Oktoberfest has been taking over Leeds little by little over the past few weeks, from live music nights to brewery takeovers, the scent of bratwurst and clinking of steins has been a staple part of a night out in recent weeks.
Ensuring that the Oktoberfest celebrations last far longer than the fortnight celebrations and span into October itself, celebrated Indian street food restaurant Bundobust has been serving up its own reimagining of classic Oktoberfest specials.
Currywurst Koftas (front) and Bataka Salat (back). / Image: The Hoot Leeds
First on the menu, there's Currywurst Koftas that are both vegan and gluten free. Made up of desi dumplings with cauliflower, cabbage and carrots, this alternative to the seasonal staple comes with currywurst sauce charged with garam masala and curry powder to create that signature Bundo taste.
Those looking for a taste of autumn should immediately grab the Kartoffelpuffers. The vegan GF offering is made up of potato and sauerkraut fritters with fenugreek, chilli, fennel and ginger, served with a delicious cinnamon and apple sauce dip, creating an irresistible apple pie meets Oktoberfest combination.
Kartoffelpuffers. / Image: The Hoot Leeds
The Bataka Salat is all about fusing German dishes with Indian spices. The potato salad is made up of yellow and purple (yes, purple) potatoes with dill, curried sour cream, tamarind chutney and a crunchy samosa pastry to line the tip of the box.
Prost Pickles are as the name suggests. A medley of heritage carrot, mooli radish, turnip and cauliflower all pickled in a mustard, chilli, dill and peppercorn combo to create a tangy flavour.
Prost Pickles (front) and Currywurst Koftas (back). / Image: The Hoot Leeds
There's two special beers to wash it all down with... a black lager called 'BUNDOBAR!' and a clean and malty German style larger called 'Too much crispy'. Both pair with the food wonderfully and come in a big stein so you feel very authentic.
Available until Sunday 23 October 2022, grab the Oktoberfest combo whilst you can or simply add in your favourites to your usual Bundobust order whilst the special lasts.
The tiramisu hype lives on, and this time it's coming to Leeds.
It really does feel like the traditional Italian dessert has taken the world by storm as of late.
Everything from tiramisu cups and tiramisu coffees have been popping up all over our feed, and now tiramisu in drawer form is popping up in the city centre.
Misu Tiramisu is an independent business that began at Manchester's Christmas Markets and quickly became one of the most popular operators, all thanks to its miniature tiramisu ‘drawers’.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The individually portioned and colourfully packaged desserts quickly became one of town’s top puddings, and owners Aleem and Aishah went on to launch a stand inside the Manchester Arndale too.
And now they’re branching out again in Leeds inside Trinity shopping centre for a two month residency.
You’ll find all their delicious flavours of handmade tiramisu, including classic, pistachio, chocolate, Biscoff, mango, and lemon - they'll also have some gluten-free tiramisu on offer as well, so no one has to miss out.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Misu Tiramisu owners Aleem and Aishah spent a year refining the recipe for their tiramisus after a trip to Milan, first launching with their first market stall in Sale.
Misu Tiramisu is now open inside Trinity shopping centre opposite Boots Opticians and Pop Specs.
They're open every day of the week for you to get your tiramisu fix, from 9am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 5pm on a Sunday.
And trust us Leeds, they're just as delicious as they are adorable.
Fossilised 320-million-year-old fish found in Leeds’ Roundhay Park
Clementine Hall
A prehistoric fish fossil has been unearthed at Roundhay Park in Leeds.
The fascinating prehistoric skull bone of a coelacanth fish was discovered by a geologist at Roundhay Park earlier this year.
It is thought the creature was frozen in time aeons ago, during an era when the park was submerged under a vast tropical lagoon.
The remarkable discovery has now been kindly donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries and added to the natural sciences collection at Leeds Discovery Centre.
Image: Leeds City Council
The Leeds fossil was found by Ru Smith of the Yorkshire Geological Society during a reconnaissance walk he was carrying out ahead of a planned field excursion in the north Leeds park.
Describing the moment he made the discovery, Ru said: “There’s a layer of rock in the park which dates from around 320 million years ago, from a time before the breakup of the continents, when what is now the park would have been situated close the Equator and under the warm waters of a tropical lagoon. West Central Africa would be a good place to find similar environments in the present.
“There’s a bed of freshwater mussels called Carbonicola at one level in the rock, and opening a piece of shale from this bed in my hands I saw something unusual – a distinctive skull bone of a large fish. I knew straight away this was something different and very rare."
The bone was verified byexperts as belonging to a coelacanth older than those found elsewhere in Yorkshire, making it the oldest fossil coelacanth discovered in the region.
Ru added: “Coelacanths are pretty amazing fish and it’s just very cool to think that at one time, you could have been standing in Leeds and watching them swim around above a bed of mussels in Roundhay Park.
“That’s really the wonder of geology, looking at the rock and time travelling in the imagination to what was a very different world.”
Sophie Smith -
4th October 2022 
