Supporting Black-owned food businesses in Leeds.

One of the most direct and sustainable ways to support the Black community is with your money! Post-lockdown, this is even more important; it prevents the shutting down of independent businesses and also helps to get yourself back into the local community after being locked away for so long. In this article, we’ve highlighted some of the best local black-owned eateries for you to visit in the city.

SWEET TREATS

LoveStorm Cakes

LoveStorm Cakes is a custom cake company, whose name stems from a little kitchen in a desperate time in a single mother’s life. Renee Cottle’s knack for eye-catching cakes motivated her to open this business in 2015, which now has over four thousand followers on Instagram and nearly fourteen thousand likes on Facebook. Renee’s cakes and business ethos has rave reviews so be sure to check her out for your next special occasion. Renee’s business doesn’t end there though! She has raised an entire family of entrepreneurs, with her daughters owning goodie businesses of their own. 

LoveStorm Cupcakes by Leilani 

Renee’s daughter owns this custom cupcake start-up, and her products look both indulgent and beautiful. Recently Leilani has also started doing ‘smash hearts’, which are essentially edible pinatas, and I am desperate to try one. Avaiya, also Renee’s daughter, has followed her mother and sister’s footsteps and set up her own business, The Kookie Kid. She bakes and sells handsome sugar cookies and extravagant cake pops, and they look so delicious you’d be silly not to try them!

SAVOURY FOOD

Jerk Express

If you’re looking for some classic Caribbean street food, Jerk Express is the place to go. With native chefs Audley Ellis and Clarkey, this place is sure to give you the most authentic Jamaican food in Leeds. It’s located in Hyde Park, making it a student favourite.

PERSONAL FAVOURITES:

• Mac and Cheese: if you’re expecting the classic English Mac and Cheese dish, you will be pleasantly surprised. The Jamaican version is a Mac and Cheese pie, and it is spiced to perfection.

• Jerk Chicken with rice and peas meal: The Jerk seasoning has that distinctive hot and savoury flavour, with a warming kick, but not too spicy. The rice and peas had loads of flavour for a rice dish and is very authentic. All in all, it’s a mouth-watering meal.

Ryan’s Kitchen

If a lot of spice isn’t for you, then this restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy authentic Jamaican flavours without the heat. Their ethos is to make the dishes milder, without losing the traditional Caribbean flavours, and they succeed. This is most likely due to the fact that everything is cooked fresh, and sourced from local suppliers, with their main spices sourced from Jamaica. This restaurant opened up in 2017 and has hundreds of five-star reviews online. It performs mainly as a takeaway but they do have a small dining area for eating in.

PLANT-BASED

Soul Box

Sisters Maye and Monifa founded this plant-based takeaway in Leeds. Their menu changes every week, and they are soon hoping to start making vegan desserts. Both the sisters eat a plant-based diet and have been cooking for their large family since a young age. Their slogan – “Raises your Vibrations, Feeds the Soul” – comes from their desire to provide healthy but flavoursome food, and their food is exciting for vegans and non-vegans alike.

DRINK

The Assembly

This independent bar and bottle shop was established in 2018 by husband and wife duo Steph and Matt Cliffe. It now has two locations, Crossgates and Garforth, both of which have an intimate home-from-home feel. They serve craft beer, classic cocktails and a selected wine list to go with their locally sourced charcuterie and bar snacks.

Header Image Credit: Jerk Express on Facebook.