THE 18th Manchester Food and Drink Festival opening weekend was a glorious success. The Festival Hub on Albert Square alone attracted 35,000 visitors across the first four days days, as the city’s food and drink lovers flocked to the free to attend pop up food and drink village and enjoyed street food, live music, beers, ciders, wines, cocktails, cakes, chilli, chef demonstrations and wine tasting.
The Three Wine Women tasting event in the Festival Pavilion at The Hub was a sell out success while Wahaca’s Thomasina Miers (above) wowed visitors with her red hot chilli recipe demonstrations at the Chilli and Tequila Festival. Meanwhile live cookery from the likes of Manchester House’s Aiden Bryne, The French’s Adam Reid and rising star Olia Hercules (visiting especially for the Festival) meant there was ample opportunity to learn from some of the most exciting people in food right now at the Festival Hub.
The Festival’s first ever Great Manchester Bake Off final took place at the Hub too on Sunday September 13, with an exceptional level of local baking talent on display. The Baking Crown (and some fabulous baking goodies) were awarded to Francine Conway from Prestwich.
Her edible interpretation of the iconic Stone Roses album (The Stone Roses) “Stone Roses Lemon Cake” impressed judges for its wonderfully creative take on the ‘Manchester’ theme challenge for the finalists, as well as it’s exceptional taste. Great British Bake Off Runner Up, Richard Burr (pictured below with Francine) was part of a panel of judges that also included Bakorama’s Charlotte O’Tool and SuSu, Manchester’s original Queen of Puds at the Market Restaurant. Richard also demo’d recipes from his new book BIY and the Forever Manchester Charity Bake Sale raised over £600 for local communities.
Streetfood was, of course, enjoyed in abundance – from lobster to lavender ice cream, with many traders having to pull in extra supplies to meet demands of hungry Mancunians.
The Wainwright’s Ale Trail brought a full range of Marston’s brews the Festival Hub serving up 15 different beers and between that and the Magners Cider Bar, the Festival estimate nearly 10,000 pints were enjoyed at the Hub.
Fever-Tree’s Ultimate Gin and Tonic Bar also served up more than 3,500 perfectly concocted G&T (featuring brand new, Manchester based gin Thomas Dakin) and cocktails.
Live music came from a huge range of local and visiting, artists including Little Mammoths, Dave Fidler and The Corvettes, the legendary Victor Brox, Joseph Lofthouse, The Voice’s Howard Rose, Lily Jo and The Lonesome and Penniless Cowboys and DJ Graeme Park.
Overlooking the Festival Hub, a dozen independent wine merchants took over the spectacular Great Hall in Manchester’s Town Hall on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th with more than 700 people enjoying around 100 different wines at The Big Indie Wine Fest. The BBC’s Kate Goodman was in attendance hosting her own masterclass as part of the Festival.
Across the city, the Festival’s Liquor Market ensured that festivalgoers had the opportunity to get into the ‘spirit’ of tasting and learning about drinks that little bit stronger. Around 60 customers tasted their way around dozens of premium and boutique spirits on Saturday 12th. The Drinks Enthusiast, Dave Marsden, who is an event partner also led a boutique cocktail masterclass back at the Hub.
The Bio Historic Banquet also brought a spectacular feast to the Manchester Museum on Friday 11th. Guests heard from the museum’s curators in between courses created by the legendary local chef Robert Owen Brown, all inspired by the museum’s exhibits and working in partnership with the Biospheric Foundation and their hyper locally grown produce. Over 90 guests dined under the awe-inspiring skeleton of a sperm wale, right in the heart of the museum.
Meanwhile, there were food walks from Peter O’Grady (ex of the Market Restaurant) taking in the Northern Quarter food scene, late night tea parties at the likes of Tea Hive in Chorlton, food and music events at Whitworth Art Gallery with Mary-Ellen McTague, special afternoon teas at Heaton Hall, beer tasting and brewery tours at Cloudwater, cookery schools at Gaucho and edible mushroom walks across Didsbury.
The Festival runs until Monday September 21 when the Manchester Food and Drink Awards are handed out at a special Gala Dinner in Manchester Cathedral.
