Looking for a January treat to wash away the dreary skies and cold nights?
If you're looking for a pick-me-up comfort food that combines your favourite sweet and savoury treats, you're in luck.
Lockdown success story and Leeds favourite charcuterie business, The Cheesy Living Co. have been treating customers to sweet salami with flavours like cookies and cream, peanut and caramel and rocky road.
It goes better than you think. So much so that the cheesy caterers are selling out fast of these sweet tasting delights.
Take the rocky road for example, it's a 250f rolled up slab of contrasting flavours that just work. It's a handmade Belgian chocolate salami with honeycomb, toffee, fudge and marshmallow covered in an ultra smooth creamy milk chocolate- what's not to love about that?
If you're looking for something a little less meaty, The Cheesy Living Co. have variations like the Cookies and Cream Salami, which comes as a dark chocolate shell containing a white chocolate ganache with crushed cookie pieces, a perfect snack to enjoy with a glass of milk.
The Peanut and Caramel Salami, on the other hand, is 250g of sweet handmade chocolate salami with a milk chocolate peanut butter ganache, whole peanuts and Cornish sea salt centre and coated in a caramelised milk chocolate- so similar but with sharp flavours for fans of nuts and crisp and tangy sensations.
Image: The Cheesy Living Co.
The Cheesy Living Co. is full of surprising flavours like this and it's their attention to taste buds that has allowed the company to make a considerable stamp on the Leeds foodie scene, despite opening less than a year ago.
Keep an eye on their website as "the chocolate salamis will be making a return to our online store soon" and we're sure they'll fly off the (virtual) shelves as soon as they do.
Whether you met Jake and Soph at the Corn Exchange or whilst visiting the Savvy Baker, or this is the first time you've heard of the new company, The Cheesy Living Co. is the small independent bringing a whole world of sweet meats and cheeses to Leeds that you need to know about.
At present, you can find the sweet salami online (when restocked), but it is hoped that the company will be moving into a permanent property soon where their selections of cured meats and cheese will be available for collection in Leeds city centre.
The duo are hoping to secure their first proper site where they can work from on a permanent basis. The pair have “found a location that provides an exciting opportunity for us to take the next step with the business” and we can't wait to hear more about their new project- but for now we'll settle with ordering online or spotting them at the next independent pop-up in the city centre.
The much-loved North Leeds Food Festival is back for 2026, and its spring return marks a very special anniversary.
We're getting hungry just thinking about it.
Taking place in less than a fortnight, North Leeds Food Fest marks its 10th birthday early next month, with this year's programme set to be one of the biggest yet.
We're lucky enough to see a lot of wonderful things within Roundhay Park every single year, but this might just be one of our absolute favourites.
Not to speak for all of you, but we're sure plenty of West Yorkshire would agree.
Held on the expansive Soldiers' Field section of the stunning outdoor space, more than a full decade on from the very first iteration of the festival, punters can expect free-flowing drinks, music rolling across the park, and LOTS of food to be enjoyed.
Both dog and family-friendly, too, it's already shaping up to be one of the best fun-for-all-ages weekends of the entire year.
Writing in a teaser on socials, the organisers said: "We’ve been working away behind the scenes to bring a fresh look and feel for 2026, so you can expect some surprises for our big birthday."
Consider our interest piqued and our tummies already rumbling...
The same spotlights will be shining on native independents serving up some of the region's best street food, and you can expect some top-notch drinks from Leeds locals, too.
It's pretty hard to believe it's been 10 whole years since this first started and how far it's come. Here's a longer look at how the last edition went down:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqSxSj-dQsA&t=2s
Some of the indie enjoyment being teased includes wood-fired pizza, crispy fried chicken, fresh cocktails and a full 'Ale House' pouring from start to finish, as well as "vibrant curries and desserts worth saving space for".
There'll also be artisan markets, a live cookery theatre hosted by Yorkshire chef, consultant and Great British Menu star, Stephanie Moon, lots of live tunes, a whole host of kids' activities, stand-up comedy and tonnes more.
Scheduled for Saturday, 9 May 2026 from 10am and wrapping up on the following (10 May) around 7pm, the doors will be open from 10am on the first day, so you'd better make the most of the celebrations.
A new cocktail and record bar has opened in the former mills at Farsley
Daisy Jackson
There's another new opening in Farsley - this time an incredibly cool listening bar and cocktail bar.
Tucked away in Sunny Bank Mills, Pardon Me is a bar built around 'music, atmosphere, and detail'.
Bartenders here create well-made cocktails and pour natural wines in front of a wall of vinyl records, while a playlist of hip hop, soul, jazz, funk, deep house, and disco soundtracks your evening.
The stylish space features a considered sound system that's been built around Danley speakers.
Pardon Me has opened with the intention of creating a space where 'sound sits at the centre, and everything else supports it'.
It's been launched by Scott Rapson, who grew up in the Scottish Highlands and fell in love with music around the time of the arrival of hip hop in the early 80s.
He then spent time travelling for raves, and visiting venues like Glasgow’s Sub Club and London’s Plastic People, giving Scott an appreciation for how 'music can shape a room, not just fill it'.
Scott and his partner Laurie have then spent the past three years travelling Europe, visiting listening bars across the continent to shape the foundations of Pardon Me.
Inside Pardon Me in FarsleyCocktails at Pardon Me
They say that sound, look, atmosphere, service and style are treated with equal importance.
Whether it's for coffee during the day, or drinks into the evening, they want Pardon Me to be a place to spend time, looking out across Sunny Bank Mills.
Scott says he's built the bar with the support of family and friends, plus Laurie helping to bring the idea to life, already finding a warm welcome within the Farsley community.
Pardon Me is open now at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley.
Sophie Smith -
7th January 2022 
