As we all know, February is the month of amour, and love was certainly in the air at this latest installment of Elite event goodness here in Leeds for the Yelp Says, 'Let Them Eat Cake, Sweetheart!' bash at Roots and Fruits! Yelpers arrived at the cosy surround to find tables adorned with sweet treats, love hearts and a plethora of words awaitng arrangement for the poetry play that became the theme of the night. As the wine began to flow, the creativity began to tingle in everyone's finger tips, and no encouragement was needed as people got stuck in!
Kicking things off to a soulful start Roots and Fruits' own chef Sam sang a set of sweet serenade, which had yelpers swaying and swooning as the first treats were handed out; a divine platter of home made vegetble pakoras and crisps to balance the sweetness with the savoury! As those were munched away the sounds of Sam's songs filtered through the intimate space creating a divine lull as folk began crafting their wordy magic on the tables.
After the set yelpers enjoyed a brief mingle before the main course of treats descended from the kitchen above, courtesy of the wonderful chef Lizzie P. An array of Gluten Free Chocolate Mousse Cake, Lemon And Ginger Cheesecake and Boozy Yorkshire Curd Tart were laid out for yelpers to queue up and gorge upon in this most fabulous dessert tasting session. As Tim M described, 'my favourite was the boozy Yorkshire curd. It was boozy, it was sticky, it was bliss on a plate,' and it was soon established as a firm favourite with the plate being practically licked clean!
As folk re-seated themselves for the next session of sounds the poetry play continued, ready for the finalé of the evening: a little competition amongst everyone for the top spot on the poetry slot! Without introduction, Tessa Smith began to lull everyone into a state of enchantment with her soulful singing and sensuous songs, the hush and tranquility washing over everyone. Glasses were refilled and recharged, love hearts were nibbled and quiet giggles were audible as her beautiful voice bathed everyone in a jazzy romantic trance.
And for the piste de resistance there came the final showdown: the poetry slam of all slams, a small poetry competition for one final bit of sweetness – a whole load of chocolatey goodness! Yelpers took it in turns to read out their craftings, as the laughter, joy and ridiculousness filled the room. It turns out that everyone was on top form, being funny, cool (and useful, in the loosest possible sense!) with their wordplay and every table got involved and got creative.
As Tori W put, 'each table read out their poetry at the end and some people's verses were really profound! It put our silly poem to shame, but we were deliciously tummy-stuffed and too relaxed to care by that point!' After all the mirth it was universally decided that everyone deserved a bit of chocolate, so the last treats were handed out, as those too joyous to go home moved on to Sela Bar for some post-Elite event celebration! What. A. Night!
A huge thanks to Roots and Fruits, Sam, Lizzie, Malti and Jaggi for their music, hospitality, hosting and heavenly treats, Tessa Smith and Taz for their beautiful set of sounds and Matthew Kitchen for his fabulous photography – you can see the night in full on the official Flickr! For more gossip, direct from the yelpers' mouths, check out the reviews already flying in!
And I'll see you next time, for more stimulating shenanigans on the Yelp side.
Rowena H, Leeds Community Manager (and sweet eater!)
