The Botanist is giving one lucky person the chance to win free kebabs every day with their very-own ‘black card’.
Tucking into free kebabs 24/7 would undeniably be the mouthwatering dream of many a foodie, but now, it could actually become a reality thanks to the popular restaurant chain, The Botanist – which has a number of restaurants in Manchester and across the North West, and is known for its famous hanging kebabs.
By now, the concept of a ‘black card’ is well known.
It’s common knowledge that rapper Stormzy has an elusive Greggs ‘black card’ to his name, which gives him free pastries and baked goods for life, and chart-topper Ed Sheeran has proudly flashed his Nando’s ‘High Five’ card in the past that promises all the peri-peri chicken he could want for a whole year.
But while it seems that celebrity status has been the only ticket to free food up until now, The Botanist is thinks one of its customers would be more-deserving recipient to go where no famous name has ever been when it comes to food perks.
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The Botanist is giving one lucky person the chance to win free kebabs every day with their very-own ‘black card’ / Credit: The Botanist
The Botanist revealed a first look of its exclusive ‘Golden Leaf’ card on Instagram last week to celebrate hitting 100,000 followers, and explained that the card entitles the owner to free hanging kebabs at any of its venues across the country every single day for three years.
Only one Golden Leaf exists though, so how do you get your hands on it?
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The restaurant chain isn’t willing to give the card away to just anyone, so it’s not as easy as entering a competition and hoping for the best, as instead, you’ll have to prove your love for hanging kebabs by telling The Botanist team “what hanging kebabs mean to you” before the closing date of Friday 11 March.
10 people will then be taken through to the next stage of the vetting process, although the criteria for selection is mysteriously vague, and no details about how the lucky winner will be chosen at the next stage have been revealed either.
The Botanist is known for its famous hanging kebabs / Credit: The Botanist
To be in with a chance of snapping up The Golden Leaf, then you’ll need to head on over to The Botanist’s Instagram page here.
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
The hillside farm in the Peak District making its own ice cream
Daisy Jackson
Did you know there’s a 300-year-old farm in the Peak District serving up some of the freshest ice cream you’ll ever taste? And yes, you can meet the cows that made it while you’re there.
Welcome to Hope Valley Ice Cream, a family-run gem where things are kept refreshingly simple: happy cows, proper farming, and seriously good ice cream.
Set in the heart of the Peak District countryside, this place is about as wholesome as it gets.
The ice cream is made on-site in the farmhouse, literally just metres from where the dairy herd are out grazing.
You can watch the animals, wander around the farm, and then tuck into a scoop or three perched on a milk pail stool, or a picnic bench (or even a decorative tractor).
Hope Valley Ice Cream has some amazing seasonal ice creams, like lemon curd, elderflower, and blackberry, alongside all the classics and a rather delicious tiramisu.
You can grab a cone, sit down with a coffee (again, made with milk from the nearby cows), or go all in with a freshly-made waffle if you’re feeling fancy.
Takeaway tubs from Hope Valley Ice CreamYou can get a mini pail of ice creamMeet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice CreamTuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stoolHope Valley Ice Cream
And if you’re the type who really loves ice cream? You can actually order a full pail of it, with four huge scoops plus whipped cream and sauce.
The farm itself is run by the Marsden family, who’ve been working this land for generations. It shows in everything – they’ve created a place that feels genuinely welcoming, not just another tourist stop.
Beyond the ice cream, you’ve got plenty of reasons to stick around. There are calves (including the newest tiny arrivals), plus donkeys and pigs to say hello to.
Whether you’re heading out on a hike or just fancy a drive into the Peaks, this is one pitstop that’s absolutely worth it – and honestly, it’s worth the trip on its own.
Emily Sergeant -
10th March 2022 
