"My motto is, ‘If my mam won’t eat it, then we won’t sell it" says Butcher Malcolm Leary, who has worked in Kirkgate market almost every day since he was just fourteen.
Today he is a bit of a local legend and a very much part of the furniture at the market, where he's worked now for four decades.
A much-loved part of the community, Malcolm is known as the guy who'll help anybody, and is often doing outreach work.
At Christmas, he set up a huge cube outside his butchers and asked his customers to donate new toys to give to children whose families were impacted by addiction - raising £15,000 worth of toys.
He also did a ‘Get Your Kit Off’ campaign to encourage people to donate their unwanted clothes to charity, even getting the Leeds Rhinos team involved to donate some of their actual kits with names and numbers on.
The popular butcher also hosts daily coffee mornings for the homeless outside his shop, giving out 20 free drinks and food every day.
He's got a big heart and, for him, it's all about giving back to the market that helped him to turn his life around.
When he was a young lad he was given a second chance by his boss after messing around, and never looked back. Now he's on a mission to pay it forward, having worked his way up the ranks from washing trays on Saturdays to being co-owner.
“It honestly saved me,” Malcolm said about the market. “It’s saved a lot of people. That’s important.
"I employ ex young offenders, people from broken homes, and people who have had a tough time."
“As long as I see something in them - if they’re a little bit cheeky and have that market quality - then I’ll give them a job.
“The only condition is that they work hard and don’t get involved in the wrong things.”
As well as being famous in Leeds for his charitable giving, he's also a bit of a local celebrity in his own right.
With over 15,000 followers on Instagram alone, Malcolm Michaels Butchers is very well known in the city - thanks in part to the hilarious content he posts with best friend and colleague Danny Malin of Rate My Takeaway fame.
“Danny’s the celebrity, but I would say I’m the most famous butcher in Leeds - and I don’t think other butcher’s would argue with that.”
You can find Malcom Michaels Butchers in Kirkgate market and follow them on Instagram here.
Feature image - Malcom Michaels Butchers.
News
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 -
4th June 2021 
