A new street food-style supper club is bringing pina colada fried chicken (and actual Pina Coladas) to Leeds for the night.
The brainchild of Leeds chef Robert Hallas, the exciting new drinking and dining event at Temple Arches combines food and booze with some brilliant-sounding results.
Called crEATe, next week's event will showcase a playful four-course taster menu with Rob of Bastards Bistro cooking all his dishes in booze before pairing them with an alcoholic drink.
“My initial concept was ‘food cooked with booze’ so dishes would be cooked with some kind of alcohol and it would be paired with an alcoholic drink," he told Leeds List.
Bastards Bistro
“We’ve got Pina Colada fried chicken, that’ll be served with a Pina Colada cocktail - and a few more surprises.
Alongside the pina colada fried chicken, diners will also get to try Hallas's spin on the pot noodle and a unique take of a greasy spoon full English breakfast (which, spoiler alert, will look nothing like the real thing but promises to carry "all the flavours").
There'll also be live art from a graffiti artist with 3D mapping and music from local DJs.
“You’ll basically get a 360-degree view of the cooking, live art and watching the DJs play,” Hallas said.
Hallas has only been cheffing for three years, having previously worked in bars and nightclubs.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMRRzrLn4DK/
Bastards Bistro first launched in 2019 but things really kicked off for him in lockdown when he started his own takeaway business - hiring in furloughed friends to help and borrowing a cafe’s kitchen to sling kebabs, pizzas, scotch eggs and deep-fried lasagne balls.
Now his friends have gone back to work, he's hired two new members of staff to work alongside him at Bastards Bistro - which has just officially taken over the kitchen downstairs at The Hedonist Bar on a permanent basis.
Tickets for crEATe start at £50pp, with an additional £20 for a drinks flight. It will take place at Temple Arches from 5pm on Wednesday, 26th May. You can get yours here.
To keep up to date with more of Rob's projects, follow him on Instagram.
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Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Georgina Pellant -
20th May 2021 
