A new baking school and experience inspired by hit TV show The Great British Bake Off has opened in Leeds.
Called 'Ready Steady Bake It'; here guests take part in a 90 minute themed bake-off experience where they are pitted head to head against one another bake-off challenges which change every month.
July's bake-off challenge is a black forest gateau: an iconic rich chocolatey, fresh cream and cherry jam cake.
The first challenge at Ready, Steady, Bake is a Black Forest Gateau / Image: Ready, Steady, Bake
To master this iconic bake in 90 minutes, you'll need to keep a cool head to bake your sponges, cool them, get on with the jam and finally whip up some fresh cream and decorate it.
At the end of the session, your creations will then be judged by a head chef to give you that authentic Bake Off challenge feeling as you wait to see if they'll call it a masterpiece or a big old mess.
Best booked in pairs, the Ready, Steady, Bake judge will also be on hand to offer baking tips and encouragement throughout the baking session as you run up against the clock.
The Bake Off experiences are carefully designed to last 90 minutes, and you’ll get all the equipment and ingredients you’ll need provided at Ready, Steady, Bake. There's even a team to do the washing up for you.
Multiple stations spaced two metres apart from one another mean you'll be well distanced from other participants, or alternatively, you can book a private session if you prefer.
All the equipment and ingredients are provided, you don't even need to do the washing up / Image: Ready, Steady, Bake
"The baking events are inspired by Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off and are designed to give thrill-seekers a taste of the show, working against the clock to complete a challenge," said a spokesperson for the new experience.
"Each session will also have a Head Chef host, who will be on hand for the all-important judging, but will also be there to share tips and help bakers if they needed it."
Priced at £80 for two, to find out more and book a session head over to Ready, Steady, Bake's website here.
Feature image - Ready, Steady, Bake.
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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 -
9th July 2021 
