 2022 we’re excited for our plans to attend more in-person events, showcase new Clootie Dumpling flavours, make Clootie HQ bigger and better than ever and the revelation of a big secret!
