MANCHESTER Food and Drink Festival has unveiled an appetising array of events for its annual autumn extravaganza, all of which are bookable NOW.
Automatically you’ll be heading for Albert Square – well, don’t. The festival, now in its 22nd year, has shifted its hub to Cathedral Gardens, creating an entirely new festival experience in perhaps the city’s most picturesque public space.
Here the giant igloo Dining Dome will form the centrepiece of a foodie village, featuring for the first time an artisan market where you can ‘harvest’ take-home treats from the finest indie food and drink producers around. That’s after you’ve taken your pick of the street food and craft tipples on offer.
The Cathedral Gardens site will, of course, be free to enter, but the major events inside the Dining Dome are ticketed – and there are some genuinely hot tickets up for grabs throughout the Festival (September 27-October 7). Here’s the initial starry roster with more foodie delights to be announced in the coming weeks…
THE DINING DOME EVENTS AT CATHEDRAL GARDENS
Thursday, September 26 – Bistrotheque Classique
One of Manchester’s most anticipated 2019 arrivals, Bistrotheque, has made its name in East London through great, uncomplicated food, drink and service delivered with good taste and a dollop of fun. Expect extra helpings of all this when Chef Director Blaine Duffy creates this special MFDF menu, including arrival cocktails, three courses, a quality wine pairing and digestif. From mid-summer Bistrotheque proper will occupy the ground floor of the redeveloped Ducie Street Warehouse alongside Piccadilly Station. Tickets £45, available here.
Friday, September 27 – An Evening with Simon Shaw
One of Manchester’s most respected chefs hosts a specially curated collection of the most exquisite dishes from his brands El Gato Negro and Canto. Guests will be taken on an intimate culinary journey, inspired by Simon’s love of travel with Spanish and Portuguese influences to the fore. Each course will be paired with a specially selected wine and tickets also include a drinks reception. Tickets £55, available here.
Tuesday, October 1 – Roots and Future: A Tasting Menu by Francisco Martinez of Fazenda Group in Aid of Action Against Hunger
Executive Chef Fran Martinez will return to The Dome (after a sell-out extravaganza last year) with an exclusive eight-course tasting menu, which celebrates the cultural diversity of Fazenda's roots in Argentine and Brazilian cuisines. Paired with glorious South American wines and cocktails, each dish in this gastronomic odyssey fuses tradition with innovation – witness his Wagyu Tartare above. All proceeds from the evening will be donated to Fazenda's group charity, Action Against Hunger. Tickets £50, available here.
Wednesday, October 2 – Comfort Food ‘Sounds’ Good: A Communal Feast by Adam Reid
Chef at MFDF’s 2018 Restaurant of the Year, The French, and star of BBC2’s Great British Menu, Adam Reid (main picture) creates the ultimate communal festival feast, all inspired by his GBM dish ‘Comfort Food ‘Sounds’ Good’. Adam will depart from his signature fine-dining style to host an evening of laid-back social eating and great British music – his twin refuge when things get tough. The dish is based on his Grandad’s recipe – the ultimate ‘hug in a bowl’. Also on the menu is his version of chicken stew, employing crowns of Organic Rhug Estate Chicken – alongside a soundtrack ranging from The Beatles to Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys. Specially curated cocktails add to the communal harmony. Tickets £35, available here.
Thursday, October 3 – An Evening with Paco Perez and Tast
Catalan maestros Tast host a three-course dinner designed, cooked and served by Tast’s Head Chef Miquel Villacrosa and the Michelin-starred Spanish cooking giant, Paco Perez. Paco is Tast’s world famous Executive Chef. Based in Barcelona, he is flying in especially for the Manchester Food and Drink Festival and curating a more casual Tast dining occasion allowing guests to experience their acclaimed cuisine, cooked by the main man himself, in an extraordinary setting. Paco promises wonderful dishes inspired by the beautiful Catalan landscape: the sea and the mountains, the countryside and the cities. Guests will receive a glass of Cava on arrival, three course menu and special MFDF cocktail. Tickets £45, available here.
Friday, October 4 – The MFDF Curry Collective with Bundobust, Dishoom, Lily’s and Sanskruti
This ultimate ‘curry club’ night kicks off with Gujarat-influenced snacks with a matched flight of beers from the mighty Bundobust after an arrival cocktail created by their Piccadilly team. Next up the Bombay diner of your dreams, Dishoom, will serve the special they created for their Manchester arrival, Nalli Nihari Biryani (lamb shank rice dish in a pie, above). Two more incredible courses will come from two of our finest independent, suburban eateries – Lily’s in Ashton-under-Lyne and Sanskruti in Withington. Tickets £40, available here.
And there's more…
As well as the Dining Dome dinners at the Hub, a very special MFDF event is now on sale in partnership with the Manchester Art Gallery, the first of many collaborations to be announced for across the city PLUS there’s a new, fun-filled venue for Festival goers to worship wine – Manchester Cathedral is hosting a one-off event.
Saturday, October 5 – The Art of Dining with Aiden Byrne at Manchester Art Gallery
As the finale toManchester Art Gallery’s unique series of art-meets-food supper clubs in collaboration with MFDF, Aiden Byrne, owner and executive chef at Restaurant MCR will be teaming up with curators to create the ultimate food and art feast in a magnificent setting. Previous dinners will have been themed around individual exhibitions; Aiden’s event will celebrate the pick of the Art Gallery’s whole collection. Aiden is celebrated for creating some mini-masterpieces of his own on the plate – witness the mushroom and jerusalem artichoke dish, above, that features across his menus. On this occasion he be will be cooking a six-course tasting menu with each dish inspired by a different piece of art displayed in the gallery. As each course is served, curators and Aiden who will guide them through the art and the dish. Tickets £80, available here.
October 4 and 5 MFDF Wine & Fizz Festival at Manchester Cathedral
The MFDF Wine and Fizz Festival will be a great big, fun packed celebration of the most exciting and exclusive wines and fizz from around the world. Although the wines will be serious, the event is set to be a jolly and light hearted occasion providing a great day or evening out for anyone who loves wine – from the passionate enthusiast to the novice fizz fan. Tickets £15, available here.
October 7 – MFDF Gala Dinner and Awards at Gorton Monastery
The sparkling culmination of MFDF, the Gala Dinner and Awards will be returning to the stunning, Gothic surrounds of Gorton Monastery. The most coveted and highest profile food awards in the North of England will, as usual, be distributed in a room packed with the region’s food and drink ‘A list’. The MFDF awards shortlist will be announced in June when tickets will go on sale for this fabulous event. Ticketed.
September 26-October 7 – Bookatable Festival Feast
Returning for its fourth year at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival, the Bookatable Festival Feast is now bigger and better than ever before. There will be double the number of restaurants taking part in this delicious cross-city dining opportunity, offering limited edition, bespoke menus in association with Bookatable, the Festival’s official booking partner. The menus will be on offer throughout MFDF. Early booking advised.
What else is on at the new Cathedral Gardens Hub? Some seriously refreshing changes.
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