Independent gift ideas for Leeds’ foodies from the city’s best small businesses
Food and drink related gifts are always a winner, so we've rounded up our favourite foodie gifts from Leeds indie sellers that you can pick up this weekend
If you've not had a chance to cross off your Christmas shopping yet this year, we've got you - especially when it comes to finding the perfect gift for the foodie in your life.
It really does feel as though Christmas crept up on us this year, either that or we've all just been too busy with dealing with whatever the world throws at us to find the time to go out and buy those all-important gifts.
Whilst Amazon might seem like an easy option, chances are your local indie brand will appreciate your custom much more - and even better, there's a genuine human smile at the end here.
Given the insecurities for small businesses over the last two years, it's important now more than ever to support our locals, and what better opportunity than just before Christmas?
Food and drink-related gifts are always a winner, so we've rounded up our favourite foodie gifts from Leeds indie sellers that you can pick up this weekend, so all you have to do is go from A to B to collect all your Christmas shopping.
Their rum business has gone from strength to strength in 2021, but the team has stayed humble, promising to help everyone get the gifts they need. The company recently stated that "you can count our ambience to either help tick off that Christmas list with military precision or think 'oh s**t I better get going'. All welcome no judgment here."
Find them in Victoria Gate until Thursday 23 December.
Who doesn't love a cheese board around Christmas time? The Cheesy Living Co. is one of Leeds' best lockdown success stories and their small business truly deserves some love over the festive period.
It's the only time of the year when it's acceptable to eat cheese for breakfast, dinner and tea, after all. You'll find them at the Leeds Briggate Farmer's Market on Sunday 19 December, but you can also easily order all their products online.
Stuzzi, an authentic Italian restaurant, and a very good one at that. Listed in the Good Food Guide 2020 no less, the team here is offering fans the chance to buy pre-packaged Christmas hampers to help share some festive cheer this season.
Each hamper is individually priced at £35 – £100 and comes with all you need for an Italian feast at home. The popular hampers can be designed to suit your needs or you can choose from premade packages created in-house by the staff.
It turns out that even your dog can support a local Yorkshire business this Christmas. These beer biscuits from Brewski's are made from leftovers from Brewdog's Punk IPA but the treats contain no hops or alcohol, so they’re perfectly safe for your dog to eat.
The Doggy Deli in Beverley stocks two variations of the tasty dog treats, including the original Punk IPA and a 'Hoppy Xmas' version.
If you're really pressed for time, there's nothing like a last minute Deliveroo order to sort out those Christmas gifts.
The Savvy Baker recently launched on the delivery platform, so you can get those orders at the very last minute and nobody will know. Choose from gooey brownies, brookies and more, all available as festive sets or standalone gifts.
If you're looking for a gift that will keep on giving well into 2022, Grön, like many other cafes around Leeds is offering out gift vouchers this year for Christmas. You can also take away their coffee for those friends and family that need caffeine to get through the days- they will certainly thank you for this present once they're back at work.
Simply choose your blend and the staff will wrap it up in store. But whilst you're there, you may as well grab a festive mulled wine or boozy hot chocolate to get you in the Christmas spirit,
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
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.”
Sophie Smith -
16th December 2021 
