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Independent gift ideas for Leeds’ foodies from the city’s best small businesses
Food and drink related gifts are always a winner, so we've rounded up our favourite foodie gifts from Leeds indie sellers that you can pick up this weekend
If you've not had a chance to cross off your Christmas shopping yet this year, we've got you - especially when it comes to finding the perfect gift for the foodie in your life.
It really does feel as though Christmas crept up on us this year, either that or we've all just been too busy with dealing with whatever the world throws at us to find the time to go out and buy those all-important gifts.
Whilst Amazon might seem like an easy option, chances are your local indie brand will appreciate your custom much more - and even better, there's a genuine human smile at the end here.
Given the insecurities for small businesses over the last two years, it's important now more than ever to support our locals, and what better opportunity than just before Christmas?
Food and drink-related gifts are always a winner, so we've rounded up our favourite foodie gifts from Leeds indie sellers that you can pick up this weekend, so all you have to do is go from A to B to collect all your Christmas shopping.
Their rum business has gone from strength to strength in 2021, but the team has stayed humble, promising to help everyone get the gifts they need. The company recently stated that "you can count our ambience to either help tick off that Christmas list with military precision or think 'oh s**t I better get going'. All welcome no judgment here."
Find them in Victoria Gate until Thursday 23 December.
Who doesn't love a cheese board around Christmas time? The Cheesy Living Co. is one of Leeds' best lockdown success stories and their small business truly deserves some love over the festive period.
It's the only time of the year when it's acceptable to eat cheese for breakfast, dinner and tea, after all. You'll find them at the Leeds Briggate Farmer's Market on Sunday 19 December, but you can also easily order all their products online.
Stuzzi, an authentic Italian restaurant, and a very good one at that. Listed in the Good Food Guide 2020 no less, the team here is offering fans the chance to buy pre-packaged Christmas hampers to help share some festive cheer this season.
Each hamper is individually priced at £35 – £100 and comes with all you need for an Italian feast at home. The popular hampers can be designed to suit your needs or you can choose from premade packages created in-house by the staff.
It turns out that even your dog can support a local Yorkshire business this Christmas. These beer biscuits from Brewski's are made from leftovers from Brewdog's Punk IPA but the treats contain no hops or alcohol, so they’re perfectly safe for your dog to eat.
The Doggy Deli in Beverley stocks two variations of the tasty dog treats, including the original Punk IPA and a 'Hoppy Xmas' version.
If you're really pressed for time, there's nothing like a last minute Deliveroo order to sort out those Christmas gifts.
The Savvy Baker recently launched on the delivery platform, so you can get those orders at the very last minute and nobody will know. Choose from gooey brownies, brookies and more, all available as festive sets or standalone gifts.
If you're looking for a gift that will keep on giving well into 2022, Grön, like many other cafes around Leeds is offering out gift vouchers this year for Christmas. You can also take away their coffee for those friends and family that need caffeine to get through the days- they will certainly thank you for this present once they're back at work.
Simply choose your blend and the staff will wrap it up in store. But whilst you're there, you may as well grab a festive mulled wine or boozy hot chocolate to get you in the Christmas spirit,
West Yorkshire's very own Jane McDonald is coming to First Direct Arena in Leeds for a hometown show that's set to be spellbinding.
Making her British TV screen debut nearly 30 years ago on The Cruise, before joining the Loose Women panel and going on to present a whole host of travel shows including Cruising with Jane McDonald, now this Wakefield legend returns to First Direct Arena.
This latest tour titled after her 2026 LP Living The Dream, will see Jane singing hits from both past and present including a couple covers too.
Earlier this year, Jane's Mighty Hoopla performance went viral online after she commanded the stage in a red leather jacket, donning a singular rainbow hair extension while belting out RAYE's 'Where Is My Husband!'
Audio North even got the opportunity to interview this legendary lady when she visited her hometown HMV store in Wakefield for an exclusive album signing - Oh look, it's me!
The Wakefield wonder-woman's latest album Living The Dream was released in March and considering the tour is named after this impressive LP, we're sure fans can expect to hear quite a few tracks from this album.
Living The Dream
I'll Not Be Beaten
You Don't Know What You Got
Don't Mind If I Do
The Hand That Leads Me
Ain't Gonna Beg
I Will Always Love You
Islands in the Stream
Jolene
9 to 5
You're My World
Where Is My Husband!
Let the Light In
Cake by the Ocean
Jai Ho!
APT.
Right Where I Belong
How Do I Move On
Beautiful Soul
All By Myself
You Still Lead Me
Of course, Jane also loves to cover a tune or two, and we'll never forget her renditions of 'Cake By The Ocean', 'Jai Ho' or 'APT.'.
What are the stage times for Jane McDonald in Leeds?
The doors for Jane McDonald's Living The Dream Tour in Leeds are set for 6pm with the event set to start at 7.30pm.
First Direct Arena has a curfew of 11pm meaning you have enough time to dash home and eat 'Cake by the (Sofa)' before ringing in the new day.
How to get to First Direct Arena
Bus Station
Located on Dyer Street next to Leeds City Bus Station and approx. 15min walk from first direct arena and is wheelchair friendly.
Support and help for any persons with a disability is available as the station is a registered ‘Safe place’ to come into and ask for assistance.
Nearest Bus Stops
Clay Pit Lane
Wade Lane/Lovell Park Road
Woodhouse Lane
Nearest Train Station
Leeds City Station on New Station Street is around a 15min walk from first direct arena and a major hub on the national, regional and local rail network providing connections to a wide variety of destinations.
Parking
There are over 7,500 car parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the arena. The arena doesn’t have it’s own car park however there are lots of options nearby. To receive 5% off Q Park when attending a show at first direct arena click here
The nearest Car Park with EV charging is located on Albion Street click here.
None of the above car parks are operated by the arena so for questions, queries or comments we ask that you contact the companies directly.
Hiring Bikes in Leeds
If you’re looking to hire a bike in Leeds, here are some of the best options you can try:
Beryl bikes – you’ll find the ‘Leeds City Bikes’ from Beryl stationed throughout the city. These are all e-bikes, and they’re available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, and then 16p per minute to use them. We’d say these are great for zipping around the city and getting from A to B.
Talio – for a wider selection of electric bikes to choose from, Talio based at Buslinthorpe Green is a great option. From this company, you can hire cruiser bikes, mountain bikes, and cargo bikes. Prices start from £20 per day for rental, but if you’re hiring for a month or longer you’ll get a good discount.
The independent Leeds cafe speaking up after massive coffee chain opens opposite
Daisy Jackson
An independent bakery and coffee shop in Leeds has spoken out after a huge chain opened its doors opposite her cafe.
Savannah Roqaa, owner of The Savvy Baker, has said that she's on a mission to overtake the sales of Blank Street, the massive matcha chain that opened just metres away within weeks of her new site.
She said that while her brand is best-known for its baked goods, they also specialise in high-quality matcha - something Sav says wasn't in good supply in Leeds at the time she opened.
And now she's publicly spoken out about her mission to tempt people away from the big chain and into her independent business.
In a video shared online, Sav has been inviting customers leaving Blank Street to swap their matcha for one of hers, free of charge.
She then remakes the white chocolate matcha herself, but using quality Callebaut white chocolate, melting real chocolate into the drink.
The customer in the video says: "You can tell, it's way sweeter and like actually white chocolate tasting. And the matcha is greener, which is better."
Sav from The Savvy Baker has spoken of her mission to overtake Blank StreetMatcha from The Savvy Baker in Leeds
Sav said: "So when we signed the lease on literally the biggest risk ever, which is this huge shop in Leeds city centre, we had absolutely no idea that Blank Street were opening their biggest store in the entire world across the road.
"They are a global brand that is obviously very very popular, and we just wanted to try and at least match their sales."
She said that she's heard Blank Street sells 5,000 drinks every single week and is hoping to increase sales at The Savvy Baker enough to match.
Sav said: "Last week we sold 890 drinks. We've converted one, so that is 4,109 more people to convert...
"But we have a lot more tricks up our sleeve, so follow along to see if we can do it. And we would massively appreciate any support that you can give us."
Sophie Smith -
16th December 2021 
