Four days of food is coming to Harewood House this summer.
The Queen's Jubilee weekend is quickly becoming a jam-packed weekend. There's everything from Live at Leeds festival to street parties kicking off the four day weekend- and that's before any of the official royal events have taken place.
Like all good celebrations, us Brits say it best with food: whether's it's a birthday cake or celebratory bottle of something fizzy, there's always a reason or an occasion to toast with full bellies and crumb-covered smiles.
Whilst Leeds doesn't have a single big tent of its own with Mary Berry, the city will be celebrating in Bake Off style with a huge food festival that's inviting foodie from across Yorkshire to celebrate the Jubilee bank holiday weekend in the only way us Brits know how.
Surround yourself with local indie businesses and up-and-coming brands at this four-day foodie extravaganza.
Called the Great British Food Festival, visitors will be able to wade through masses of cooking stalls, menus aplenty and even have a trial run in a Bake Off style tent to see if you have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of the six TV show winners from Yorkshire.
Harewood House will transform into a food-lover's dream over the bank holiday weekend to include an artisan market, street food, walk-up bars
Chefs from local restaurants and pubs will take to the stage across the four days to show you how to recreate their culinary masterpieces in the comfort of your own home, even using everyday materials and ingredients. Sharing shortcuts and tips of the trade, the light-hearted entertainment is for novices and professionals alike: running each hour 11am - 4pm.
Image: Great British Food Festival
If you're more interested in where your food comes from- or rather can come from, foraging walks with one of the UK's only accredited foragers will take place every day in small groups. Guided walks are around the festival site in a small group. The pushchair and wheelchair-friendly events last around 45 minutes to 1hr and start at 10am, 11.15am, 12.30, 2pm and 3.15pm respectively.
If that's not enough to keep the whole family entertained, there will be five kids cookery classes per day to keep the little ones on their toes and allow them to leave with their very own baked goods. Choose from either rocky road truffles or peppermint and orange pebbles and let the chefs take charge of the cooking and most importantly, the cleaning up afterwards.
Serious bakers can take their cakes in for inspection at the Cake Off event, where over 600 cakes have been cut, tasted and deliberated, but only one will be crowned winner. The free-to-enter event encourages all aspiring foodies to enter this exciting competition with yet-to-be-announced prizes.
50% of the score is obtained from our judging panel who will rate the entries on their presentation and taste. The other 50% of the votes will be scored by the general public.
Image: Great British Food Festival
At each Festival we pick members of the crowd to come and sample what is on offer, then they will hand in their scores. Once all scores have been tallied, our independent adjudicator will announce the winner.
Plus, once the judging is over all cake entries are open for anyone to sample, so even if your idea of baking is watching Mary Berry on the telly, you can still make the most of this Bake Off style event without even lifting a whisk.
If you'd prefer competitive eating to nibbling away at cake crumbs, there's Man V Food challenges aplenty here too. Enter the sausage eating contest, where competitors eat as much sausage as they can in six minutes and six seconds; the chilli challenge where contestants eat until they need to reach for their pint of milk (medics will be on hand) and even a couples 'treat challenge' where teams of two take on a mammoth sweet treat with a twist.
To enter the Great British Food Festival, entrants require a pre-booked ticket. Costing from £13.20 for adults and £7.20 for children, all tickets can be booked on the Great British Food Festival website.
Feature Image- Great British Food Festival
Eats
A slice of New York has arrived in Leeds – and the pizzas are 18 inches wide
Popular pizza pop-up Edges Pizza has opened a permanent home in Leeds city centre.
Last summer you may have had the privilege to enjoy a slice of Edges Pizza at one of their many pop-up residencies across the city.
Their longest stint was at the sun-drenched roof terrace of Green Room, and it's safe to say their pizza went down an absolute treat.
Since then they've been a little quiet, but all for good reason. Edges Pizza has just opened a permanent new takeaway under the arches in Holbeck, and it's absolutely class.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Owners Grace and Edge who are from Harrogate opened Edges two years ago, taking inspiration from trips to New York over the years.
They've completely transformed the space into a proper love letter to the big apple. It will operate mainly as a takeaway, but there is a small seating area where you can perch and tuck into your pie.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The menu is perfectly curated, consisting of eight pizzas and three dips. And trust us, they are absolutely massive.
We opted for the American Hot with spicy pepperoni, banana peppers and parmesan as well as the mushroom pie topped with garlic creme fraiche and chestnut mushrooms.
Drizzled and dunked into moreish hot honey, it's rivalling some of the best pizza in the city.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
For now, grabbing a pizza from Edges operates through a pre-order system. Pre-orders open at 12pm the day before via their website, you can pick your collection time and then you simply have to rock up and get your pizza.
There's loads of parking available nearby and if there are any remaining slots available you can pre-order up to an hour before collection.
We've got a feeling they're going to very busy indeed.
Dishoom announces official opening date for new Leeds restaurant
Clementine Hall
It's the moment we've all been waiting for, Dishoom is coming to Leeds.
The whispers of Dishoom's arrival in Leeds city centre have been going on for a while now, but over the past few weeks it has started to feel very real.
Taking over the beautiful old Flannel's site on the coveted Vicar Lane, signs started to pop up for Dishoom and work was cracking on fast.
Well now, we have an opening date - and we don't have long to wait.
Dishoom Leeds will open on Monday 3 August, with guests being able to enjoy 50% off food during an initial soft-opening period, ahead of the official opening on Friday 14 August.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
As with every Dishoom café, the Leeds restaurant begins with a story. This one takes inspiration from the extraordinary true events surrounding the explosion of the SS Fort Stikine in Bombay Dock in April 1944, a wartime disaster that sent gold bars flying across the city.
Legend has it that some of the missing gold was never recovered. Some was discovered embedded in walls and rooftops across Bombay. Other pieces quietly disappeared into the hands of lucky citizens, melted into bangles or hidden away in drawers.
Dishoom Leeds reimagines the fortune made from the gold bars and guests will discover subtle references to the glamorous mid-century details through the interiors and artwork, giving playful nods to Bombay’s golden age.
With all day dining available, guests can dine on the beloved breakfast right through to late evening feasting, with the café will serve a lovingly curated menu of Bombay comfort food inspired by the city’s cafés, grills, street stalls and family kitchens.
Shamil Thakrar, co-founder, also known as Head Babu, at Dishoom, said: “Leeds is a city with tremendous warmth, creativity and character, full of people who know the value of gathering together over good food and drinks. Bringing Dishoom here has long been a dream for us.”
"The story behind this café is rooted in one of Bombay’s most extraordinary moments – the day gold bars fell from the sky after the explosion of Fort Stikine in 1944. Amidst the tragedy and chaos, there were also tales of unexpected fortune, human resilience and hopeful reinvention. We were captivated by this, and we cannot wait to welcome Leeds into the café that pays homage to the heritage of Bombay.”
Sophie Smith -
19th April 2022 
