Okay so we know we've thrown a lot of amazing jobs your way recently, but this one involves getting paid to eat Greggs- and that deserves a shoutout by itself.
There's been some rather unusual, but nonetheless exciting, jobs advertised as of late. We've seen companies offering to pay £150 a day to test bottomless brunches with your friends; an offer of £1000 payment in return for your two pence on taco and tequila for Cinco de Mayo and even a summer job offering to pay partygoers £7,500 to visit UK festivals this summer- it really has been a wild few months in the dream job market.
But that's just the beginning, Materials Market is looking for takeaway-lovers to fill the position of 'takeaway tester' for one month- and the rewards are rather handsome.
Get paid £1,000 for testing out the likes of McDonald's Big Mac and Subway's infamous Meatball Marinara and all you need to do is keep a diary of how you feel after the meal.
Best of all, there's six vacancies for this job, so there's a good chance that you and your mates can all make the most of this position.
Advertised on the Materials Market website, the job description says that successful applicants will be expected to test out a total of 20 of the UK's 'favourite fast food meals' over a period of early morning breakfast or at lunchtime. Some of the suggested meals include, Greggs, McDonalds and Subway but it is expected that they will extend to other national chains
Image: The Hoot Leeds
All expenses are paid for meal purchases made during the month-long experiment, so you won't even need to dip into your payment for your lunch.
Once you've finished your meal, the job will require the takeaway tester to make notes of "how you feel after eating each meal, monitoring your levels of fullness, energy, productivity, sluggishness and overall satisfaction, immediately after consuming the meal and two and four hours afterwards."
As part of the process, applicants will get to work with a partnering nutritionist to help you devise an onsite content guide for future customers and advise them based on your own reviews.
Food critic Camilla Long visited Leeds for her latest review for The Times with her sights set on Horsforth's finest - Bavette Bistro.
Ever since opening back in 2024, Bavette Bistro nestled in the leafy suburb of Horsforth has made waves across the country for its sheer brilliance.
It's pretty much received five star reviews across the board and been handed awards from left, right and centre. And rightly so.
The Good Food Guide crowned Bavette the best local restaurant of 2024, and Michelin handed them a well deserved Bib Gourmand - so it's safe to say it's not just us who think it's really something special.
So it was only a matter of time until The Times popped in for a review, and this one is truly glowing.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The review labels Bavette as "warm, unmannered and unpretentious" as well as "authentically French".
Long describes the food as "gorgeous, confident, surprising" with a menu that "isn’t too long" and "filled with sturdy, noble dishes, whiffing mightily of the sea and the soil."
It continues: "All of it made with generosity and cheer, served fast by nimble waiters, with a long, if slightly eccentric, wine list. To bang out French dishes with this much fiddly detail and to do it to a full room is not easy. Yet all four courses came in under two hours, for about £75 a head, which in London terms is nothing.
"It’s not that this place was perfect, it’s that it was decidedly not perfect. A bit too much chat about the menus; the oeufs in the meurette not quite runny enough. But the point is: it didn’t matter. All of it came charmingly together. It felt relaxed, just right."
The review is then wrapped up with a pleasing five stars, the cherry on top of the cake.
It's a review only restaurants can dream of, and we can't think of a more deserving team - congratulations Bavette.
Team behind Headrow House and Belgrave to take over and reopen Woodside just one year after opening
Clementine Hall
The foodie-favourite restaurant and bar is now under new management.
The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that Woodside has sadly been closed for a few months.
We certainly have, and ever since December we've had a Woodside Sunday roast-shaped hole in our hearts that's been gasping for one of their glorious Marmite glazed parsnips.
But luckily, it has now been confirmed that Woodside isn't going anywhere as Superfriendz, the team behind Headrow House, Belgrave and many other top Leeds spots will be taking over. Hallelujah.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Woodside opened at the end of 2024 from the owners of The Brunswick and The Melbourne.
Labelling itself as a 'neighbourhood eatery and bar', Woodside quickly became a favourite amongst Leeds foodies and was known for its smoked meats, great cocktails and stellar Sunday roasts (do I need to talk about the parsnips again).
The menu was fresh and innovative, with oysters topped with kiwi granita and an incredibly garish banana split standing out as highlights.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
We hope that the new management continues to maintain Woodside's brilliance, but mainly we're just so glad that it's sticking around.
Superfriendz take care of a whole host of spots in the city, including proper Leeds favourites Headrow House, Belgrave Music Hall and Waterlane Boathouse.
Announcing the news to Instagram, Woodside said: "After a longer-than-expected winter break, Woodside is back and will reopen on Thursday 19th March!
"Your favourite neighbourhood bar and eatery returns with the same warm welcome, but an all new management team.
"We can’t wait to see you so keep your eyes on our socials for news on great food and drinks, big screen sports, quizzes and more.
"We’d also like to thank Sam and the original team for all the hard work that went into setting-up the venue. We hope we can do it justice."
Sophie Smith -
10th May 2022 
