VISITORS to this year’s Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) will be able to toast its 20th anniversary with a pint or two of Brooklyn Brewery’s finest or chill with a G&T in the Fever-Tree Gin Garden at The Festival Hub in Albert Square.
Both these iconic brands are official sponsors of the Festival as is a more local drinks legend, Kate Goodman of Reserve Wines of West Didsbury, best known for her BBC TV wine guru slot and for her appearances at the the Festival’s Three Wine Women masterclasses
MFDF, which is taking place across Manchester from Thursday September 29 to Monday October 9, is the UK's largest urban food and drink festival and is famed for celebrating innovation and the best Manchester has to offer.
This year’s special 20th anniversary edition will see the event welcome a stream of national, international and local food and drink brands, who will all be playing their part to make this a birthday celebration to remember.
Festival sponsors announced so far:
Official Beer: Brooklyn Brewery
Winner of a raft of industry awards for its exciting range, including Brooklyn Scorcher & East IPA; Brooklyn Summer Ale; and Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, all imported from New York. All beers will be available throughout the Festival, with the Brooklyn Brewery team bringing a separate Brooklyn Brewery beer truck to the Festival Hub in Albert Square.
Official Beer: Poretti
A pale blonde pilsner lager that has been brewed in Varese, Northern Italy since 1877, is another brand bringing their brews to the Hub.
Official Beer: Shed Head
A premium USA-style pale ale from Sweden.
Fever-Tree Tonic
Following a hugely successful appearance at last year’s Festival, Fever-Tree will be hosting the Fever Tree Gin Garden with a newly designed bar and even more exciting activity soon to be announced.
Official Online Take Away Partner: Just Eat
New Festival partner Just Eat will be bringing a Local Legends Street Kitchen to Albert Square. They will also be running a ‘Just Eat for a Year’ competition as well as a Supper Club and Just Eat Masterclasses.
Official Booking Partner: Bookatable
Bookatable will be reviving their Festival Feast consisting of a series of bespoke, fine dining menus, created by Booktable's Manchester restaurants especially for MFDF. Bookatable by Michelin is a Michelin group company that powers Europe's leading restaurant marketplace, with more than 15,000 restaurant customers and millions of diners booking every month.
Reserve Wines/Vin Van Voom
Based in Didsbury, Reserve is arguably Manchetser’s finest independent winemerchant in Manchester, making wine accessible and fun for everyone. Created byKate Goodman, wine expert from the BBC’s Food and Drink Show and one of the UK’s leading food and drink matching experts, Reserve will be running the Wine Bar at the Festival Hub as well as hosting wine masterclasses and cheese and wine pairings throughout.
Other brands also signed up to support and participate in MFDF include Corn Exchange Manchester and caterer.com.
The Festival will also be staging dozens of events with the local and independent food and drink businesses what makes MFDF so special. Foodies can expect the most exciting programme yet with more extraordinary activity soon to be announced.
Festival Director Phil Jones told us: “The eclectic mix of international, national and local food and drink brands, is testament to the Festival’s universal popularity. To have these sponsors signed up so early is great news for the Festival.
“As we recruit even more, the 20th anniversary is set to be an extra special year. We will as usual, be showcasing the best Manchester has to offer. We’re looking forward to announcing more additions to the line-up so stay tuned for updates soon.”
Charlie Shotton from Fever-Tree added: “It's a pleasure to partner with MFDF and to be part of their fantastic event. Always carefully curated and well presented, Manchester Food and Drink Festival continues to delight with a brilliant selection of culinary delights from the local area and beyond – a perfect pairing for Fever-Tree and our premium mixers."
Michel Cassius, Bookatable by Michelin CEO said: ‘We’re delighted to once again be a part of this festival, celebrating the best of Manchester’s restaurant scene. The Festival continues to deliver a fantastic line-up of restaurants across the city and this year’s festival promises the strongest yet. Whether diners are hungry for a high street favourite or a spectacular fine dining experience, brilliant festival menus are waiting to be discovered!”
Keep up to date with all the latest Festival announcements at http://foodanddrinkfestival.com.