Slap and Pickles have got vegan pigs in blankets, fried Christmas pudding and paxo mayo on the menu this Christmas.
If there's one company we trust with our food it's Slap and Pickle.
The Leeds-based company have grown so much in 2021 that they will be leaving their residency at The Fleece Inn in Horsforth, but they still have a few tricks up their sleeve before they leave.
At their Horsforth and Leeds city centre addresses, Slap and Pickle will be serving one of the best Christmas menus around.
First up is the Vegan All I Want For Christmas Burger and its layer-upon-layer of Moving Mountains goodness.
We're talking vegan patty topped with vegan cranberry Wensleydale, This Isn't Bacon lardons, pickled red cabbage, paxo mayo, cranberry mostarda, shredded lettuce, pickles and onion gravy; all wrapped between two green and rather Instagrammable burger buns.
The Vegan All I Want For Christmas Burger. / Image: Slap and Pickles
The loaded fries are also vegan and packed with all the festive trimmings.
There's a super scoop of fries in every dish, topped with vegan cranberry Wensleydale and Pigs in Blankets rain, made from This Isn't Bacon and This Isn't Cocktail Sausages. The fries are then topped with vegan paxo mayo, cranberry mostarda, root veg crisps and fresh parsley.
25p from every Christmas menu item sold goes towards the Kids In Blankets campaign, helping to buy beds for vulnerable children, so when you buy fries for yourself, you're helping someone in need too.
Finally, the All I Want For Christmas Burger is the meaty dream every beef-eater has been waiting for.
We're talking about two Swaledale Butchers smash patties, cranberry Wensleydale, smoked bacon, beef fat-fried Christmas pudding, picked red cabbage, shredded lettuce, pickles, Paxo mayo & cranberry mostarda, all wrapped up in a festive red bun.
If there's room for dessert, the menu also comes with a sweet treat difficult to turn down. Having already featured a Christmas pudding on the Vegan All I Want For Christmas Burger, Slap and Pickle have replaced the traditional festive dessert with the ever-popular Biscoff cheesecake.
"Tis the season to eat Christmas food ‘til it comes out of your ears (and/or gives you a Santa-like appearance), and we’re so down with that."
We couldn't agree more.
Get your Slap and Pickle Christmas fix at Beer Hawk or Assembly Underground in Leeds city centre, The Fleece Inn in Horsforth or any of their other local residencies.
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.”
The Swine That Dines announces the official opening date of its brand new restaurant
Clementine Hall
Much-loved Leeds Bistro The Swine Bistro, formerly known as The Swine That Dines, has moved to a bigger space in Headingley.
Although it’s gone through a few name changes over the years since launching as The Greedy Pig cafe in 2012, this independent spot has long been a firm favourite for Leeds locals for some time now.
Run by chef couple Jo and Stu Myers, they’ve been operating out of North Street where it’s all about cooking seasonal produce simply and with an added ‘little bit of sunshine’.
But now Swine Bistro has moved up over to Headingley, taking up a unit previously occupied by Jam hairdressers on Otley Road.
Image: Supplied
And the time has finally come for them to open their doors, as they announce their first service will take place on Friday 4 April with bookings open from today, Thursday 20 March.
The Myers will be welcoming head chef Kirsty Cheetham, who won Observer Food Monthly’s Best Sunday Lunch award in 2018 and 2022 when she ran The Queen o’t owd Thatch in South Milford, Leeds.
The expanded space in the restaurant has allowed the team to curate a bigger wine list which will include natural wines from Wayward Wines and Latitude Wines as well as local beers from Ilkley Brewery and Horsforth Brewery.
Image: Supplied
The team remains passionate about locally sourced ingredients and has partnered with a variety of Yorkshire suppliers including R&J Yorkshire for its fresh meat, Tarbetts fishmonger, cheese from George & Joseph cheesemongers and beans from micro roaster, Chipp Coffee Co.
Jo Myers, co-owner of the Swine Bistro said: “It’s taken a huge amount of time and effort to realise our dream to revamp what was previously a hairdresser into a fully functioning kitchen and restaurant. It’s been a wild ride but we’re excited, and slightly nervous, to finally open our doors.
“We love the vibe in Headingley and the time out has allowed us to have fun with our menu as well as take part in lots of essential taste testing of ingredients and drinks from our brilliant local suppliers. We can’t wait to welcome guests into our new restaurant!”
Sophie Smith -
10th December 2021 
