Over in Boston Spa there's a new contemporary bakehouse putting its own special twist on breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Serving up a host of bakery and patisserie-based creations, since opening in spring this year CORA has quickly made a name for itself amongst locals in the area - elevating the usually casual meals of afternoon tea and brunch into fine dining territory.
In-house patisserie chef Rosie has been creating some weird and wonderful concoctions, ranging from burnt butter and cardamom swirls to "dark and mysterious looking" confit duck leg with pistachio and cherry pastries - and she's received some rave reviews.
A sneak peek at one of the evening taster menu dishes to come in August / Image: CORA
According to a recent post on the CORA Instagram, yesterday a man popped in for a coffee and decided on trying one of those swirls. Five minutes later, he ran back in and bought four more. We think that really speaks for itself.
Her bread, so we hear, is also incredible. Truffled ciabatta and fennel, goats cheese and lemon bread? We're already drooling just at the thought of it.
And CORA is not done yet - rather, it's expanding its offering into evening tasting experiences, offering a series of mysterious menus that are sure to delight and challenge diners in equal measure.
From August, the bakehouse come restaurant, headed up by chef Elizabeth Cottam (head chef and founder of lauded Leeds restaurants HOME and The Owl), is going to be introducing a new tasting menu of eight small plates on Friday and Saturday evenings.
CORA's 'Blooming Rosie' nods to the Yorkshire white rose / Image: CORA
Priced at £65 per person, the menus are not published - rather the whole experience is a surprise. Even when you get to the restaurant you won't know what you are eating until your plate hits the table.
Reservations for tasting experiences will require a deposit and can be enjoyed on the evening alongside a carefully selected drinks pairing.
The full team at CORA / Image: CORA
The fully female senior team has already seen high praise, and CORA’s new and diverse offering has been celebrated in Boston Spa for enriching the town’s culinary scene. We can't wait to see what these new tasting menus hold.
Find out more about contemporary bakehouse, dining room and wine cellar CORA on their website here.
Find them at 162 High St, Boston Spa, Wetherby LS23 6BW.
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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.